J-School Modernizes…Eventually

Accuracy in Academia ^ | August 31, 2010 | Don Irvine

[AccuracyAcademia]

The University of Colorado is considering shuttering its School of Journalism and replacing it with a program that is better suited for the digital age.

From the Denver Post:

“The University of Colorado is working toward replacing its School of Journalism with a program better prepared to shepherd students into a news industry trying to keep pace in a digital age. ...

Colorado is a little late to the game but still far ahead of most schools in recognizing that thanks to technological advances journalism has changed and that the traditional J-schools are now hopelessly outdated.

For many years J-schools have been operating with blinders on as newspapers, television and radio have cut jobs as demand waned for their products and services , treating this as a temporary blip and preparing students for jobs that no longer existed.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

U of Iowa discovered “new journalism” in 1970 and promptly lost its accreditation.

[Rummyfan]

J-School... does that stand for Joke School? If you want to write, then write. What the heck can they teach you in a four-year program?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I knew how to write when I got there.

[anniegetyourgun]

Today’s Journalism or Communications degree is equivalent to the joke P.E. majors used to be decades ago. The only degree program that is more laughable is Education.

[MissDairyGoodnessVT]

maybe a better ART School? ever have a look at the artwork in the Denver Airport?? that’s some crazy shite

[abb]

Journalism majors are former English majors who couldn’t pass that program.

[abb]

Journalism is taught in college?!?!

[KarlInOhio]

How much of journalism school is about setting up printing presses, figuring out ink viscosity, running the Linotype machine, delivering newspapers to newsstands and front doors or even the secret meaning of etaoin shrdlu? There might be one class in newspapers as a business.

Other than that the classes should be about interviewing, writing good stories, research, etc. How is that different if after typing the article is published on a website rather than being sent to the press room to be wrapped around advertisements?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

English majors had better parties on the weekend.

[abb]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ETAOIN_SHRDLU

It is also the title of Howard Weaver’s blog. Weaver used to be McClatchy’s “VP of News” until they “retired” him in a round of cost cuts a couple years ago.

His blog usually makes no more sense that the title.

http://editor.blogspot.com/

[Eric in the Ozarks]

“Old” journalism at Iowa consisted of two years of news-photo, public relations, broadcast radio and television sequences, public speaking, a film sequence, The Daily Iowan newspaper, magazine sequence and the opportunity to string for Cedar Rapids and Waterloo TV stations and, occasionally, the wire services and national networks.
All this was chucked out for “new J school.”