Journalism Devalued

A major blow to journalism education in Colorado was struck April 14 when the CU-Boulder Board of Regents voted 5-4 to close the university’s journalism school, slapping a profession trying to make it through a tough transition into the Digital Age.

Journalism instruction has existed on the CU-Boulder campus for more than 100 years, with a full-fledged journalism school founded there in 1962. Over the years, thousands of students have graduated from the school to enter newspaper, advertising, TV and radio, and public relations jobs throughout the nation.

But the regents’ vote will result in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication closing June 30. CU-Boulder’s President Bruce Benson – who supported the closure – proposed replacing the program with something called “Journalism Plus,” which would allow students to pursue a double major in journalism and another subject or major in another subject with a minor in journalism.

In short, devaluing journalism as a stand-alone major and degree program.

Over the last several years, print journalism has been wrestling with the ongoing conversion to online news and information. Newspapers have been folding across the country, including the Rocky Mountain News in February 2009.

The regents who voted to close the school cited state budget cuts, sweeping changes in the media landscape and a program that apparently was no longer adequately preparing students for the Real World.

The four regents who opposed the school’s closure wrote an open letter detailing the reasons for their vote. While agreeing the school had room for improvement, the regents said they were troubled that there was no specific plan for replacing it. “We simply could not support a road map that does not tell us (or the students at CU) where we’re all going,” the letter said.

As a journalism graduate, I can only cringe when I see a major state university deciding that journalism education no longer deserves the same kind of support as, say, a degree in accounting or history.

I got into journalism to make a difference in the world (not that accountants and historians don’t make a difference), and I believe good writers and people who can tell a story fairly and accurately are desperately needed — perhaps now more than ever.

Just because there is a slow-motion conversion to online news going on now and many respected newspapers are closing their doors does not portend the end of journalism.

Journalism IS changing, but it’s NOT dying. Good, unbiased journalists will always be needed.

After all, who wants to trust bias-driven blogs written by shadowy people with an axe to grind and an agenda to sell for their primary sources of news and information?

I don’t personally know if CU’s journalism school was losing its way and not focusing enough on the basics of journalism, or not moving fast enough to prepare students for the New Journalism of the 21st Century.

But as a journalist watching this all unfold, I share the thoughts expressed by Cara DeGette, president of the Colorado chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, in assessing the CU action:

“The need has never been greater for a vibrant and vigilant press. As journalism programs evolve with new delivery methods and online and other technologies, it’s critical that they continue to emphasize reporting skills and ethical standards. The principles of fairness and objectivity, and the journalist’s role as watchdog of government and industry, remain integral to a well-informed electorate and a thriving democracy.”

Amen.

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