In a recent interview, WaPo's Rob Curley said the most important issue in journalism and specifically in journalism education is changing one's mindset. That resonates with me. We need to think differently about how we approach journalism education.
Unlike some other schools and some of you, we do not have major issues regarding funding and resources. We have what we need. What we don't have is far more important that what we do have. We need to embrace change. The time for talk and discussion took place years ago according to Curley.
It's time to act.
__________________
Dr. Ralph Braseth
Director of Student Media
U of Mississippi
http://www.collegemediainnovation.org
I agree with Ralph. We need to get over ourselves. Teaching journalism isn't the sermon on the mount any more. We need collaborators: alumni, professionals in the field and, yes, even our students. It's a challenge, but we've got to get over being afraid of not knowing all the answers.
On the other hand, sometimes I am afraid we're placing too much weight on the technological determinism. We need to keep reminding ourselves (and our students); it's the story, stupid.
I'm new to academia. And I must I see the same resistance here that I saw in my newsroom. Too many people don't want to acknowledge that the world has changed. We can't keep teaching students in exactly the same ways they were taught when I went to J-school. If we do, they had better practice saying, "Would you like fries with that?" They will have a difficult time finding jobs if we don't expose them to the new reality. A couple years ago in my newsroom, there was the beginning of a shift in mood. Suddenly, many people realized that they needed to figure out the web or the world would pass them by. I think that same mood shift needs to happen in academia. The trick is getting buy-in to any cultural change or shift. That's what needs to happen.
__________________
Sue Burzynski Bullard
Visiting Editor-in-Residence
School of Journalism
Michigan State University
303 Comm Arts Bldg.
East Lansing, MI 48824-1212
OFFICE: 517-353-5425
FAX: 517-355-7710
CELL: 248-842-3992
bullar17@msu.edu
