At Ferris State University, where I teach, this is not as direct and serious a question as some surely face. We do not offer a straight Journalism bachelor's degree. There is a journalism emphasis within Technical Communications, a Multi-Media Journalism minor and a Journalism certificate. However, we are not preparing students specifically for a career in newspapers. While there are some on campus with that career path in mind it is a very small number.
When I do come across a student interested in a newspaper career, I am realistic with that person. I stress the opportunities available at Michigan's numerous smaller newspapers rather than planting in their minds ideas of grandiose positions with the New York Times. For example, the Ionia Sentinel-Standard.
The daily Sentinel-Standard is located between Grand Rapids and Lansing. The paper recently sent out a notice of hiring a full-time entry level reporter. These are the jobs I want my students prepared to land. They can do that through a combination of classroom learning and hands-on learning. Much of the hands-on learning available at Ferris, and on many other campuses, comes from student newspapers. Here at Ferris that is the Torch.
I'm not about to give up on newspapers altogether. I don't think others should either.
12 comments:
As long as reporters are reporting on the news and flavoring it to a particular segment of society they will suffer the pitfalls of consumers voicing their concern with their pocketbook. I will not buy a paper for the news they all seem to have a liberal slant that I do not agree with.
I think the problem is conservatives are the only ones that can read, and flaming liberals are the only ones that like to write. Seems like a bad business model?
That is a terrible business model. Luckily, is a huge and gross over-exaggeration.
ALL is a word that is used very seldom by most intelligent people. It is impossible to clump to together ALL reporters.
I believe a larger problem is that people have the opportunity to consume information only from sources with ideologies that line up with their own. This is the worst possible formula for a well-informed society.
We should ALL try to seek information that is accurate and consider ideas that are counter to our own. Otherwise, how do we ever learn?
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