The UWire Top 100

Congrats to them. It's too bad they're good at a bad business. And that ain't snark.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't (at least) one of our own on that list?

 

It's too bad that of all the good, young college journalists I run into weekly around these parts, the worst of that group is included and the others are not.

Congratulations to those on the list who are deserving of such recognition.

 

I recognize one of our own, yes.
But I also agree with zebracoy. There are some in all these lists who don't deserve it -- maybe not because of talent, but tude.

 

???

 

On the one hand, it's gratifying to see so many young journalists with so much potential.

On the other hand, it's also disheartening to ponder the state of the industry they're trying to get into. Some of them may get in not because they're the best young journalist out there. They may get in at the expense of someone with experience and institutional memory because they're cheaper.

I loved working with and mentoring budding journalists. I still enjoy it when I'm allowed to do so. But with so many jobs being slashed at so many media outlets, I have to wonder if journalism is even viable.

And that's not snark. That's honest.

 

Again, am I supposed to feel better if one of these people takes/has taken my job?

 

There's a girl that was on the list from my school. She has an impressive body of work from all the alternative publications at the University which is a refreshing change of pace. There's a stigma at my alma mater that you only write for those rags if you can't write for the Daily Paper which couldn't be more false. Lots of great writers at the other publications but they don't get their due respect because of the politics involved with the big paper.

 

The University of Kansas (6) has more than ...

Mizzou (2)
Syracuse (2) and
Northwestern (1) combined.

That doesn't seem right.

 

Right, no. Appropriate? Yes. While they turn out some fine candidates, admission to Mizzou, NW and Syracuse do not guarantee great journalists

 

I'll put it a different way.

I have a hard time believing that 15% of the best student journalists in the country can be found at three institutions: Kansas (6), Indiana (5) and Penn State (4).

There are a lot of major universities with solid journalism programs without even a single representative on that list. Again, that makes me question the selection process just a tad. (Not that it matters. There are no jobs out there for young journalists anyway.)