NPR asks, "What's The Point Of Journalism School, Anyway?"

[Piotr Rasputin]

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130437287&sc=fb&cc=fp

Discuss.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Correct. Major in philosophy.

 

[LongTimeListener]

If you play your cards right, you could get the cubicle next to the sex columnist. That could be cool if you can handle the threat of disease.

Other than that, I'd have to agree with this take. And yet J-schools have record enrollments. Go figure.

 

[Batman]

This made me both chuckle and fume:

"Information will just all be basically free, so there's no money to be made in journalism," says de Nevers, an 18-year-old from Portland, Ore. "As much as I would like to pursue my love and all that, I like food, too. And I just don't want to sacrifice it all."

It's kind of like saying, "I want to eat, but I know someone else will cook the food."
What happens when there's no one left to cook/gather information? How "free" will information be then?

 

[VJ]

It's phrased poorly, but the general point is that if someone is willing to do your job either for free or for next to nothing, it doesn't bode well for your career. Supply and demand.

 

[Stitch]

If you play your cards right, you could get the cubicle next to the sex columnist. That could be cool if you can handle the threat of disease.

Other than that, I'd have to agree with this take. And yet J-schools have record enrollments. Go figure.

How many j-schools or communication degrees have admissions requirements besides those for the school in general? Mine didn't, so a lot of people who just wanted to string out their college years would major in communications.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

It's a great business if your daddy's rich, and your mom is good lookin'.

 

[dkphxf]

This made me both chuckle and fume:

"Information will just all be basically free, so there's no money to be made in journalism," says de Nevers, an 18-year-old from Portland, Ore. "As much as I would like to pursue my love and all that, I like food, too. And I just don't want to sacrifice it all."

It's kind of like saying, "I want to eat, but I know someone else will cook the food."
What happens when there's no one left to cook/gather information? How "free" will information be then?

And that's why I think print journalism will survive The Great Decline. People are still going to want to read something, but the format may vary (iPad, phone, actual dead trees). It's up to journalists to tailor their stories to best fit the platform from which readers are consuming and produce a quality product. Plenty of print products will die, but there will be some that survive. There are plenty of cities that don't deserve to have a local newspaper. But there are some putting together a quality product.

 

[kmayhugh]

This made me both chuckle and fume:

"Information will just all be basically free, so there's no money to be made in journalism," says de Nevers, an 18-year-old from Portland, Ore. "As much as I would like to pursue my love and all that, I like food, too. And I just don't want to sacrifice it all."

It's kind of like saying, "I want to eat, but I know someone else will cook the food."
What happens when there's no one left to cook/gather information? How "free" will information be then?

There are people producing information for free all over the internet right now.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I wish I read this in 1991.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Again

This made me both chuckle and fume:

"Information will just all be basically free, so there's no money to be made in journalism," says de Nevers, an 18-year-old from Portland, Ore. "As much as I would like to pursue my love and all that, I like food, too. And I just don't want to sacrifice it all."

It's kind of like saying, "I want to eat, but I know someone else will cook the food."
What happens when there's no one left to cook/gather information? How "free" will information be then?

There are people producing information for free all over the internet right now.

Mostly they are producing opinions, though. Different animal. People will still pay for (essential) information. They won't pay for opinions, which have been insanely devalued.

Again: No one should major in journalism. It shouldn't even be a major. If I were running a university, I would offer journalism as some sort of adjunct to certain majors. Something like, "BA in Engineering with an additional concentration in Science & Technology journalism."

 

[cranberry]

I wish I read this in 1991.

The late '80s and early '90s -- a period when JOAs were wiping out two-paper town, unions were getting busted, and eager and ever-abundant J-school grads were stepping over bodies to work for less -- was the beginning of the end.

 

[Tarheel316]

I couldn't have said it better Cranberry.

 

[Michael_ Gee]

In my day job, I read an article in Variety in which the NYU Film School is offering a combined program with the business school for an MFA/MBA joint degree. This is so filmmakers have enough financial knowledge to be the entrepreneurs they have to be to make films. Journalism schools should look into such a program, as the only ventures one sees growing in this field will be start-ups.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

I wish I read this in 1991.

The late '80s and early '90s -- a period when JOAs were wiping out two-paper town, unions were getting busted, and eager and ever-abundant J-school grads were stepping over bodies to work for less -- was the beginning of the end.

Not sure I agree. I remember that period from 1997-2001 where I was actually turning down freelance work because it was coming in so quickly. Hell, I made more than $20K in freelance one year. My last year in journalism, in a much, much higher-profile job, I might have made a couple grand.

 

[JimmyHoward33]

I'm willing to play baseball for a living for free, but I can't hit a curveball. There's a huge difference between willing and able.

 

[Small Town Guy]

Brings to mind Michael Lewis's classic "J-School ate my brain" from 1993.

http://www.tnr.com/article/j-school-confidential

 

[rpmmutant]

I asked myself the same question 10 years ago when I was in college. I got my BA in English with creative writing. Not sure if it was any better than journalism, but at least now I have options. There's only so much you can do with a journalism degree.

 

[Pilot]

I asked myself the same question 10 years ago when I was in college. I got my BA in English with creative writing. Not sure if it was any better than journalism, but at least now I have options. There's only so much you can do with a journalism degree.

What could you possibly do with a BA in English with creative writing that you can't do with a journalism degree?

 

[rpmmutant]

I asked myself the same question 10 years ago when I was in college. I got my BA in English with creative writing. Not sure if it was any better than journalism, but at least now I have options. There's only so much you can do with a journalism degree.

What could you possibly do with a BA in English with creative writing that you can't do with a journalism degree?

Teach, go to law school, write copy for engineering web sites, do PR for NASCAR. I lost my journalism job, but was able to keep working as a sub teacher and work on my credential because I had an English degree. I don't how appealing I would be as a sub teacher with a journalism degree.