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Here's
more information on the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future
of Journalism Education.
1.
Why undertake this initiative aimed at revitalizing journalism schools
at this time? And why these schools?
A: It's all about democracy. Just as we need well-educated and well-trained
teachers for public schools; we need well-educated and well-trained
journalists to analyze, interpret and report for today's media.
This is particularly critical in a time of globalization when context,
culture and the complexity of issues facing our nation and the world
challenges the ability of all of us to make sense of modern times.
That's why we must look to journalism schools, which are uniquely
positioned to draw on the educational and intellectual resources
of the universities at which they reside, to prepare the news leaders
of the 21st century. We ignore these schools and their curricula
at democracy's peril.
This project encourages journalism schools to go beyond their current
boundaries - to be expansive about the kind of courses and information
their students should absorb. It attempts to raise the profile of
journalism education - and its place within the university - by
helping improve it at top schools that have support from the highest
level - so much so that their presidents have agreed to support
the project's third year.
2. What's the connection to the McKinsey & Co. study commissioned
by Carnegie Corporation, which found some indifference among leading
journalists about the value of journalism schools?
A: Some of the indifference is deserved. Only 100 of the 450 journalism
and mass communication programs in the country are accredited. Despite
the indifference (or even hostility) to journalism education as
it is today, nearly all believe it is important to the future of
journalism. And whatever "leading journalists" may say, vastly more
people enter journalism by way of journalism schools than through
any other portal. What is important is to widen and deepen their
training. The world, including the media world, has become far too
complex for journalism as usual.
3. How does this initiative attempt to help colleges and universities
prepare future journalism leaders?
A: Journalism schools do their best to prepare journalism students
for the real-world challenges they will face, but their best is
not good enough in this complex day and age. Revitalization is important
for all critical institutions that have an impact on our nation
and our democracy, and the time is ripe for focusing on journalism
education since there are such enormous economic and technological
changes taking place in the news business today. This is no small
task; our society and our universities are suffering from what Carnegie
Corporation's Vartan Gregorian calls the "fragmentation of knowledge"
- experts and specialists talking to each other but not across disciplines.
We hope this initiative will help to develop not only common vocabularies
but also help to build multidisciplinary bridges across the university
that will enrich the education of young journalists and enrich the
other departments as well.
The project increases the capacity of the collaborating schools
three ways:
a) By improving subject-matter education for journalists;
b) By developing innovative investigative reporting projects;
c) And by promoting good research on news, journalism and journalism
education.
4. What is the role of the presidents, and how will other parts
of their institutions be involved?
A: The presidents assure support for the third year of the program.
More importantly, they have publicly committed to giving the effort
a continuing shove - beginning with their support of Thursday's
announcement. That shows they think this initiative deserves university-wide
cooperation.
Collaboration and curricula change have never been easy. We are
pleased that the five universities participating in the Carnegie-Knight
Initiative have spent three years discussing how to work together
to revitalize journalism education. Each university has developed
diverse curricula innovations compatible with their individual institutions.
These are not cookie-cutter reforms. Each university is working
within its own context and with its own faculty. The presidents
of the universities involved are committed to this initiative, not
only because of what it brings to their own campus, but because
they recognize the need nationally for revitalizing the profession
of journalism. The schools will serve as incubators of reform for
the nation and the profession.
5. And the role of the foundations?
A: From Vartan Gregorian, Carnegie Corporation: The strength of
this initiative - what makes it unique - is that the universities
are partnering with both Carnegie Corporation and the Knight Foundation.
This is not just another set of grants - it is a vision for what
journalism schools can become when they are clearly part of a university
president's priorities. In my conversations with each university
president, I have received their commitment to supporting the third
year of the program on their campus. That depends, of course, on
clear indications of success - and we are sure there will be success.
I have also given the presidents my personal commitment that if
in two years, we see success, we'll consider renewal. But, I want
to underline, having both the institutional and financial involvement
of the presidents of these great universities is very central to
our vision for this initiative. It sends a very clear signal that
the deans and the schools of journalism are critical players on
these respected university campuses.
From Knight's Hodding Carter: It's a collaboration. We are working
with schools already intent on improvement and reform. They really
want to do it, to the point that they have created an unprecedented
alliance to accomplish it. Think of this as a project developed
by these particular institutions that we are glad to have the opportunity
to support, not as a foundation-generated initiative about which
the schools are passive if not grudging in their acceptance. This
has the enthusiastic support of university presidents as well as
journalism deans.
6. Why these schools? How will other journalism schools benefit?
A: Good question. Carnegie Corporation comes at this through its
tradition of advancing education. Knight Foundation has a long history
of supporting subject-matter education, investigative reporting
and good research. Knight already supports these things at great
journalism schools across the country, such as Missouri, Maryland,
North Carolina, Kansas, Arizona, Illinois, Indiana and elsewhere.
All of these schools compete, of course - as many in journalism
compete - but they also have shown the capacity to work together.
Knight joined Carnegie in this endeavor, in fact, because it is
a unique collaboration of five universities and major foundations.
We were persuaded that these large institutions, acting together,
could raise the profile of journalism education.
We think all good journalism school deans would agree that journalism
education needs to get better and it needs to get the attention
from the profession and the university that it deserves. We have
built into this initiative the ability for these five schools to
work with others, and under the grant to Harvard, they are required
to give research grants to other universities.
7. Practically speaking, how does this get journalism schools
more integrated with other campus disciplines?
A: One practical way is for journalism school classes to be team-taught
using subject matter experts from throughout the university. There
are many other possibilities, some waiting to be developed. Producing
them is the point of this exercise.
8. What's the funding breakdown, and how will it be allocated?
A: This is a $6 million program over three years, with $2.4 million
from Carnegie Corporation and $1.7 million from Knight. The remaining
pledges come from the participating universities.
The money will help each campus provide new subject-matter classes,
set up a summer investigative reporting project and provide funds
for campuses to do research for the task force.
9. Describe the News21 Incubator project. These are annual investigative
projects - to be done jointly by students at the five schools?
A: It's impressive that 44 of the best and brightest students will
be chosen each year to be part of the News 21 Incubator. There will
be an experienced coordinator who will supervise both a national
release of the story and local incubators. Students already do wonderful,
award-winning work. This will help such student-developed efforts
get the attention they deserve. It will be "mentored practice" and
offer news organizations--both mainstream and emerging--student
work that is in-depth, edited by experienced professionals with
a new generation's perspective The point here is to encourage a
much wider acceptance of this mentored student reporting approach
in other universities.
Carnegie Corporation is sponsoring the ABC News Summer Institute
this summer to get this innovation off the ground and 10 students
- two from each university - will be attending.
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