4 ms·

I've always felt that instead of J School, journalists should have majors in topics they are covering and a minor in journalism. When I was in college and worke

I've always felt that instead of J School, journalists should have majors in topics they are covering and a minor in journalism. When I was in college and worked for the school newspaper I tried hammering this to people, but all the journalism/media professors felt it was a bad idea, probably because it is such a threat to their profession.

triceratops 6y ago
> but all the journalism/media professors felt it was a bad idea, probably because it is such a threat to their profession. Why is it a threat to their profession? We'll still need journalists. and they'll still need training. This seems more like a hiring/staffing problem. Media outlets should start hiring more grads with double majors or non-journalism majors who can write.
SkyMarshal 6y ago
That would be ideal, but many people who major in those topics would likely go into careers doing those things, rather than journalism. However, journalism might make an excellent choice for when they retire but still want something socially impactful to do that leverages their long experience.
jfengel 6y ago
I feel the same way about computer science majors. (At least, the vast majority of them who go into programming, rather than pure theoretical computer science.) Aside from a tiny minority who get to write infrastructure, whose customers are other programmers, the vast majority of programmers will be employed in some domain. I'd rather see programmers have any outside experience... even literature or music or one of those other fields we often deride. The people who majored in that field are likely to be our customers, and when we don't know how they work, we won't be able to serve their needs. At the very least, every programmer should have a minor in some other field. (And ideally not everybody going into the same physics or math fields.)

triceratops 6y ago

> but all the journalism/media professors felt it was a bad idea, probably because it is such a threat to their profession. Why is it a threat to their profession? We'll still need journalists. and they'll still need training. This seems more like a hiring/staffing problem. Media outlets should start hiring more grads with double majors or non-journalism majors who can write.

SkyMarshal 6y ago

That would be ideal, but many people who major in those topics would likely go into careers doing those things, rather than journalism. However, journalism might make an excellent choice for when they retire but still want something socially impactful to do that leverages their long experience.

jfengel 6y ago

I feel the same way about computer science majors. (At least, the vast majority of them who go into programming, rather than pure theoretical computer science.) Aside from a tiny minority who get to write infrastructure, whose customers are other programmers, the vast majority of programmers will be employed in some domain. I'd rather see programmers have any outside experience... even literature or music or one of those other fields we often deride. The people who majored in that field are likely to be our customers, and when we don't know how they work, we won't be able to serve their needs. At the very least, every programmer should have a minor in some other field. (And ideally not everybody going into the same physics or math fields.)