October 27, 2009 – 5:52 pm
I cannot remember anything about the day in 1988 that the Supreme Court issued its decision on Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier. I cannot remember if my newspaper made a very big deal out of it, but the decision embarrasses the heck out me 20 years later.
The Supreme Court ruled in Hazelwood that high [...]
October 5, 2009 – 5:29 pm
It happened twice again last week and I decided somebody has to yell the truth louder. Two more people over 50 decried how little students know. The usual “we’re on the road to perdition” lectures followed with the whole smugness and superiority package.
Translated, what the baby boomers are really saying is that students “don’t know [...]
September 29, 2009 – 6:04 pm
My old friend Phil Meyer called it right when he commented in this article about ESPN.com entering Chicago. Phil called it another “nail in newspapers’ coffin.” ESPN’s spokesman, Paul Melvin took a much politer tack. “As a company, we are fans of newspapers, and not believers they are going away. They face challenges that will [...]
September 24, 2009 – 3:29 pm
Perhaps the wisest thing I read this summer was this fine articulation of an idea I’ve been talking about for months. Rick Edmonds, the media business guru for Poynter Online wrote this: “Put another way, a transition to robust digital options and aggressive experimentation are still good strategies for newspaper organizations. But I might tap [...]
September 3, 2009 – 1:28 pm
Wednesday I came out of a News21 presentation of work done by Cronkite School journalists that made me ready to shout from the rooftops. This is sensational work done by great students with expert professional direction and funded by two incredibly far-sighted funders. Even more important for readers of this blog there are bright, clear [...]
September 2, 2009 – 10:40 am
Two weeks ago The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication had an all-day faculty meeting on the subject of academic research. The most intriguing discussion was on whether academic research should have “impact.”
The discussion revealed a fascinating chasm between academics and recent professionals.
I want to be very careful not to simplify or sensationalize [...]
August 24, 2009 – 1:37 pm
Classes at Arizona State’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism began today and so it is time to publish my syllabus for my Business and Future of Journalism class.
There are some notable changes. I am using online readings exclusively except for the four popular books I require. A quarter of the class will read one of [...]
The tools of production have been democratized and the power to create news has clearly shifted to the masses. All the hip authors tell us amateurs are on the brink of overpowering professionals. Legacy media is under siege because the mass advertising model does not work anymore. Despite all the dire predictions mainstream media seems [...]
February 19, 2009 – 11:36 am
In my 21st Century Journalism class for graduate students here at the Walter Cronkite School I have been setting up the future by studying the past. One of the key readings was this great piece Geneva Overholser wrote in 2004 called “Profit Pressures Over Time.” After we studied the cries of people like Geneva and [...]
