As a former high school journalist, I was extremely upset to hear Kansas journalism programs will lose their funding for the 2012-2013 school year. Although print, media and online are converging, the state of Kansas sees the field as failing. The school determined budgeting by which careers would be high-demand, the projections for careers in journalism did not have enough expected growth. Classes can still continue but only if the district school boards pass specific funding.
Like a student in the article expressed, I feel journalism has prepared me outside the field for making class due dates, writing clearly and with brevity, and checking multiple sources. I’m extremely disappointed that a state government does not value freedom of speech and the first amendment.
http://cjonline.com/news/local/2010-09-09/state_to_cut_journalism_funds
I agree with you, and the student in the article- training in journalism has given me the training and experience I need to make strides in several different fields. There is nothing stopping a student of journalism from moving into foreign/civil service, politics, business, graduate studies etc.
There is no need to be disappointed. Funding a school is not an ethical issue. In the competitive market, we need to provide a better justification to have J. schools.
While kids at J. Schools continue to learn more and more about journalistic ethics, kids from business or technical schools get better packages as soon as they land on business or science pages even without knowing a word about brevity, fact checking and ethics of journalism.