Concentrated coursework

The best solution for adapting to the changing media environment is to make changes to the journalism school and other existing programs, rather than to merge them into one school.

I’ve been proud to call the School of Journalism my home for the past three and a half years, and I like that I take classes with others who have similar aspirations to me.

Merging with the departments of Telecommunications and Communication and Culture is not the only option. I’m not the only one who feels this way.

“I like being able to take courses that appeal to my interests within the broad field of journalism,” senior Alyx

Steinberg said. “To merge with the other two schools will create overly broad course requirements that will not necessarily be applicable or interesting to everyone.”

The School of Journalism offers different courses in which students are able to pick a specific concentration that interests them. They can follow that track throughout the course of their college career.

Students who graduated in December 2012 and beyond have the opportunity to specialize in certain areas within the School of Journalism.

This allows students to have specific specializations noted on their transcripts and résumés.

In my experience, there are various courses offered in the journalism school that are similar to those you would find in the telecommunications and communication and culture departments, but with a greater focus on journalism.

Journalism students learn more than these skills that cross disciplines. We focus on ethics, our responsibilities as reporters, photographers and designers. We learn about interviewing and how to adapt traditional news values to a changing media landscape.

Perhaps the school could create more classes that keep up with the times. Of course, it already offers broadcast journalism as well as digital and interactive media courses, but we could always add more.

As changes in the media continue to occur and jobs in the journalism industry are getting harder and harder to find, people feel pressure to keep up.

Instead of combining my prestigious home away from home with two other academic units, why don’t we work on making the journalism school live up to its reputation?

­— azaslow@indiana.edu