UT’s Frankel Defends Journalism As UC-Boulder Considers Scrapping Its J-School

By randyramirez in Blog on August 26, 2010 at 8:53 am | No Comments

The University of Colorado at Boulder announced it has formed two committees to consider discontinuing its School of Journalism and Mass Communication and replacing it with a new academic program on the study of information and communication technology. 

The debate on the future of journalism is alive and well at colleges and universities across the country, including at The University of Texas. Glenn Frankel, the new director of UT’s School of Journalism, said this morning that UT’s journalism program won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Students still dream of careers in the field and the fundamentals remain of utmost importance.

“This turmoil in the journalism world actually has drawn more people to it,” Frankel said. “There are more people applying to journalism schools now than beforehand. I think a lot of young students see the opportunity to be at the ground level in the next step in journalism, which is really figuring out how to utilize all the tools that technology gives us.

“Technology is changing how content is delivered, but it’s still the same content. We’re trying at the school to teach everyone the technology side and the blending of different skills. But because it’s the School of Journalism, we’re all teaching that journalism itself — which is independent reporting of what people need to make informed choices on their community — has to be at the heart of the discussion.”

Photo by Valerie Cook/The Alcalde. Contributing reporting by Jonathan Rienstra