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1.
Still waiting for ANY response from the Dean for the excellent points posed on this board. Also waiting to maybe see an update on progress? (Considering this is all supposed to magically role out June 1st with no research done...) 2004-04-14 00:02:13, J.D. Fox, jdf004@drake.edu, Radio and TV Junior |
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2.
I'm a journalism student, and I have noticed, indirectly, that some of my journalism teachers are not in favor of this idea. If my teachers are not gung-ho...I don't know if I should be. Drake prides themsleves on the good faculty, and I haven't found a problem with it yet, but their against it, why should I be gung-ho for it?
2004-02-29 03:51:19, Mary, mde002@drake.edu, student |
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3.
The idea of merging journalism and business schools violates the fundamental belief that journalists should not be influenced by business. I’m not so naïve to believe in this absolute separation of business and media; I realize that in our capitalist society, media and business are inextricably linked. The first amendment only guarantees the press freedom from government, not capitalism. But if we can’t learn to separate journalism from business in an educational setting, how are we to begin to understand where the line is drawn in the workplace? When I came to Drake, I came because of the reputation of the magazine journalism program. Had I wanted a business education, I would have stayed at my full time job at Mayo Clinic and taken advantage of their 100% tuition reimbursement benefit by enrolling in one of several business schools in the area. But I wanted more. I considered schools like Northwestern and the University of Missouri, located conveniently in my hometown. Neither school had a journalism program that fit my criteria. I didn’t want to just sit in a classroom, I wanted a reputable program with opportunities for hands-on experience the moment I entered. I didn’t want to be limited to one area of study, I wanted the freedom to explore other disciplines. The Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication offered exactly that. I am not opposed to a joint venture between the schools—a venture to create new opportunities, even at the graduate level. I know students benefit from an interdisciplinary education. But I don’t believe it is necessary to merge the schools. Our undergraduate curriculum already ensures an interdisciplinary education. At Drake, journalism students are actually limited in the number of journalism courses we can take for credit. We’re required to take macroeconomics and strongly encouraged to try business courses like management and marketing. On top of our major, we’re required to have a concentration of courses in a discipline outside of the journalism school. Many students choose business-related concentrations, and I personally know students double majoring in business and journalism. In addition, all magazine majors are required to take JMC 119, a class in which journalism professor Angela Renkoski, a former Meredith editor, drills us on the details of magazine business. We each develop a magazine proposal with a 30-page business plan and 16-page prototype. In our business plan, we outline all of the details for our proposed magazine: a complete editorial concept, marketing plan, five-year budget, and design philosophy. We detail our editorial philosophy and formula, analyze potential competitors, define our audience, and after extensive research, we develop a five-year budget complete with circulation figures, advertising rates and revenue, subscription and cover prices, and operating expenses. Dean Edwards has repeatedly emphasized, “The devil is in the details,” yet he is reluctant to share those details with us. We don’t know how this “joint venture” will affect our curriculum, accreditation, reputation, or funding. We’ve been told the merger will bring more revenue, and that the journalism school does not have the resources to sustain itself. But no one has explained why this is the best way to obtain additional resources, how this merger will actually provide more revenue, and how it will improve the education we are already getting. Instead of campaigning for more resources from the community and selling businesses and prospective students on why our program consistently ranks at a national level, Dean Edwards has proposed a vague plan that eliminates the School of Journalism and Mass Communication and creates a generic School of Management and Communication. I don’t have to go to business school to know that for any business to be successful, the proposer needs a clearly detailed plan. The devil is definitely in the details. I’ve learned that in journalism school. 2004-02-27 16:50:21, Angela Paneck, aep005@drake.edu, student |
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4.
What I love about the journalism school is the personality it brings with it. When I was a prespective student, I remember talking with a current student who was telling me all about the journalism program. He affectionatly called it the "J-school" and I have since come to love the small, personal atmosphere that comes with being in a school that is so reputable, yet laid back enough to nickname itself "J-school" and do all the things we students love - like Journalism halloween parties and rallies. I am very against the merger of the J school with the business school because it is just that - a merger. We all know about corporate mergers, they swallow the "little guy" and that is just what this will do too. Bringing the business school and journalism school together is going to make a huge department with no identity or personality (think arts and sciences). Its also going to form a program that has no recognization outside of Drake. Many, many people know Drake's journalism school for its excellent program - no one knows the school of "communications and management". Speaking of that, I came to drake for Journalism - not communications! Not managment! If I wanted to be in an impersonal, large school, I could have majored in "communications" at a state university. I really believe like this idea to bring the two schools together is merely selling out. It seems to me that we're forgetting our values of why we love the J-school for the smell of money. All I keep hearing about this merger is how much money it is going to bring. Money, money, money. Business and money are the components that make journalism UNETHICAL. I would rather be associated with a great journalism school than a rich communications college.
2004-02-27 10:55:40, Lilianna Wiesman, LHW001@drake.edu, student |
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5.
I believe that in combining the School of Journalism and Mass Communcations with the school of Business we are taking away the heart of the Journalism school. I came to Drake, because it was a small school with large opportunity. I loved the one-on-one attention I got from my visit day and I loved the J-school. It was said to me on my visit day by several professors and students that the J-school was "the smallest school with the loudest voice". Now, I have only been here for a little while, but I have already seen this in so many ways. The J-School is the heart and soul of Drake. It is the spunk that keeps everyone going. The J-School has a way about it that is unique from any other school or college on campus. I feel that in combining with the Business school we will give up our own identity. We will blend in with the masses and become just another boring school. I love that spunk. I love that you never know what to expect from the J-School.
2004-02-27 00:59:43, Erin Delahanty, eed002@drake.edu, student |
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6.
Though it is just a word, I think losing the word Journalism from the school could be very detrimental. You can get a Mass Communication degree a lot of places. But at Drake, you get an accredited Journalism degree, with a capital J. When someone hears that word, they immediately know, without asking, that you can write journalistically and have training in true journalism ethics. In some of the points made, it was brought up that the SMC would offer graduate programs for further education. This is a great idea! After you’ve been a beat reporter, your natural move would be to management. What better tool than a combined program of Management and Communication to further your education. And offer classes that combine graduate students and undergrads that are required for each student. But don’t muddle the Journalism department with Business Management. I believe the reason that many your aspiring journalism students came here is because they don’t want a management degree, they want a writing (electronic and print) degree, a production (TV and radio) degree or a creative (advertising etc.) degree. I think there are many characteristics that are great about this. I think it’s important for graduate programs that there is a combined emphasis on Management and Communications. I think undergrads need more management skills if they hope to move up in their careers five, ten or fifteen years down the road. But I worry a school like this would give someone an opportunity to look at Drake as a watered-down Journalism degree. That’s not why I came to Drake. 2004-02-26 20:09:23, Chris Rooney, csr003@drake.edu, student |
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7.
I said this at the open forum, and I'll keep it this simple. No matter what spin you put on it, you take away the name "School of Journalism," and you lose 25% of your students. I really feel that people fail to realize how much that subtle difference means in terms of enrollment. It was a difference that got me to come here. A school vs. a department. A unified school means a business department and a journalism department. Do a study, talk about this in three years. Get prospective students take on how the school consolidation would effect their enrollment. I have a feeling that students in my situation, going to Drake for a specified career, will find the change unpleasant. I also don't feel this "change" should begin to be implemented only a few months after the idea was hatched.
2004-02-26 12:52:04, J.D. Fox, jdf004@drake.edu, J3 Electronic Media, Radio-TV |
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8.
Private message. Click here to view.
2004-02-26 12:23:35, Sarah Schafman, sns003@drake.edu, student |
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9.
I very much think that the combination is totally unnecessary. Do I like the aims (to give Business students better communication skills and Journalism students better business skills)? Yes. But it can be done without combining the schools. By combining the schools, you actually make it harder for students to bridge the two (areas of concentration must be outside the students' school). Everything that the combination aims can be done the way things currently are. Taking a major, minor, or area of concentration isn't very difficult. Prospective students are less likely to consider Drake for business or journalism if there is no separate school for it. The combination risks both schools' independant (and excellent) reputations, as well as risking accreditation. This is going to have a very negative effect on graduates' chances as getting jobs. It also brings up the question of conflict of interest, especially with First Amendment vs. business practice. The two are very often at odds (Editorial vs. Advertising, etc.), and it will put our integrity in doubt. Also, the combination will put future fundraising at risk. With the current configuration of two separate schools, I am likely to donate money to the journalism school in the future. If the schools are combined, I won't. And I'm not the only person who feels that way. I'm seriously beginning to wonder -- is the only reason this is happening because the administration is hoping someone will donate $20 million to have the school named after them? And what's the deal with the contradictions? In the letter on the previous page, Edwards says that "this is only a vision", but many times he has said that this is going through for certain. First, get the facts straight and stop contradicting. Second, stop trying to put a positive spin on everything. All I ever hear from Edwards is that everybody's all for this, when I know for a fact that the majority are against it. This doesn't need to happen, but if it must, I'd rather it happen with some semblence of integrity. I'd rather it not happen at all, though, and I'm willing to fight to prevent it. 2004-02-26 12:09:32, Kari, klc011@drake.edu, student |
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10.
Private message. Click here to view.
2004-02-26 11:08:24, Bridget Helder, BAH008@drake.edu, student |
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