The Foxification of journalism has finally reached the feeder programs for the media.
Many of us have started writing for our school papers on whichever level we are at when such a chance arises. For some this was as young as grade school. But writing for a college paper is much more prestigious, and apt to lead to a job. Or should I say was?
This is from a memo outlining how the student run paper, which was established in 1893, is to avoid any investigative journalism. This is not snark.
“BAD” content is defined as“Content that catches people or organizations doing bad things. I guess this is ‘journalism’. I think we are aligned on Crime and ‘who started the year off with a police record.’ and the freshman class lacks some minority demographics.’” The board member instructs editors, “If in question, have more GOOD than BAD.”
The PTB was able to make their power known by changing the story editing process to include board review prior to publication. I know my stories were reviewed by a panel of staff but these were actual professors not hirelings as is the case here.
The anonymously-written memo divides The Red and Black‘s proposed coverage into “GOOD” and “BAD” sections. “GOOD” content is defined as “Content that is ABOUT our audience doing something unique, helpful, outstanding, new, dramatic, ie scholarships for Freshman (sic),” and “Content that our readers have asked for, ie. how to save money, where to find a job, how to join a club, what’s going on (events), what’s new.”
The memo listed a set of errors that will not be tolerated in the future, including “Liable,” which one assumes, is meant to read “libel.”
It was not always the educational system that produced journalists. As Samuel Clemens' family struggled to survive in an economy that was entirely capitalist based and truly ruggedly individualistic, they owned and operated a printing press as to earn an income. Their ability to maintain housing and food on the table was still challenged even though they had the benefit of material investment in a trade and a family collectively skilled enough to operate the business, they failed again and again as they tried to make it in a lottery economy. He learned to write for a newspaper by putting together notices on the press that he had to go to the proper locations to compose. He learned from there.
As an aside the new media, meaning us at Daily Kos and the multitude of streamers, bloggers, tweeters, and sharers that utilize the internet as a massive information sharing scheme need to look at how the MSM is sabotaging itself in the manner above. Is the MSM going to become the a combination of the Star, Pravda, and a Chick Pamphlet? That is what it looks like it is doing to me. How do we exploit this deficit in information gathering and sharing?
3:38 PM PT: A Student editor responds: http://redanddead.com/...