Medill’s Dean defends his revolutionary new journalism curriculum
In this Chicago Magazine article, the Dean of the Medill School of Journalism, responds to critics who say his new curriculum sacrifices the principles of journalism for the principles of marketing. John Lavine has kept his promise to “blow up” the old curriculum and replace it, this fall, with one that emphasizes new media and “an understanding of audience” because, he said, there was little point in training students for disappearing jobs in print journalism. He drew much criticism from students, faculty and journalists who feared the new curriculum would blur the lines between journalism and public relations. But he responds that many working journalists and some students are simply too resistant to change.
In this Chicago Magazine article, the Dean of the Medill School of Journalism, responds to critics who say his new curriculum sacrifices the principles of journalism for the principles of marketing. John Lavine has kept his promise to “blow up” the old curriculum and replace it, this fall, with one that emphasizes new media and “an understanding of audience” because, he said, there was little point in training students for disappearing jobs in print journalism. He drew much criticism from students, faculty and journalists who feared the new curriculum would blur the lines between journalism and public relations. But he responds that many working journalists and some students are simply too resistant to change.
