[AEJMC Newspaper Division list] name change discussion

[O'Donnell, Michael J.]

Friends:

Through all this discussion, the thought has occurred to me that what we are
really worried about is the survival of an AEJMC division named "Newspaper
Division." 

Much has been said about the viability of newspapers now and into the
future, and I get the feeling that some would consider it a bit disloyal to
drop the word "newspaper" from the division title. But we do not have much
control over the future of newspapers (ink on newsprint, at least) other
than to do our part to make newspapers as good as they can be.

If newspapers die, then perhaps the division should die with them, to be
replaced by an online news division or whatever. As much as I love
newspapers, having worked for them in varying capacities for 30 years, they
are not a big part of the future my students see for themselves. Few of them
read newsPAPERS, but almost all of them are well-informed about the world
around them. They ask, If I can get my news in a more convenient, less
expensive, always updated form, why should I plunk down 50 cents for the
hard copy?

I believe that as educators, we should prepare them for THEIR future, not
our past. For me, that means looking beyond the practices peculiar to print
journalism and trying to help them become quality journalists in the media
they will have at their command. In the meantime, we in the Newspaper
Division have much to study, learn and pass on about good JOURNALISM, even
as we contemplate a future without ink on newsprint.

MO'D

Michael O'Donnell
Associate Professor of Journalism
University of St. Thomas
Mail# 4302
2115 Summit Ave.
St. Paul, MN 55105
651-962-5281

"Brevity is the soul of wit." -- Shakespeare




> From: Dorothy Bowles <bowles at utk.edu>
> Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 01:20:14 -0400
> To: Members Newspaper Division <news-list at aejmc.net>
> Subject: [AEJMC Newspaper Division list] name change discussion
> 
> During the past week or so, discussion has swung from "we need a name
> change and here are new name ideas" to "let's not be hasty about moving
> away from the name Newspaper Division."  I'm torn on the issue and have
> enjoyed reading the thoughtful posts.
> 
> One reason we've heard for not changing to News or some variation of
> News is concern about infringing on the turf of RTV and other divisions
> or interest groups. In light of the AEJMC strategic plan that is to be
> voted on in Chicago and talk of a "leaner" organization, is there any
> sentiment that we consider merging (converging) Newspaper and RTV
> divisions? I can think of some advantages in both divisions moving away
> from platform-based names, but an obvious disadvantage (other than all
> the reasons already stated for retaining Newspaper Division) would be
> fewer convention slots for combined programming. That alone might be
> reason not to even consider a merger.
> 
> Dorothy
> 
> ================================================
> Dorothy Bowles, Professor
> School of Journalism & Electronic Media, Univ. of Tennessee,
> 333 Communications Bldg., Knoxville, TN 37996-0333
> PHONE: 865-974-4454 OR  865-974-5155; FAX: 865-974-5056
> HOMEPAGE: http://excellent.com.utk.edu/~bowles
> =================================================
> 
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