The alma mater heard from
When I was at Davidson (1978-82), I didn't work regularly for the school paper. Oh, I contributed an op-ed or two, and because my radio shift on Wednesday nights ended while the paper was being laid out in a room adjacent to the studio, I occasionally did a little layout and pasteup. But for almost my entire undergraduate career, I worked full-time in radio, first at the campus radio station and then at a Charlotte commercial station. If I'd wanted to work for the paper as well, I'd've had to sacrifice a few things. Like sleep. And classes.
If Davidson had any kind of class on journalism or the media while I was there, I don't recall it. This isn't surprising; Davidson was and remains a rigorous liberal-arts college that aims to prepare people for varied careers and productive citizenship far more than for any particular kind of job. (The joke among us English majors who were trying to find jobs during the '81-'82 recession was that "I'm a real people person!" was code for, "I'm graduating from a very good school but I'm not going to have a single marketable skill!")
Still, I was pleased to learn (via Romenesko) that the school now has a seminar, "Critical Issues in Mass Media," being taught by Jennie Buckner, a former editor of The Charlotte Observer. And, not surprisingly, the seminar has a blog, Pressing Matters, to which students contribute.
A quick glance at the blog posts, which mainly take the form of short essays, shows that the students are looking at some of the biggest issues we're wrestling with, such as bottom-line pressure. At first glance, I don't see anything about more engagement with our audience in a news-reporting partnership (i.e., for lack of a better term, "citizen journalism"). But the class is still in progress and so, I presume, is the blog.
I'm glad the school is bringing its liberal-arts approach to bear on the news media and the challenges they face. I applaud the school for offering the course and Buckner for being willing to lead it.