I came to Ithaca College, essentially, for the Roy H. Park School of Communications - a prestigious institution of higher education that promised an up-to-date, pre-professional education in all forms of journalism.
And unfortunately, that's what I got. However, I never realized what I really wanted or needed as an individual, academically, socially, and personally speaking, before I came to college, so I wasn't aware of this less-than-preferable circumstance of which I am now in the midst.
The Park School caters to modern standards of journalism which, given the current construction of economics and culture, tend to manifest as corporate-supported media - a kind of commercialized way to tell the news that hides behind the mystical concept of objectivity and dictates culture and conversations (at least to a fairly significant extent).
In fact, according to what I have interpreted from my professors, journalism seems to serve as a calculated art of business - a way to obtain, entertain, and maintain readership that goes beyond serving the public with information and analyses.
And honestly, not to rip on my peers since I love so many of them, but often in my journalism classes, most students do not exhibit any real or authentic devotion toward what goes on in the world. I've met many Park students whose dreams for life consist of big-time anchor deals or best-selling blogs (if that even makes any financially feasible sense at all). And when we do discuss news in my class, most students regurgitate headlines from The New York Times, providing no actual insight, interest, or information whatsoever.
After realizing how limited the scope of global experience and humanity seems to be for many journalism majors and processing a very influential quote from my friend, Shaun, who said quite straightforwardly, "Park teaches you how to do and not how to think," I realized how truly unsatisfying my major was.
Additionally, being the greedy student I am, I wanted both - thinking and doing - without question. Yes, Park has provided me an outstanding opportunity to utilize new technology and multimedia in hopes of creating an impressive resume down the road. Park also brings in excellent speakers (they're completely based on Park's own preferences and bias, but hey, Huffington next week!!). In general, it's not a bad school for its all intents and purposes.
But its natural tendency to avoid hard-hitting issues and criticism of what mainstream media really "accomplishes" in this country is alarming. Luckily, it's not all bad. Today, my friend and News 1 partner, Norah Sweeney and I went to Diaspora - a store that sells African art in the Commons for a story. The owner touched and enlightened us using his own discoveries and experiences surrounding the relationship and tensions between African and Western cultures, evoking unrealized emotions toward a subject Norah and I had both equally unacknowledged, for the most part, before our interactions with Eldred (the owner).
These are the types of stories that I intend to explore as a writer in the future. I do not know the forum through which my writing will exist (blog, magazine, newspaper, research institute, etc.), but all I know is, I am partially satisfied with keeping my journalism major because I recognize the true satisfaction that can come from it, even if most of the journalism courses I take are only exploited for technological skills and excellent resources.
The Park School isn't bad at what it does - not at all; it's quite good, actually. I just realized how I need to use the Park School for my own personal reasons, which do not fit Park's image of an "ideal journalist," that is, someone who yearns for "fair," "objective" pieces on "something interesting."
Journalists should have interests and should write about those individual curiosities. They should explore their passions and inform the world what they've learned about such areas of interest, through facts, through analysis, through acknowledgment of bias, subjectivity - all of the rhetorical ingredients that make something that is not necessarily interesting to read, but is, at the very least, worthwhile, consciously self-critical, and independent of any corporate-funded mentality.
Journalists should have interests and should write about those individual curiosities. They should explore their passions and inform the world what they've learned about such areas of interest, through facts, through analysis, through acknowledgment of bias, subjectivity - all of the rhetorical ingredients that make something that is not necessarily interesting to read, but is, at the very least, worthwhile, consciously self-critical, and independent of any corporate-funded mentality.
Well done, my friend, and of a piece with the culture over here is like too.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'll add to the discourse by pointing to the average college pubilication as a symptom of this sickness: a refusal to think hard. I think most college publications run into quality-control issues for their articles(the ones here, for sure). Sure, my school has maybe 50+ student run publications, but nearly all of them publish mediocre, unthinking mishmash. And it's a tragedy really, to have some of the smartest students in the world and still only be able to churn out a very average publication.
The cause is simple, and quite harmless really--overcommitance. Namely, students here, and I suspect students at your school too, commit to several activities in an attempt to resume build and gain those "valuable" experiences and skills that become relevant vis a vis the "real world." Students in this sort of approach just don't have the time to dedicate to producing high quality articles--they've got so much else to do!
I'm not saying this sort of system is intrinsically bad--it isn't; the preprofessional school is just another way of organizing education just as a true academic institution is a way of organizing how students get an education. Both have their flaws and strengths.
The tragedy, I think, factors in what you've very astutely pointed out. That, admist all the career jostling, students miss the real point of college: to realize oneself absent of someone else's affirmation, negation, and absent of the pressures of professional life. It's about thinking hard and formulating a real world view, and coming up with a set of guiding beliefs.
That's what makes a great writer--belief. It's what goes into writing rigorous articles; it's what drives passion and discovering one's style. And the absence of that in both your school and mine is frightening, really.
I love what you said about the system of schools fostering a culture of "being busy" in which students forget what it really means to learn something and apply it to their lives in the first place! It's definitely playing a large role in this constant battle between oversimplified approaches to education and those who become so engaged and invested in what they're learning, they can't possibly understand why everyone around them isn't going crazy, isn't suddenly questioning the socialized beliefs on which part of their own morals were based, etc. It's madness, honestly!
ReplyDeleteAnd I also think that you're completely right about belief; it makes the writer. When there isn't a driving force of interest or passion, it tends to manifest itself in one way or another throughout an author's work, rendering it less meaningful or helpful than perhaps other pieces of writing that are rooted in personal desires.
I know I want to say more, but I'm on my way to class now, so I'll revisit this later.
By the way, this self-manifesting "it" I'm referring to is the lack of the motivation or interest or true need, if that wasn't clarified.
ReplyDelete