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June 21, 2007
The Great Experiment
I just finished lunch with my old friend, Steve Shepard, now dean of the new journalism school at the City University of New York (www.journalism.cuny.edu). Steve stepped down as editor of Business Week magazine about two years ago to take on this great experiment in public education.
One of the major challenges to media companies is to create a diverse work force, journalists who are of color and who come from modest means. According to Steve, this problem comes into sharp focus when you consider that the cost of a Columbia Journalism School degree is about $85,000 for two years, versus $11,000 for a CUNY degree over three semesters. At present, at major business publications, only five percent of the reporters are of color, he said.
Shepard’s first class of 50 students entered last fall. Another complement of 50 will begin in September. About 40% of the students are of color and most are from working class backgrounds. Shepard placed every one of his students into media company internships over this summer. For those who are at companies that do not pay interns, he is offering a $3,000 stipend from his school as compensation.
He has raised $8 million from private sources to fund full-time professors, including $4 million from the NY Times Company. As befits an entrepreneurial enterprise, much of the teaching is done by volunteer lecturers from major media companies such as Forbes, the NY Times and McGraw Hill.
We reflected over lunch about state of the media business. Shepard believes that newsstand prices for quality publications will continue to rise, because circulation will have to offset declines in advertising. He noted that revenue from on-line units of mainstream media should benefit from increasing ability to deliver results in reaching specific audiences; prices of on-line ads will firm over time. He believes that there is a real demand for quality journalism, a price insensitive niche in the market.
It occurs to me that the PR field should make a similar attempt to guarantee access to quality education for students of modest economic means. I suggest that we emulate Shepard’s model, guaranteeing a certain number of paying summer jobs at PR firms or in PR departments at major companies for those PR students who are seeking experience while earning part of their tuition. In this way, we facilitate the diversification of our work force while ensuring the quality of our future creative product. I would appreciate your views as always.
Posted by Edelman at June 21, 2007 3:07 PM
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Comments
Richard,
I really took this blog post to heart, and asked for opinions from PRSSA members across the nation what their thoughts were. The responses were overwhelming. Check out what students and young professionals are saying about this same topic at www.prssa.org/blog.
Thanks,
Dwayne Waite
Vice President of Professional Development
2007-2008 National Committee
Public Relations Student Society of America
Posted by: Dwayne Waite at July 5, 2007 9:30 AM