By Michael Walsh
As I read down a list of The Recorder‘s staff editors and reoccurring staff writers, I can’t help but notice the dramatic absence of journalism majors included among them.
With a brand new journalism major in place, hype surrounding the changing field might be at its most exciting stage at CCSU. The school has managed to create a respectful and honorable program to help better prepare students for their future. The Robert C. Vance Foundation even managed to bring a professional in to teach and be part of the journalism community with the arrival of WNPR’s Where We Live host John Dankosky.
But while the school has made great progress towards improving a program all journalism students should desperately yearn for, are the students actually taking advantage of what’s there?
It needs to be said: staffing here at The Recorder has been abysmal the last few semesters, with hardly enough bodies being able to account for the usual college newspaper beats, resulting in a product that while good, could be dramatically better with the entire support of the journalism department.
Next door, WFCS, our very own radio station, might as well be called a music station, as no semblance of news is ever to be found. This isn’t to say that the work the music junkies over there do isn’t good, they are a bright and energetic group on this campus, but more a reflection on the lack of desire journalism students have to get involved with it. As far as I know, there are small internal developments in progress to hopefully change that, and the arrival of radio veteran Dankosky will only bolster that movement.
As I look towards my post-graduation future, I cringe at the prospects of applying for journalism-related jobs in this tumultuous economic climate and ever-changing industry. And even though I consider my résumé to be looking pretty nice, I can’t but help fear the inevitable and initial rejections I might face.
And it leads me to asking whether other students, those I might have been sitting among in classes for semester upon semester, are worried about the same thing. As the face of journalism changes, the quality of those applying for jobs is growing by the minute, as young, aspiring journalists become five-tool multimedia jacks of all trades. In turn, the increased competition for the lone available jobs call for a high résumé with quality published clips, those of which can most easily be acquired through your very own campus publications.
Earlier this month, The Recorder held a training and informational session to try and encourage and gather new writers. With the help of our adviser, an e-mail was distributed to roughly 100 students that were either journalism majors, minors or those that had expressed some interest in taking part at one time or another. Unfortunately, only a small handful of new faces showed up to the event, resulting in the training and informational intention to be changed to story brainstorming. The overall lack of presence from journalism students in the room that day was a clear sign to myself and my colleagues that something isn’t right within the major we love.
Last semester a wonderful initiative took place, as a Society of Professional Journalists chapter begun to take form on campus. The problem was that the group carried a member list that if cross-referenced with The Recorder‘s staff writers, would share a rare similarity, the most baffling and problematic example defining our beloved field at CCSU. When a group of students interested in professional journalism isn’t the same as the campus newspaper, something is wrong.
So as we’ve hit the midpoint of what’s been a very strong fall semester, I’ve taken it upon myself, with encouragement from my section editors and reliable staff writers, to do the long overdue and break the ice. This isn’t a call to arms, it isn’t a plea for more writers, it’s an opinion from one journalism major that’s shared across the very newsroom I write this in. If you don’t do something now, you’ll regret it later. Wasting the precious time you have during college isn’t conducive towards a prosperous career in the field you aspire to join. I might be wrong, and for the sake of others not taking the opportunity to do more, I hope I am.
And while my experiences with low student activity is solely focused on journalism, I’m most certain this creed can apply to the entire CCSU campus. There’s a club or organization for almost every major or interest on this campus, and if there isn’t, not much is stopping you from starting a credible one. Our university gives great opportunity to students who want to go out and take it.
Since becoming influential on the final layout of the student newspaper, I’ve noticed a strong disconnect between the entire CCSU campus in general and the media publications and organizations that make up the foursome group of the SA/LD Media Board. Last year, I remember picking up a copy of Off-Center, the newly founded campus magazine, and reading a piece from Melissa Cordner, editor-in-chief, simply wondering if anyone was actually reading what she had to say. More recently, a student working at the radio station mentioned how they weren’t even able to give out free concert tickets because no one felt like calling in to their show. And since becoming editor-in-chief myself, I still have yet to receive a letter to the editor, positive or negative.
If you’re a journalism major and the idea of going out and reporting on breaking news doesn’t get your investigative juices flowing or your heart beating, you might want to consider a change in plans.