J School Heads Show Again How Out of Touch They Are
In an op-ed piece some heads of Journalism/Communications schools advocate the government require TV and radio stations to carry more news if they are to retain their license to broadcast.
“The F.C.C. ought to treat a broadcast licensee’s commitment of resources to original local reporting on public affairs as a key factor in its decisions about regulatory issues,” the deans said. “Companies should be required to make a persuasive case that they will increase their commitment to local reporting if they get what they want - whether they aspire to own broadcast properties and newspapers in the same market; or, thanks to the onset of digital television, to turn every channel they control into several channels; or to expand their national market share in broadcasting or cable television.”
Here are the illustrious ivory tower dwellers that advocate more government control over the news and the airways. (It’s just so ridiculous to write that statement!)
- Roderick P. Hart, dean of the University of Texas journalism school;
- Alex S. Jones, director of Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy;
- Thomas Kunkel, dean of the University of Maryland journalism school;
- Nicholas Lemann, dean of the Columbia Journalism School;
- John Levine, dean of the Northwestern journalism school;
- Dean Mills, dean of the University of Missouri journalism school;
- David M. Rubin, dean of the Syracuse school of public communications;
- Ernest Wilson, dean of the University of Southern California school of communication.