COLUMN: Farewell to the penthouse
I rode the creaky elevator to the top floor of Moore Hall and wandered slowly down the dimly lit hall.
It was my first day of college and the first of many times that I’d make that familiar walk. I glanced with skepticism at the tiny faculty offices lining the hallway as I passed.
“What can I really learn about journalism from this quirky bunch with their funny door decorations?” I wondered.
Answer: A lot.
At J-schools around the country, aspiring watchdogs are learning the inverted pyramid (if it bleeds, it leads!) and other tricks of the trade. Instructors are tasked with teaching the next generation of muckrakers how to do a tough job as it goes through an unprecedented transformation, making it even more difficult.
It’s no secret Central Michigan University is not considered one of the best journalism schools in the country by the professional world. According to a recent list by a blog sponsored by the Associate Collegiate Press, it's not even in the top-50.
Despite its award-winning student newspaper, what attracted me there in the first place, I began to worry CMU might be more of a black eye on my resume than an asset.
But, upon graduation, I realize no matter how many Pulitzers your faculty and alumni have won, they don’t have one thing: The penthouse.
They don’t have instructors who fake their own death in front of the class in order to teach students how to write an obituary or who will equip them with the same green visors and reporters’ notebooks used by Woodward and Bernstein during Watergate.
They can’t have tea after class with one of Russia’s finest all-around journalists while Russian music creeps into the hall.
They don’t get the chance to argue face-to-face with the members of the Westboro Baptist Church, visiting campus thanks to a personal invitation by a media law professor to demonstrate just how far our First Amendment rights can go.
And, they probably don’t get their stories torn apart in front of the class by the department’s patriarch, who then invites them out for beer and pizza after the humiliation.
But, beyond their differences and quirks, the CMU journalism faculty all have one thing in common: they sincerely care about their students.
Every day, we wake up to learn of a new round of layoffs at dailies around the country. When many told me I couldn’t make it in this industry, myself included at times, they always told me I could.
Today’s journalism industry has no shortage of doomsayers, but students who take advantage of the faculty, CM Life and the strong network of alumni will be successful. Good reporting jobs do still exist, and they are obtainable for those who really want them. The pay will be low and the hours will be long, but those who simply cannot envision themselves doing anything else should take comfort in knowing they don't have to.
People still care about the world around them, where their tax dollars are going and what their elected officials are really up to. The fourth estate is absolutely vital in our society, now more than ever.
As I begin my professional reporting career, I owe a large part of whatever future success I might have to the faculty. I will take your lessons, both professional and personal, along with me wherever I go.
Long live journalism. Long live CMU. Long live the penthouse.
