Hackers wanted! Scholarships available to coders who'll come to journalism and help save democracy

[Are_grits_groceries]

It's not news that journalism is in crisis. CNN turned newspapers into first-day fishwrap and Craigslist killed the business model. Solutions are scarce, and our democracy is at risk. I don't have a chart to guide our way through the darkness to Citizenry 2.0, but there are some who can navigate the singularity.

Journalism needs great hackers. Not just nerds, but programmers who care -- about the values of journalism and the power of a free press to hold government accountable. Luckily, hackers are a freedom-minded bunch. The free software movement is rooted in many of the same principals that guide journalism. But news organizations aren't very sexy places to work -- especially now, as layoffs, bankruptcy and closures plague the industry. So how can we bring nerds to the news? One old-skool school is trying.

Free beer school!

Tell your programmer friends: The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University is giving away full scholarships, plus expenses, to software developers.They can get a masters degree in journalism, gratis, from one of the most prestigious J-schools around.

http://radar.oreilly.com/2009/05/hackers-wanted-journalism-need.html

FYI.

[rvablue]

1. Kick! n/t

[blogslut]

2. Lil' blogslut is a J-major

But she's also the webmaster of her school's newspaper. I have told her many times to keep honing her computer skills because the day will come when her coder abilities will be a non-negotiable requirement for all journalists.

At the moment, her department treats her abilities as an adorable accessory. Eventually, they'll discover she was ahead of her time.

Fact is, there isn't one decent web-centric program offered by any university in this nation.