KS Stops Funding Student Journalism

[EV_Ares]

Bad News for Kansas:

Both the federal Trade and Communication commissions are studying how Uncle Sam can help the flagging news business. But while federal subsidies may be coming, state support for journalism is on the wane. The clearest example is public television, which relies on a mix of federal, local, and private funding to fulfill a mandate of news and educational programming. Federal sources have not slowed in recent years, but state support dropped sharply in 2009, according to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which puts the damage at $36 million nationwide. This year, more than half the states are expected to make further cuts, with public-affairs coverage often taking the hardest hit.

In Kansas, it’s not the news that’s being defunded but its youngest providers: journalism students. Earlier this month, the state’s Department of Education decided to stop funding high-school instruction in the subject. Schools are free to raise their own money, but that’s not a path officials would recommend.

After a review of labor-market data, the state deemed journalism a dying industry unfit for public funds, which are meant for “high-demand, high-skill or high-wage” jobs.

Link: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/18/kansas-stops-funding-student-journalism.html

[KharmaTrain]

1. Another Byproduct of the Times...

State subsidies for public broadcasting have to fight for the shrinking budgets that are straining all types of services. With the loss of revenues from the boooosh tax cuts for the rich to the drop in both retail and property taxes, there's not enough money to go around and this means something has to be cut. Now this could be road construction or public TV.

[madrchsod]

2. "war, what is it good for......."

[Davis_X_Machina]

3. They should subsidize coursework...

...in marketing, which is what is replacing journalism.

That is what companies are paying for today, and what the people gleefully consume.

[ThomWV]

4. see that word "or" in the last line?

that word "or" in the last lines means that journalism is not considered a high-skill job, never mind the high-demand or high-wage questions. In a society where not one person in four can complete a full sentence how is Journalism not a high-skill job?

[SheilaT]

5. Considering that old time journalists

think that a journalism major in college is a complete waste of time, I honestly don't see this as a tragedy.