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CUNY and Convergence

Dean Stephen Shepard of the City University of New York�s graduate journalism program talks about developing a graduate journalism program with convergence and new media in mind in this intervew published in Convergence Newsletter published by The College of Mass Communications and Information Studies at the University of South Carolina.

Q: In The Chronicle of Higher Education you stated CUNY is starting the Graduate School of Journalism from scratch. Would you share a few words about your plans?

A: It is going to be a three-semester program with summer internships between the second and third semesters. We decided on three semesters because we didn�t think it (the program) could be done in one year and perhaps two years would be too long, so we settled on one and half years.

We are seeking convergent media tracks, blending print and broadcast media with elements of new media. New media will be a required course in the first semester, as well as a separate track in the program. All students will have the opportunity to study new media.

There will be subject concentrations for all students, including business and economics, urban journalism and health and medicine. A year later we will add arts and culture. Each concentration will require a three-course sequence.

We are also building a 40,000-square-foot building in the heart of Times Square in the building that housed the New York Herald Tribune. It will be wireless and [state of the art].

Our school will offer a Master of Arts degree. Like Columbia and Berkeley we will not offer undergraduate courses.

Q: What is your definition or understanding of convergence?

A: Convergence means that text, audio, video, interactivity and hyper-linking will all come together in news packages. All journalists will have to learn about audio, video, hyper-linking and interactivity.

Q: How are you going to teach or not teach convergence in the department?

A: We have hired one of the leading experts, Jeff Jarvis. He is a leading blogger and founding editor of Entertainment Weekly. He also worked at the Newhouse organization developing Web sites and their newspapers and as a consultant to the New York Times Company. We will figure it out together. As in any field, you hire the best.

Q: What are you looking for in your faculty in regards to convergence?

A: We are looking to hire faculty in traditional journalism but are looking for people who understand that the world is changing.

Q: Do you think your program will change in the future in response to convergence?

A: Yes, but we don�t know exactly how. There is an advantage to starting now to build in from scratch as much as possible.

Q: What do you think the CUNY graduate journalism program will be known for?

A: The school will be known for new media, traditional journalism, high ethics standards, a community news service, a good internship program and getting students placed in good jobs. And we will attract a diverse group of students.

Q: In regards to convergence, what do you think is the biggest need the academy should address?

A: An understanding of how new media fit in [is needed], what standards there should be for blogging, and anything else that comes along. There is a tendency to throw out the old, but we need to [cover] the best of both worlds. There has to be a synthesis of old and new. We need to teach new skills and old skills.

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