Medill embraces lousy name change

The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University wants a longer, uglier name. It's fitting, given the state of communication these days - lots of vague words and neo-jargonism trying to show a sense of knowledge about an unknown future.

The new name: The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing

Mark Oppenheimer does a good job explaining why the change is misguided:

First, what an ugly, clumsy name! What the hell is “integrated marketing” anyway? Anybody who knows probably doesn’t need to take a class in it. And if a journalism student of mine ever wrote anything as obtuse as that, I would give him or her a C, at best.

Second, we all should be a little concerned that the same schools that teach people to see through bogus claims are also the same schools teaching students how to perpetuate bogus claims. Journalism and marketing are at odds. Not always, of course. Heck, most journalism is not about exposing some hidden truth, and most marketing is not about deceiving people. But much of the time journalists and marketers are at odds: the former trying to see through spin or propaganda or advertising, the latter trying to spin, propagandize, advertise.

Prosecutors claim j-school students bought favorable interviews

Faced with a new report that casts doubt on the 1978 murder conviction of Anthony McKinney, Cook County prosecutors have launched a campaign to discredit the work of the current and former students at the Medill School of Journalism who prepared the report.

In a Tuesday court hearing, prosecutors alleged that students paid witnesses for favorable interviews - $50-$100 in one case, $40 in another. The hearing is part of an effort by prosecutors to force the students to turn over off-the-record interviews, notes and even grade information about their investigation.

From the New York Times:

After the hearing, a former student, Evan Benn, who works for The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, said he had given the cab driver $60 because the driver had estimated it would cost at least $50 to take Mr. Drakes where he wanted to go. It was not supposed to be a payment for Mr. Drakes, Mr. Benn said.

So prosecutors think the students coerced a witness into placing himself at the scene of a murder with an implicit promise to give him the change from a cab ride? The man who headed the student project defended their work, and dismissed the prosecutors' allegations. From the Chicago Tribune:

Professor David Protess, of the university's Medill School of Journalism, called the filing "so filled with factual errors that if my students had done this kind of reporting or investigating, I would have given them an F."

Four in the evening

1. A familiar tune: Journalism students at the Medill Innocence Project raise serious doubts about a murder conviction and now the county's new prosecutor wants to raise doubts about the journalism students' methods. Meantime, the guy who was convicted remains in prison. NYT

2. Secret signings: The U.S. Supreme Court decides that, at least for now, signatures in favor of ballot measures should be kept private. LAT

3. The bully we've been waiting for: Ron Kaye applauds L.A. City Attorney Carmen Trutanich for his shaking his fist at City Hall. Ron Kaye L.A.

4. The membership model: Talking Points Memo is exploring the idea of creating a membership section. Nieman Lab

Brand journalism

The journalism job market looks a little weak right now and Medill has a suggestion for the frustrated mid-career hack: Be your own brand! Here's the ad:

Attention JOURNALISTS!

Do you want to:

Know more about technologies, audiences, marketing and business issues?
Develop specialized skills?
Create or run a media enterprise?
Be your own brand?

Medill’s graduate program for experienced professionals takes just nine months and offers a variety of courses in journalism, marketing and management.

Want to learn more? Visit www.renewandretool.com to apply. Mention you saw this on Journalismnext.com when contacting us.