Issue date: 7/17/03 Section: Front Page

Dean of the College of Liberal Arts Charles Johnson said he will not reconsider his recommendation to close the journalism department, despite meeting with former journalism students and members of the journalism industry Wednesday.

Members of the Former Journalists Students Association, The Associated Press, the Dallas Morning News, Bloomberg News, the San Antonio Express-News, Texas Aggie Magazine and other media organizations met with Johnson in hopes that he would reconsider his decision and find a department head or merge journalism with the Department of Communication.

"It is true not everyone (in the field) is a journalism major; in fact, I advised students who asked me if it is crucial to be a journalism major and said it is not crucial at all," said Stu Wilk, vice president and managing editor for the Dallas Morning News. "However, it is one thing to not major in journalism and another thing to go to a university that doesn't have a journalism department."

Johnson said when he made his decision he did not consult people in the journalism industry to see how they recruit graduates and what experience they are looking for.

"I did have a fair amount of input from the external review team," he said.

A consulting team evaluated the journalism program in 2001 to suggest possibilities for the department.

Johnson said he consulted other universities, but did not reach out to those who taught on the high school level to see what they looked for when recommending a journalism program.

Sue Smith, deputy managing editor and recruiter for the Dallas Morning News, said she employs graduates with a variety of degrees, but that they come from schools that have journalism programs.

"I think there is a lot you can learn through the journalism department, even if it is not your major," she said.

John Lumpkin, Dallas bureau chief for The Associated Press, said he went to the University of Virginia, a school that did not have a journalism program, and has been successful, but that he would not be hired by the AP in today's competitive market.

"How I am (with the AP) is a fluke," he said. "That would basically be how someone from Texas A&M could get to where (Smith or Wilk) is."

Lumpkin said other schools are moving forward, because the journalism industry is getting broader. He said the students in the next generation need to have special skills, and that the schools that offer training for those skills are the ones that are building new media labs.

"Those are the schools who will produce the talent for the industry's needs," he said.

Johnson acknowledged the importance of internships and said he wants the journalism industry to provide a pathway to provide them to students.

Loren Steffy, FJSA president, said media outlets receive hundreds of internship applications, and a student without a journalism degree is at a disadvantage because of the fierce competition each year.

'I'm not saying a student (without a journalism degree) will not get the internship," he said. "But it sure makes it tougher."

Smith said students have to be encouraged to go and find an internship, something that the A&M journalism department does not do that well. It is crucial for a journalism department to emphasize the importance of an internship at the freshman level, she said.

"They are going to have to have had experience in a professional setting, by that I mean a newsroom. That is what we are looking for," she said."I had one student last year who did not have professional experience, and it did not work out well."

Johnson said he was too far along in the decision process to consider any additional discussions and that he is looking forward to the transition process to take place over the next few years and said he hopes the former journalists will assist him.

The Board of Regents will make a final vote on the issue, but it is unclear when that will be.

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