J-School summary

(1). The writer of the blog is Patrick Thornton.
(2). In his blog article titled “Let’s be honest about J-school”, Patrick Thornton opts to inform his readers of the pro’s and con’s of attending journalism school, and is true to his title by being honest about why it is not as glamorous a job as is often depicted. He plainly states that students who are not open to change, and will not work hard and get their hands dirty are not suitable to be journalists.
Thornton divides his article into sub headings that each have their own criticisms (whether constructive or not) and comments that support his claims, such as Columbia having been a ‘top-ranked’ Journalism school many years ago, but not being one anymore. He says that J-school is not enough to encourage students to start their own ventures and become entrepreneurs, and that the networking is not the only thing one would benefit from whilst attending Columbia.
His subsequent sub heading, called “Professors matter”, has Thornton personally naming and honouring professors at various institutions (Journalism schools), and he emphasizes the importance of a professor who wants to encourage positive change in the media sphere, and appreciates all web-related aspects of journalism. Thornton adds that a professor who can write valuable blogs is also an advantage.
Thornton then goes on to stress the importance of having an undergraduate degree, whether it is one in journalism or not. He states the benefits of attending J-school as either an undergraduate or graduate, and when one should consider attending either of the two.
Under his “Connections” sub heading, Thornton highlights the source of his connection and network-building as being his blogs, and other journalism websites, as opposed to J-school as one would assume. He also attributes his successful connections to journalism social events and parties. To some extent, he plainly disregards J-school as a site for connections to be made.
As alternative learning options such as gaining writing and research skills, Thornton suggests that students sign up for (sometimes free) journalism courses and sites that would cost a fraction of what obtaining a degree would. In effect they have similar benefits.
In his concluding section, “Writing skills are overrated”, Thornton emphasizes that a good journalist is not one who has excellent writing skills, but rather outstanding reporting skills and is thus an excellent reporter. He merely says that “No amount of great writing will cover up for shoddy reporting. Never.”


Semenya blog response:
"I think that there is some justification in the speculation of Semenya’s gender, as I was even taken aback when I saw her masculine image for the first time, running amidst fellow female women athletes. However, the way the IAAF has handled the situation has been morally demeaning and embarrassing, and could have been done discreetly at a later stage."