Board’s action gives ASU journalism new chance
By Roy Ockert Jr.
Arkansas State University’s Board of Trustees on Friday corrected some of the damage done by administrative reorganizations of the past five years. Those actions have almost destroyed what was once Arkansas’ premier program in journalism education.
The board unanimously passed a resolution that would establish, effective July 1, a School of Media and Journalism within the College of Liberal Arts and Communication, which itself resulted from a merger in 2015 of three colleges under the administration of then-Chancellor Tim Hudson.
The resolution summarizes the problem beautifully: “The dissolution of this college has resulted in challenges with program identity and program growth. Reorganization … is needed to better meet the needs of students, curriculum and faculty; to restore identity with alumni, donors and other external constituencies; and to allow for continued growth of these disciplines.”
“The large size of the College of Liberal Arts and Communication has limited the amount of time that can be devoted to media and journalism programs that have long served as public faces of the university,” the resolution says.
Indeed, that’s what some alumni and faculty tried to tell the administration in 2015, but the reorganization plan was sold under the guise of greater efficiency and savings. Never mind what the changes would do to students present and future, or whether it would attract students in the future.
The journalism program that my mentor, L.W. “Tex” Plunkett, established in the 1940s and built into the best in Arkansas, is almost gone, a victim of neglect, suppression and bureaucratic meddling. Tex also paved the way for superb programs in broadcasting, photography, printing and public relations-advertising.
The secret to success was to make sure the students were well schooled in the fundamentals of writing, reporting, editing and the law. We could learn the tools of the trade in the field, but there was no hope for a reporter or producer who couldn’t get the facts straight or mold them into a good story.
With such outstanding teachers as Joel Gambill, Charles Rasberry, Darrel Cunningham, Bonnie Thrasher, Gene Ballard and Markham Howe, the Division of Radio-TV, Journalism and Printing became the College of Communications, and its graduates spread out into media positions in almost every Arkansas community and in many places across the country.
It’s no accident that ASU finally gained its fair share of media attention. Our alumni made sure of it.
Reorganization can have a side benefit for administrators. Student journalists can be troublesome, asking difficult questions and producing stories that the academicians would rather not see the light of day. Witness the recent suspension of the high school newspaper at Springdale.
ASU began burying the journalism program in 2013, with a reorganization plan produced by Brad Rawlins, then the first-year dean of the College of Communications. With Hudson’s support he shuffled the various programs and faculty members into renamed departments under a longer college name, Media and Communication.
The word “journalism” appeared nowhere in any part of the new administrative structure. Rawlins announced his plan two days before he intended to bring it to the Board of Trustees without consulting with either of the two active alumni advisory boards in the college and with little, if any faculty support.
Quite a few alumni objected, and Rawlins postponed the board presentation, scheduling a forum to air the issues. Among other things I argued that taking journalism out of the departmental name would destroy the program’s identity. A survey showed that of 108 accredited college journalism programs across the country, 72 still had “journalism” in the name of the department and-or college.
Rawlins went ahead with the reorganization anyway because Hudson wanted “big changes,” and the board approved it. Focus changed from the fundamentals to fancy new media tools. Later Rawlins told me taking journalism out of the name was a mistake. By then there was no doubt.
The reorganization of 2015 made matters worse. The College of Media and Communication was merged with the colleges of Fine Arts and Humanities & Social Sciences. Three of the smallest colleges became the second largest. The 24 communications faculty became part of an organizational chart of 165, operating in five different buildings.
Some have argued that “since newspapers are dying,” there is no future in journalism. While the newspaper business is certainly struggling, it is far from dead. Newspapers still produce the best journalism of any media, though you may not realize it when you read the work of newspaper journalists on social media. Further, journalists are needed now more than ever by the burgeoning media scene. Whatever the future of newspapers, there are more opportunities than ever for young people who can write well, edit, take good pictures, design publications and broadcast the news with audio and-or video.
Meanwhile, the University of Arkansas’ journalism program has been thriving.
I don’t know if ASU’s journalism program can rebound, but Friday’s board action is the first positive step in that direction in more than five years. Credit for this plan should go to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Communication, Dr. Carl Cates, who recognized the need to restore the programs that helped put ASU on the map and produced many fine journalists, broadcasters and communicators. Also, ASU now has a chancellor, Dr. Kelly Damphousse, who understands the value of such programs and who listens to the ideas of others.
Roy Ockert is a former editor of The Jonesboro Sun, The Courier at Russellville and The Batesville Guard. He can be reached at royo@suddenlink.net.