First initiative -- hire an editor

Finally had a minute today to read a bit more on the Carnegie Corporation/Knight Foundation initiative to reinvigorate journalism education.

Don't know how I feel about all this, except to note the rich seem to get richer, if you know what I mean.

But while some of the partners are talking about de-emphasizing the skills training, etc., etc., and becoming a fuller part of the university community (rough translation: We're running a bit scared here because to be an equal player we have to do "research," which is darn hard when the industry doesn't do much to fund it.), they might want to rethink de-emphasizing the editing skill too much. Not when there are sentences like this on the Web site:

The Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University is planning to offer two new courses for undergraduate journalists as part of a larger effort at the school to continue its history of enriching the curriculum. (Move this sentence through innovative approaches to journalism education and cutting-edge training in the undercovered, important and complex issues that tomorrow's journalists will need to be able to explain to their audiences to help ensure an informed electorate move). The two courses, The Nexus Between the Media and Military in Conflicts and Terrorism and News and Numbers: Statistics and Analytical Research for Journalists represents an important step forward in the quality and substance of journalism education for the school. These courses also continue Medill's innovative approach to journalism education and cutting-edge training in the, important and complex issues that tomorrow's journalists will need to be able to explain to their audiences to help ensure an informed public.

(Might try putting a comma between "Journalists" and "represents," too. And "courses ... represents"? Oh, and about that comma between "the" and "important" ...)

Enough said?