After some brutal years, there are signs of life.
Much as the journalistic pursuit of a crooked
president in the 1970s inspired a generation,
another leader who denounces reporters as
enemies on a nearly daily basis has given birth
to a new resolve: Enrollment in journalism
programs is up.
“When I look at local news and see what’s
happening, I’m pessimistic,” said Kathleen
Culver, journalism professor at the University of
Wisconsin at Madison. “When I look at 18- and
20-year-olds and see what they want to do,
I’m optimistic.”
Thousands of young journalists train for the
future on a dual track, in classrooms and in
student-run newsrooms that are models for the
places they hope to work someday.
For Robertson, that means hours a day in a
dingy office with yellowed headlines glued to
the wall, metal file cabinets signed by editors
dating back nearly 50 years and a ripped