We often like to think that Foggy Bottom is the center of the world. While this isn’t always the case, Washington D.C. does happen to be a journalistic Mecca.
As such, GW’s journalism program should be leading the pack when it comes to producing the next generation of reporters and editors – and currently, it simply isn’t. There is no reason why we should not have a premier institution; for that to happen the School of Media and Public Affairs needs to redefine its grand-scale vision.
Earlier this week, SMPA Director Lee Huebner tendered his resignation after a short three years at GW, citing too many administrative duties as a reason for leaving. Whether this is a good or bad thing for the school remains to be seen, but the next director needs have strong leadership and be able to buoy our journalism program to where it rightfully belongs.
The problem is that SMPA is currently divided into two camps: former and current journalists teaching straight journalism and others who are more supportive of the school’s political communications program. There is no way to optimize both of these facets at the same time.
The solution is to separate political communication from SMPA once and for all by integrating it into the political science department. That would leave SMPA as a journalism school, free to pursue cutting-edge journalistic endeavors without marginalizing the other half of its identity. Most of the top journalism undergraduate schools in the country are called a “School of Journalism,” not a School of Media and Public Affairs or anything else of the sort.
This rather radical division will only work if the new journalism program is headed by a seasoned journalist. There are plenty of academic fields where a strong background in academia is the best qualification, but journalism is a hands-on field, and practice must be stressed over theory.
SMPA is not a school in crisis, but it simply is not where it should – and must – be if it is to become a true asset to GW. The school has a lot of things going for it; the impressive building, the motivated students and the optimal location should make it easy to rise through the ranks under strong leadership, provided it clearly defines its ambitions early on.
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