Cronkite students, staff and visiting fellows from the Scripps Howard Journalism Entrepreneurship Institute were invited to a book signing with author, blogger and professor at City University of New York’s graduate journalism school Jeff Jarvis on Wednesday afternoon.
Originally a traditional journalist, Jarvis has since realized the importance of entrepreneurial journalism. His latest book, “Public Parts,” emphasizes the importance of the Internet in an age of information sharing. According to Jarvis, he did not have just one single motivation for writing “Public Parts,” but after hearing so much discussion about the necessity of privacy he decided to take the opposite stance.
“Privacy needs protection, but the Internet is a tool of publicness, and we also need to protect this publicness,” Jarvis said.
Jarvis saw that many laws surrounding the idea of privacy on the Internet were already in place, yet the conversation still revolved around the negativity of information sharing.
“Technology creates change. Change creates fear. Fear creates resistance,” Jarvis said.
In his book, Jarvis argues people should pay more attention to the benefits of information sharing on the Internet, instead of resisting this change and focusing solely on the people who choose to abuse their power through technology.
Linda Menck, a professor of Emerging Media at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin attended the book signing in the First Amendment Forum. Menck, who has been following Jarvis’s blog for a while, was glad to have the opportunity to speak with him and have him sign her copy of “Public Parts.”
As a journalism professor, she said she saw the effects of a more open world with the constant development of the Internet.
“It is met sometimes with a lot of resistance, not by students, but from faculty. Students are receptive to this change,” Menck said.
Earlier in the day, Jarvis spoke with journalism professors from across the country about the importance of entrepreneurial journalism education.
His morning speech was the only opportunity for students and staff to be involved who were not a part of the Scripps Howard Journalism Entrepreneurship Institute. It largely revolved around his degree structure as a professor at City University of New York’s graduate journalism school, the first program to offer a masters degree for Entrepreneurial Journalism.
“Journalism students come to journalism schools wanting to emulate what they’ve seen,” Jarvis said.
This was the ultimate downfall of past journalism education, he said. At City University of New York they teach their students to create their own jobs and develop innovative start-up businesses.
“The purpose of the class is to make journalism sustainable,” Jarvis said, adding that it is important to teach students “to harm the business that we are teaching them.”
Contact the reporter at jessica.boehm@asu.edu.
