I was lucky. I got a plum journalism job right out of college, no grunt work on local papers or time spent in graduate school required. But even if I hadn't been so lucky, I wouldn't have gone the J School route for much the reasons Jonathan Last identifies:
The running theme [in J school] is an emphasis on process and the "craft" of journalism: nut grafs, ledes, kickers, inverted pyramids and the rest. Yet this seems a waste of time. Schooling is expensive. A four-year undergraduate education can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000. Grad school is just as bad. The one-year graduate program at Columbia is $38,500.
Yet when it comes to learning about the style and craft of writing, an education can be had for much less. Amazon.com sells the complete archives of the New Yorker on DVD for $63--it's hard to see how a classroom discussion of story structure could be much more valuable than reading and studying the work of the greats, from Truman Capote to David Grann.
Instead of educating future journalists on the nuts and bolts of journalism--because let's be honest, it isn't rocket science or even carpentry--it would make more sense simply to teach them things. Facts, it turns out, are useful.
Most people can write a nut graph after 30 minutes of practice, but comparatively few people can explain, say, econometrics, or fluid dynamics, or the history of the French Revolution. Aspiring journalists don't need trade-craft--they need a liberal-arts education that gives them a base of mastery in actual academic subjects.
Word. I'd add that I really regret not majoring in economics or otherwise receiving formal policy training. I've made it a point to study social policy (particularly health care) on my own, and it's been by far the best thing I've done for my writing. But guided work would've probably kept me from making quite a few mistakes. What's lucky is that my blog is read by enough bright people that I can get the guidance, and corrections, that I need.
I'd also add that starting a blog and updating it daily is better training than anything academia can offer. It teaches you to write quickly, write often, and write well. If I were to create my own course for prospective writers, it would basically consist of writing a blog about think tank documents -- those who wanted to be reporters would have to publish interviews, as well. As it is, most anyone can write, but not everyone can write quickly, and only a few put in the time to write informatively. By selling journalism as a collection of technical skills rather than a mandate to effectively mediate between specialists and laymen, J schools are entrenching much that makes the profession weak and ineffective. Were journalists more educated in their fields, they'd be less willing to swallow spin and fluff from their subjects. As it is, lacking independent expertise, they're dependent on sources who rarely have their best interests at heart.
