The Denver Post is making some changes in-house, and there are very few people more qualified as an adviser of a newspaper than Frederick Cole. Cole hopes to bring a hard-working mentality back to the newspaper business.
Cole, 83, never graduated high school, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know the business of editing. He began his editing career at The Chicago Sun, at 30-years-old, and went on as an editor in five different states. Cole retired over a year ago, but still thinks of himself as the head of the newsroom saying, “can’t get the business out of my system”. And he may be just the person to help turn this local newspaper in the right direction.
Known as a harsh editor, Cole raises many questions regarding the new generation of journalists. He doesn’t believe they are prepared for the journalism world the way he was, and he is very passionate about the education of up-and-coming journalism students. “What we need to do is candidly appraise the weaknesses of today's journalism education—and then do something about it”, Cole said when asked about the education journalism students receive.
The number of journalism students around the country is steady rising with each generation according to the High Beam Research Company, and Cole has a simple plan for how to create a better education program for these students, “If students can't dig, write or spell, counsel them—or flunk them out. You'll be doing them a favor, for we don't want them.”
Cole also thinks it is appropriate for students to be more involved in other fields, rather than exclusively journalism. By obtaining a knowledge of more fields, it will make it easier to cover those fields, thus producing a better story. A smiling Cole explains, “We're getting too many hopefuls who lack a background in economics, literature, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. They know little of local government. And they can't even report to the office on time.”
Each journalism student enters the field with a slate as white as the hair on Cole’s head, and it is the job of educators to prepare those students for the type of newsroom that Cole created in his editing days, which is what the Denver Post hopes to emulate. That environment is not always the most welcoming Cole says, “Many students are going to be terribly disappointed because they simply are in the wrong field. Journalism requires an outlook, a mental discipline, a curiosity and, above all, a willingness to work hard day and night.” As harsh as that sounds, there are not many more people qualified to make that statement as Frederick Cole.
very nice article. it was a good report
ReplyDelete