Journalism is dead. Long live info technology

The University of Colorado is looking at discontinuing its journalism school and replacing it with a new interdisciplinary "information and communication technology" program, according to the Associated Press.

On Sept. 1, a committee will start the process of "program discontinuance" for the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, which has 28 faculty, 647 undergraduate students, 58 in the master's degree program and 26 doctoral students, according to the AP report. "A separate exploratory committee will determine what a new interdisciplinary 'information and communication technology' program could look like."

I find this news disturbing. While the media industry is clearly going through major changes and we all need to be teaching and learning new skills, I think it's wrong to dismantle a robust journalism program. We need to keep the journalism -- basic writing and reporting, media ethics, good writing, etc. -- and add new skills to the curriculum.

What do you think?