We Must Get More Yalies Into Journalism!
Yesterday, Court TV and Brill's Content founder Steve Brill gave $1 million to his alma mater, Yale, to create the Yale Journalism Initiative, which will fund journalism courses and financial support for summer interns working in journalism.
"I think it's harder to get good people to go into journalism and succeed," the Yale Daily News quotes Brill saying. And so this program is designed, according the YDN, to encourage overachieving Elis to consider journalism as a viable career option alongside banking or consulting.
The article also quotes one Louise Story, Yale '03, who's in favor of the program: "When I was at Yale there was a wait-list for the journalism classes," she said. "I think it is great that more will be offered."
And it quotes "Jodi Rudoren '92, Chicago bureau chief for The New York Times," who is slightly less enthusiastic.
It does not, however, mention that Louise Story worked as a research assistant on Brill's 2003 book, After — which means she's praising the man who signed her paychecks — or that Times reporter "Jodi Rudoren" is actually named Jodi Wilgoren.
One hopes Brill's funding kicks in soon.
Brillianly: The author of this post worked for Steve Brill at Brill's Content for two and a half years. And he actually likes the guy.
UPDATE: Although her most recent byline, from Jan. 13, reads "Jodi Wilgoren," we are informed that the Times Chicago bureau chief indeed has the last name Rudoren, a commingling of her last name and her husband's. This is, of course, the sort of thing we would have called and asked about had we internalized any of the things Steve Brill tried to teach us. Or, we suppose, if we'd gotten into Yale.
