Cries from the Titanic   

Reading your August/September issue was like reading about the slow sinking of the Titanic, complete with anguished cries and final, gurgling screams.

Film critics shown the door. Doctored photos. Star Tribulations. Ken Sands leaving the newspaper industry after 26 years of "gloom and doom."

No wonder our students get their news from Jon Stewart. He's funny. Who wants to embrace a medium that's obsessed with brooding over its own demise?

It's time for journalism schools to abandon the newspaper industry as their primary point of reference. Print journalism is a declining industry with little or no future need for great numbers of writers and editors. Clinging to the newspaper industry brings a gloominess to the endeavor that serves young people poorly. They need to be sent into the world with hope and purpose. And marketable skills.

Ditch the "inverted pyramid." Embrace the Internet.

Mark Dewey
Austin, Texas