Media Snob Journalism

We in the news business have many problems: a declining appetite for news among the young; a breakdown between news and entertainment values; public mistrust over our power and objectivity. But now we have a new problem or, rather, a new nuisance: Lee Bollinger.
Bollinger's vision amounts to snob journalism: journalism by an elite for an elite. He believes that most journalists should be credentialed by universities -- a graduate process he suggests should be lengthened from one to two years. Journalism, he says, should be seen (and should see itself) as a profession' -- presumably like law, medicine, accounting or architecture. These are bad ideas that, if adopted, would reduce journalism's relevance and raise public mistrust. They might also worsen journalism's central problem: loss of audience.
· Snobs [WashingtonPost ]