Bob Schieffer introduces new director, new era for the College of Communication
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Fort Worth, TX
1/16/2009
Excerpts of a story by Rick Waters, TCU Magazine (view complete story with renderings)
The Schieffer School of Journalism named John Lumpkin the program's new director on Dec. 22. Lumpkin, a vice president and former bureau chief for the Associated Press, will assume the role on June 1.
"John is first and foremost a reporter and a news executive," said Bob Schieffer '59, moderator of CBS News' "Face the Nation" who introduced Lumpkin to the university community this afternoon. "He brings a wealth of real world experience that we need to take the school to a new level. He is widely known and greatly respected in the journalism community and we are fortunate to get him.”
Lumpkin will continue his position at the AP through May.
"I have had a great run with the greatest news organization in the world and will miss it, but I am excited for this opportunity and the tremendous potential TCU and the Schieffer School have to offer."
The Future of the Schieffer School of Journalism
Schieffer and Lumpkin also used the introductory event to unveil renderings for the $7 million media convergence lab for students to produce news reports for multiple media platforms from traditional print to online video. It would function along with the TCU Daily Skiff newsroom. Construction is scheduled to begin in May and finish by January 2010.
"The goal is to make the Schieffer School one of the top, if not the top, journalism programs in the country," Lumpkin said. "It should be mentioned in the same breath with Northwestern and Missouri and others."
The technological improvements are "critical" to train future journalists who can exhibit their reporting and writing skills across multiple platforms, he said. He also credited scholar-practitioners in the faculty with developing those skills and help students understand how to maximize the technology and resources.
"Journalism and mass communication is changing rapidly, but it still comes down to reporting – knowing where and how to find news, accurately gather and check facts, prioritize and organize the information, and communicate it in a compelling way.," he said. "“That’s true of print, television, radio, the Internet."
Schieffer agreed. "Our emphasis will be on individual reporting training," he said.
Lumpkin said he would like to eventually teach in the school, in addition to his directorial duties. Schieffer, however, plans to continue his career with CBS News for the near term, but he will organize and host his annual symposium in the spring.
"I'd also like to start some journalism workshops during the year," he said. "I have a lot of friends and colleagues in the business and I envision bringing them to events on special topics, such as law enforcement coverage, courthouse reporting, feature writing."
The school recently partnered with the Washington D.C. think tank CSIS and hosts monthly symposia on world affairs.
Lumpkin envisions a more formalized recruiting process of students.
