Malcolm Gladwell’s Advice For Young Journalists: Skip J-School

Time.com has a new Q&A with author and New Yorker essayist Malcolm Gladwell, as he promotes his latest book, a collection of New Yorker pieces entitled What the Dog Saw.

The last question, in which Gladwell offers advice to young journalists, caught our eye:

“Aspiring journalists should stop going to journalism programs and go to some other kind of grad school. If I was studying today, I would go get a master’s in statistics, and maybe do a bunch of accounting courses and then write from that perspective. I think that’s the way to survive. The role of the generalist is diminishing. Journalism has to get smarter.”

Although journalism programs at graduate schools saw an increase in enrollment this year, we’re sure there are a few people who would agree with Gladwell, maybe even including some recently laid off reporters with J-school degrees.

What do you think?

Author Malcolm Gladwell — Time.com

(Photo via Flickr)

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