How the media can destroy or strengthen higher education in the U.S.  

By Dr. Keith Orlando Hilton
Special to USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston
www.USAfricaonline.com

In the mid-1980s, I came to California by way of Long Island, New York. My deeper roots are in Virginia (and of course, Africa).  I moved to Northern California last summer (1998) to join the faculty at the University of the Pacific in Stockton. Since moving to Northern California, I refuse to do any jokes about Southern California, as in "So what California." Likewise, I don't do Northern California jokes, as in "Nothing California". There is so much upside to being in California at this time.  In fact, my friends from my East Coast days will also tell you that I don't tell New Jersey, Pittsburgh or Cleveland jokes either. 

With almost one hundred U.S.-African colleges and universities throughout the country, led by such schools as Clark Atlanta, Howard, Texas Southern and Morgan, the African American education enterprise just seems to be positioned with other top U.S. universities, to be a major contributor to the economic, cultural and intellectual development of this nation for years to come. (Hilton is writing a summer critique of these schools.)

 This is especially true if the local and national media continue to tell higher educationís stories with finesse and fairness. This especially means telling the stories of people of African descent in higher education. Higher education covers a little bit of everything, from politics to crime, economics to race relations and entertainment to sports. These and other stories are often ripe and juicy. The challenge is being able to tell the more engaging ones with skill and honesty.

 With an array of news directions like these, the immediate big questions are: "Can the media destroy or strengthen higher education in the United States?" And "What should the media's role be?"

 It is highly unlikely that the media can destroy the nation's higher education enterprise. However, what is certain is that both need each other as we move into the 21st century.

 Today's media are dominated by daily and weekly newspapers (including the Black press), the Internet, bulletin-board and on-line computer services, books, magazines, radio, television and the motion picture industry. These general and specialized media continue to be instrumental in telling higher education's story to hundreds of thousands of educated consumers in the immediate region.

 We see these stories in such forms as the 1998 movie "The faculty"; U.S. News & World Report's annual "America's Best Colleges" guide; ongoing coverage in award winning daily and weekly newspapers such as The Los Angeles Times, The Times of London and the Miami Times.

 The media - especially newspapers - are read by college faculty and administrators, as well as by a growing number of students, who are also discovering national issues such as the president's recently ended impeachment trial, the 1999 NBA season and other juicy news bits.

 According to Alexander Astin of UCLA, "the traditional activities of American higher education are research, teaching and public service, and the functions of these activities are varied."

 If indeed journalism history is the story of humanity's long struggle to communicate with each other - to dig out and interpret news and to offer intelligent opinion and entertaining thoughts in the marketplace of ideas- then the field of higher education, consisting of over 3,500 colleges and universities, remains an exciting place to be. The Harvards, Stanfords, Michigans and Fisks of the world will survive with or without daily media attention; so will U.S. African colleges and universities with long standing traditions in their cities and regions.  However, those colleges on the margins or with small endowments or enrollments will surely appreciate the press on a different level. 
Hilton, professor at University of the Pacific Communication Department in California, joined our team in 1998 as Contributing Editor of USAfricaonline.com, USAfrica The Newspaper and The Black Business Journal.