Bill Grueskin is taking charge of something he never received himself: classroom education in journalism.
Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism announced in June that Grueskin, formerly the deputy managing editor for news at the Wall Street Journal, would become the Journalism School’s dean of academic affairs in September. The post was held by David Klatell for the previous nine years. As an editor at the Journal, Grueskin managed the world’s largest news Web site by paid subscription base.
Although he never attended journalism school, Grueskin has been a newspaperman since 1975, when he began to report for the Daily American in Rome, Italy. Since then, he has founded the Dakota Sun, received his master’s degree in international economics and U.S. foreign policy from Johns Hopkins University, and assumed a slew of editorial roles.
Despite Grueskin’s lack of formal journalism education, the Dean of the Journalism School Nicholas Lemann said he considers Grueskin’s 30 years of intense professional experience to be sufficient. “Bill has an unmatched record of achievement,” Lemann said in a press release announcing the appointment.
Grueskin said that his experience reflects the changes that the field of journalism has undergone over the course of his career.
“When I got my master’s degree, that was 1981, 27 years ago,” Grueskin said. “A lot has changed since then. In those days, the skills that you needed to be a journalist were complex but straightforward.”
Then, according to Grueskin, an aspiring journalist needed to write well, think clearly, and have the fortitude to deal with closed doors while getting sources to talk. Now, he said, things have changed. In order to survive in the shifting industry, journalists need that same basic skill set in addition to technical knowledge.
“You also need to have a much deeper understanding about how the means of getting stories to people works,” Grueskin said. “If anything, given how much more complex the means of delivery of stories has gotten, a journalism education ... is even more essential.”
At a journalism school striving to augment its new media program, Grueskin brings what many consider a deep knowledge of the digital field. In 2001, he became the editor of WSJ.com and has been credited with supporting the creation of the site’s paid online service, integrating the print version with a 24-hour, interactive Web site.
During his editing tenure, the number of subscribers doubled, according to the release. Grueskin said he hopes the skills he gained during that time will translate seamlessly into his new academic duties.
Lemann and Grueskin will each oversee the construction of an expansive new media center and examine the modern practicality of the curriculum, which currently divides students into four specializations: new media, print, broadcast, and magazine. “The curriculum at pretty much any school needs to be constantly under scrutiny,” Grueskin said, as the lines between various media are perpetually blurring.
The role of journalism education has been debated for years, especially at Columbia.
In 2003, University President Lee Bollinger organized a star-studded task force to overhaul the school’s approach, which resulted in the creation of the content-based Master of Science program at the school. Along the way, Bollinger tapped Lemann, then the Washington correspondent of the New Yorker, to lead the school.
Many acting journalists, Grueskin admits, would say that journalism school is not relevant to their careers. But that could soon change.
“The skill set journalists need is going to be much broader,” he said. “The demands are much higher. ... In an interesting way, as things get tougher out there, a J-school degree could be more useful.”
Given the proliferation of alternate news sources fueled by the internet, Grueskin said he hopes to create a policy of looking beyond large news organizations when placing students professionally.
After 13 years of service at the Journal, Grueskin says he will most miss the people there and the excitement of breaking stories. He has fond memories of fielding Pulitzer Prize-winning stories and seeing the strength of his co-workers as the Journal temporarily relocated to New Jersey after shouldering damage from the September 11, 2001 attacks.
For Grueskin, a departure from a newspaper is not a departure from journalism. “If anything, it gives me a chance to address issues in journalism that are a part of the future of the industry,” Grueskin said. “I don’t see it as a retreat from journalism.”
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