A lot of noise is being made of the incidence of cheating at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. In case you missed the story - article in the Washington Post here. The details of the case are not out yet, but this raises a lot of questions.
Firstly - the cheating on an exam - despicable in itself, is something we are used to. It seems as soon as there is measurement of performance - some people will cheat. For those who believe that the importance is not being caught, there is not much we can do. Naming and shaming only goes so far.
On the institution level however, the damage is larger. The reputation of the Columbia School of Journalism will suffer, and by association, that of the students and graduates themselves. With the cost of tuition above 40'000 $ some students are worried about the value of their degree. When the actions of one individual reflect on the whole community, then each individual is responsible to the whole. Whistleblowing as a form of self- quality control is a good solution. As long as it does not degenerate into frivolous tale bearing.
For the media at large it is a very bad sign. In a globalized world where all kinds of authority have lost credibility, the media plays an important role. Granted the media community is only human, and that in the total population of journalists there is bound to be a few bad eggs, but we need to believe in journalistic standards and impartiality.
Bad things happen. Bad press follows. What will count now is how the crisis is managed, and what is learned from this. People change under pressure. A crisis can help bring things forward. Let's hope that Columbia University will come out of this with integrity, and a stronger commitment to ethics in journalism.
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