The conspiracy-loving Epoch Times is thinking about opening…a journalism school?
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The admissions brochure writes itself. “Learn journalism that’s ‘fueled by a right-wing slant and conspiracy theories’!” “Take classes from ‘a leading purveyor of right-wing misinformation’!” “Gain the skills to generate a ‘singular mix of straight news, religious belief, conspiracy peddling, Sinophobia, science denialism, legitimate grievance, and political expediency’!” “Prepare for a career in ‘a global propaganda machine, similar to Russia’s Sputnik or RT, that pushes a mix of alternative facts and conspiracy theories that has won it far-right acolytes around the world’!”
That’s right: The Epoch Times — the Trump-loving, communist-hating, conspiracy-devoted newspaper connected to the Chinese Falun Gong movement — is thinking about starting a journalism school.
“The Epoch Times is considering supporting the establishment of a new School of Journalism that would champion the same values of ‘truth and traditional’ as The Epoch Times,” read an email the paper sent out to newsletter subscribers this morning. “The college’s mission would be to nurture in the next generation of media professionals the highest standards of personal integrity, fairness, and truth-seeking.”
The email links to an online survey meant to gauge interest in the potential school. It asks about potential four-year (a BA in journalism, with print/web and broadcast tracks; a BS in journalism for TV/video production; a BS in digital media marketing) and two-year (associate’s degrees in journalism, TV/video production, and digital media marketing) programs, as well as non-degree certificate programs.
The potential school would be “in New York State, in a scenic town of about 30,000 people, just 1.5-hours from New York City, with easy access to NYC by train or bus.” Of note, the global headquarters of the Falun Gong movement — which some label a cult — is a place named Dragon Springs in Deerpark, New York, which Google Maps tells me is an hour and 26 minutes from the top of the Bronx.
The newspaper seems to think of the potential school as a training ground for future Epoch Times staffers, saying that it and sibling network NTD Television “would be excited to offer jobs and internships to high caliber students.”
Anyone can start a journalism school; the challenge would be in getting it accredited. For journalism programs, the accrediting body is ACEJMC (the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications), though that accreditation is voluntary, and not all j-schools seek it. The more important issue would be general accreditation as an institution, which is the sort of thing that lets students’ credits be counted by other institutions (including the federal government, for financial aid purposes) and broadly differentiates you from a diploma mill. Most New York colleges you’ve heard of are accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, although there are other accreditors it could seek out. Needless to say, a four-year college that only offered journalism classes could have a hard time convincing accreditors it’s a proper vessel for higher education.
Content retrieved from: https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/04/the-conspiracy-loving-epoch-times-is-thinking-about-opening-a-journalism-school/.
