Ernest J. Wilson

Articles and Speeches

What “They” (and We) Are Saying about “Us” on the World Wide Web
Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 2009

To finish up with another indictment, however, may I suggest “Where are JSchools in Great Debate over Journalism’s Future?” (on the Poynter Institute site) by
University of Southern California Annenberg School Dean Ernest Wilson? He argues, “the performance of journalism schools has something to do with the current sub-par performance of the profession,” because “those of us who lead journalism schools are responsible for training a goodly percentage of the people who made questionable decisions over the past decade….Medical school faculty regularly point to failures—and opportunities—to improve their training of physicians for the 21st century. Where is the visible counterpoint in journalism education?....To survive, journalism schools have to become much more intellectually and professionally ambitious.” Specifically, Wilson points out, “shocking economic illiteracy… marks too much of journalism education today, which makes it harder to get high quality economic reporting, while reinforcing the fire wall between the business and content sides of the profession….The popular claim that ‘we are all journalists now’ must be refuted….We ought to lead the charge for greater media literacy for all citizens.”

Google, China and U.S. Foreign Policy
The Huffington Post, 2010

Sitting in the lobby of the Taj Hotel in Mumbai, reading the front page of the local Economic Times, I was hit with a one-two-punch: the news that Google may quit the huge Chinese market in a dispute over serious cyber attacks to its facilities in the PRC, and the feeling that I was watching the opening salvo of a new, major trend in American foreign policy that has been quietly building for several years.

A Converging China?
Perspectives: China, Africa, and the African Diaspora, 2009

There are few issues more essential to long-term global stability than the integration of the People’s Republic of China into the world economic and political system. From Cold War pariah to international powerhouse, the country’s transition over the past 30 years has driven two parallel reactions among the world’s countries – admiration from the developing world and nervousness among developed countries. The developing world admires China for its economic success, a model of controlled yet entrepreneurial capitalism that provides for political stability. Coupled with the country’s closed-off domestic system, however, the behavior and intentions of the Communist Party continue to be viewed with suspicion by the world’s largest powers. In other words, we see unique and divergent evaluations of the same facts of China’s rise in the world.

Remarks to Fudan Journalism School
Fudan University

Journalism and communications schools around the world are at an important crossroads in their existence. Some, like the Fudan School of Journalism, have existed for many decades; others are very new. Some combine journalism and communications, others have only one or the other. Some offer only graduate or undergraduate degrees, and they may be large research oriented institutions or small teaching schools.

“Innovations in Global Public Diplomacy: The Implications for Foreign Policy and National Security”
Presentation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei, Taiwan

For those interested in the evolution of the practice and the profession of public diplomacy, we have arrived at an interesting moment in its history, a moment of innovation and adaptation. I wish to point to two trends in this global evolution, and then underscore several challenges they pose to the future of the field. One trend occurs at the global level, where several universal conditions are worth noting. The second trend is unfolding within the United States with the advent of the administration of President Barack Obama, which manifests some of the global trends but also presents unique elements worth noting.

USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism Renaming Speech
Annenberg Renaming

At the heart of our plan is one simple sentence that defines who we are: USC Annenberg 3.0 is an innovative, full-service school in a networked university in the most global city in the United States.

Ernest Wilson’s Remarks-Acceptance as Chair of CPB Board of Directors
Washington, D.C.

Today in 2009, I want to suggest we are in a similar moment in history. The stars are aligned as perhaps they have never been since 1967 to really advance our cause. Then as now, we need to go beyond the present and reimagine, reinvigorate and expand our inherited vision.

Where are J-Schools in Great Debate over Journalism’s Future?
Poynter, 2009

Dean Ernest J. Wilson III writes an Aug. 27 Poynter article stating that journalism schools and professors need to be involved in the debate over the future of news.

Digital Public Media - New Diversity or Same Old Boys Network?

Public broadcasters, in the midst of a transition to digital public media, have a great opportunity to lead the way towards a truly inclusive digital media landscape. This is essential because the American media system currently fails to reflect the diversity of the American people. Inequalities based on race, class, gender, age, and other factors limit Americans’ opportunities in all fields of life, and this is reflected in our media system in terms of ownership, employment, content, and other metrics.

Digital Media, Modern Democracy, and Our Truncated National Debate
--And Communications for All, 2009

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