LAWRENCE, Kansas, October 19, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC)—the body which accredits journalism schools at 104 colleges in the U.S.—has revamped its accreditation criteria to include compliance on issues of “sexual orientation.”
Executive Director of the ACEJMC, Susanne Shaw, told Focus on the Family’s Family News in Focus that “. . . we look at course syllabi to see how they’re talking about diversity or how they’re preparing students to cover stories in a diverse world.” One way the ACEJMC will judge compliance is evidence that the school is teaching a so-called “inclusive” curriculum, Shaw said. She said the ACEJMC will try to accommodate Christian colleges, but, she explained, “You have to understand that we really haven’t had any cycle using these new nine standards, so I am a little premature when I say that they won’t lose their accreditation.” Focus on the Family’s Citizen magazine editor Tom Hess highlighted that the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association became a member of the accrediting council in 2004. “There already is a bias, in that they don’t quite understand our side of the issue, and this will only exacerbate it,” he said. To send feed-back to the ACEJMC, contact: Susanne Shaw Executive Director, ACEJMC Stauffer/Flint Hall 1435 Jayhawk Blvd. Lawrence, KS 66045 – 7575 (785) 864-3986 [email protected] Tv