Durango native and nationally renowned political strategist Mike Stratton is trying to encourage more Durango School District 9-R students to consider journalism for a career by developing a scholarship.
Stratton is a product of Colorado State University’s journalism program and has worked for both President Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. The current goal is to offer two $5,000 scholarships to 9-R students starting next school year.
The scholarship is intended to help first-generation college students pursue their passion for media. Stratton, a first-generation college student himself, feels that getting those students into higher education opens the door for possibilities for their entire family.
His motivation was to promote a culture of factual information in a world where any person can disseminate information.
“Everybody who has an opinion can have their own podcast. They can have their own platform. There's a lot of good, bad, etc. People are confused by that and will disunite over the different disparaging messages that are coming out,” Stratton said.
He used the country’s current political landscape as an example of this.
“This whole issue of truth, what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s fake … it’s now become so parcel of any kind of information you take in,” Stratton said.
Stratton said most journalists are objective, but the truth and objectivity has been misconstrued because anyone can have a platform via the internet.
“There needs to be more people who can rise above sensationalism and report accuracy,” he said.
This is among the reasons why Stratton, in collaboration with The Durango Education Foundation, are working to develop a local journalism workforce pipeline.
“Rather than just having students apply for journalism scholarship, we wanted them to really think about getting some good exposure in this region,” said Durango Education Foundation Executive Director Wendy Allsbrook Javier.
Trust in media is low
In 2022, data from Gallup showed that only 34% of Americans trusted mass media outlets to report the news fairly and accurate. From those surveyed, just 7% of Americans have “a great deal” of trust and confidence in the media, and 27% have “a fair amount.” Meanwhile, 28% of U.S. adults say they do not have very much confidence, and 38% have none at all in newspapers, television and radio.
Furthermore, the journalism industry has taken a hit when it comes to staffing.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicted in 2021 that journalism jobs will decline by 4.8% by 2030, after already shrinking from nearly 66,000 workers in 2000 to 52,000 in 2019. Much of this had to with the COVID-19 pandemic magnifying burnout, stress and anxiety.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Hussman School of Journalism and Media conducted a study this year with over 500 local journalists participating. Of that group, about 72% reported experiencing personal burnout, and 70% reported experiencing work-related burnout.
“The moniker of being a journalist used to really carry stature in the world as a credential,” Stratton said.
He says because of the accessibility to media platforms and former President Donald Trump’s attacks on mass media, the profession has been likened to “worse than a used-car salesperson or politician.”
He said this is because the perceived notion of a lack of objectivity and data appears to show it’s based on coverage of conservative political figures and issues.
Surveys compiled by Pew Research Center in 2019 showed that 31% of Republican-leaning independents felt that journalists have very low ethical standards. In addition, the study shows that 40% of Republicans who strongly approved of Trump’s job performance as president said journalists’ ethics are low.
Inspiring the next generation of journalists
The foundation is in the process of raising funds so that more high school students can have access to opportunities like internships, conferences and extend funding for both Durango and Big Picture High School’s media practicum classes.
The DEF is currently trying to raise funds for a journalism conference in Kansas that will cost roughly $10,000.
“We've gotten a lot of interest in STEM funding for students going into different STEM disciplines, but I think this is beautifully unique in that in that it's a different direction,” Allsbrook Javier said. “It's for students that, you know, are working with words and communication ideas and potentially politics.”
Stratton and the Durango Education Foundation hosted an event on Tuesday to raise excitement about the scholarship and workforce pipeline possibilities.
Stratton has committed $200,000 for scholarships in the years to come, and he hopes to raise more money for the cause with the DEF’s help.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
