I like Paul’s list as a foundation. I like the idea of putting it in front of a student and saying, “If you’re not doing these things, you’re not preparing yourself to be a good journalist.”

As for “Read books”: You know I spend many hours online every day. I would never tell them to give up online reading and information gathering. But the absolute avoidance of books makes for a very ignorant person. Someday this might change, but today, it’s still true. Ignorant people are gullible, and they make foolish mistakes. That’s not good for journalism.

My reading of Paul’s “old hat” list clearly matched that of many others (your’s and your list members, for instance) but, as Paul told me this morning say, I was the only one/one of few to challenge it.

Here in Australia, aging management of what calls itself “mainstream journalism” (Big Media such as News Corporation, the TV networks, Fairfax newspapers) has become so fascinated with itself that it has forgotten two essential ingredients in traditional journalism: the audience is everything; and change is everything. Instead, they are fascinated with preserving the status quo and with rich and powerful men at the Big End of town.

Most journalists here (and in the US and UK according to the stats) are male and over 40 and stuck in their ways (look at Paul’s list again, it’s there) and think everyone has their values, their ways of seeing and their prejudices.

This is clearly problematic sociologically but it is ALSO clearly risky commercially, since acceptance of these traditional news products (newspapers, Big Media news bulletins) has been tumbling for years and continues to everywhere except Scandinavia.

So my points in my earlier post are relevant not just socially and psychologically but commercially: if we as journalism academics want to produce graduates who can deal with contemporary and future audiences, we need to liberate those graduates from the hog-ties of “journalism past”.

“1. Read the news.” This is a recipe for journalistic self-referencing. Read what other journalists write? Get a life!

“2. Forget you have an opinion. Do you think anyone cares what you think … ?” Editors are paid to think and the wise ones — and wise journalism educators — will encourage their reporters and sub-editors to think too. To say otherwise is a recipe for dumbed-down old-male dominated hegemony.

“3. Know the difference between news and features.” If graduates don’t know the difference between plain exposition and “writing with thinking” then it’s their professors who should accept the blame.

“4. Make contacts.” This is merely common sense, and not just for journalists: for police, lawyers, bus drivers, doctors.

“5. Get a life.” So is this. More journalists should.

“6. Learn to use the phone.” So is this. But try the mobile, SMS, blog, MSN and Skype as well.

“7. Learn how to spell.” Typical of the old-hat practitioner journalist eager to identify something about the younger generation which is “not up to scratch”. Find me a comma which — ever — changed the world!

“8. Don’t say you want to see the world but then complain when you have to go to Djibouti.” This is a hegemonic editor’s refrain: do as you’re told and I’ll tell you what to do. Young journalists will vote with their feet, leaving domineering old-fashioned editors who want to rule the roost without any employees.

“9. Read books.” Typical of the 19th century print generation. Why read books? Tell me that one … and include real justification in your answer.

“10. Know what you want to get out of this - and chase it.” The only worthwhile piece of advice in this collection … but the one which is philosophically opposed to 1-9. Young journalists will do just that, leaving old fashioned industrial newspaper journalists (and the like) stranded and unemployed.