If an editorial written by a San Diego State University student in the Daily Aztec is any indication, the next generation of journalists won’t be any better positioned to co-exist with the blogosphere than the current generation.

Consuela Headrick, the student newspaper’s opinion editor, offers a column in today’s issue headlined “Blogs infringe on true journalism.” Some excerpts:

...slowly but surely, the Internet world is infringing on the world of print journalism - leaving some journalists-in-training terrified.

It seems as though the sick, sad world of blogging has twisted the minds of many Americans. People are relying on other, regular, everyday Americans to report to them what is going on in the world according to the blogger - leaving the people who were trained for years on the principles of journalism in the dust.

Bloggers are nothing more than Gonzo-journalist wannabes (either with or without the drug haze). Instead of writing their experiences in a literary journalist style and submitting it for possible print publication, bloggers hide behind their computer screens knowing every word they type will be published in an open forum.

Perhaps there is some type of insight I am missing in the world of blogs. But more likely than not, there is no insight to miss. Just as I am sick to death of mindless reality TV, it seems blogs will never truly grasp my interest.

It may not be fair to single out the editorializing of a journalism junior. I cringe when I remember some of my writings when I was a journalism junior. The column points to a larger issue, though: What are Ms. Headrick’s teachers teaching? Given that participatory journalism has become a permanent reality, and that journalists must figure out where blogs and journalism intersect, journalism teachers should be introducing the issue into the curriculum. Dan Gillmor’s “We the Media” should be a required text. Instead—if this editorial is any indication—they’re simply perpetuating the same conflict-based relationship. At the very least, they’re not addressing it at all, leaving budding journalists to try to figure it out for themselves.