Academics in the journalism world gathered together at UT Thursday and Friday to debate the desire for technological innovation in online student publications because of a decline in the quality writing.

Watch a video interview (right) with Mark Johnson, a professor at the University of Georgia and one of the participants in the ICONN conference. (2:06)

The topic of online quality assurance was one of the main focus points at the founding conference of the Intercollegiate Online News Network.

ICONN is an organization dedicated to advancing online journalism education from student driven Web sites and campus news sites to professional Web journalists. Representatives from universities and companies across the country were present.

The panel members of the first discussion about quality of students news Web sites were Steve Klein, communications professor at George Mason University, Stephen Fox, journalism lecturer at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and Mark Johnson, journalism lecturer at The University of Georgia.

Klein and Johnson said early on in the session that students today have greater opportunities in journalism but their publications don't reflect basic standards taught in university classes.

"With the right tools and a sound foundation in journalism, it is an exciting time," Klein said. 

I don't feel the clips our students are producing are at a professional level. -Steve Klein
Johnson said student news Web sites were created as a learning lab for students to practice their skills and to add audio sound slides and video producing in addition to writing.

Klein presented an example of the insufficient quality of writing by reading the introduction of the headlining story from Connect Mason, the news Web site at the university.

"President Alan Merten and Provost Peter Stearns announced today that all George Mason University classes for January 20, 2009, are cancelled. That date - Inauguration Day - was originally scheduled to be the first day of classes for Mason's spring semester," Klein read.

He pointed out that within the two short sentences there were already two mistakes in grammatical structure and one mistake in journalism style according to the Associated Press handbook, which provides a writing guideline for publications.

"Student media doesn't reflect the standards we teach," Klein said. "Without standards it [student media] undermines credibility."

He then asked the students in the audience if it was too much for him to ask journalists at Connect Mason to write correctly after they are taught how to use AP style.

Klein even goes as far as saying that he gives up.If student media doesn't want to live up to the standards we teach, then we need a new foundation -Steve Klein

Klein, Fox and Johnson agreed that experimentation is good and that students today had more opportunities for producing great news but that there have been a lot of mistakes made online.

"I had a rule of thumb that nothing went online unless at least a second set of eyes looked over it," Klein said about working at USA Today online before returning to the classroom. "Mistakes were inevitable but when mistakes went online my question was never who did it but who checked it."

When it comes to online journalism there seems to be the thought, especially among young people, that it doesn't have to be as well done, Klein said. But that is not true; journalists have an even greater responsibility to deliver as the speed of communication increases.

"It is easy to be lazy," Klein said. "I think it is important to hold yourself to the same standards that have existed in print and broadcast."

Klein takes pride in his byline and students should as well.

"I think anytime you are published and you make mistakes you have the shame of your name being on something that may be less then your best," Klein said.

He tells his students that good writing is rewriting.

Klein said it has reached a point where online journalism is journalism. There is no division between the two sectors and there should be no difference between the quality of writing.