A new media journalism professor should support blogging, citizen journalism, free speech, a marketplace of ideas. So why would one NYU professor require students to get permission before blogging about her class? Looks like a case of egotism to me.

NYU journalism junior Alana Taylor wrote a blog on Media Shift two weeks ago about her dissatisfaction with a new media class. In fact, it was that very blog entry that inspired me to start Interact.

But after that blog became widely circulated online, even appearing on Poynter, Taylor’s professor, Mary Quigley, sat her down for a little heart to heart.

A Media Shift follow-up by Mark Glaser reads:

By Taylor’s account, Quigley had a one-on-one meeting with Taylor to discuss the article, and Quigley made it clear that Taylor was not to blog, Twitter or write about the class again. That was upsetting to Taylor, who had been planning a follow-up report for MediaShift that would include Quigley’s viewpoint and interviews with faculty.

This sounds a little like censorship to me. What if Taylor had gone to Quigley before writing her initial blog for Media Shift? Would Quigley have said no? Would/should Taylor have listened?

As a person who is supposed to be educating aspiring journalists — not only about the freedom of speech, but about the fresh perspectives blogging can bring to the table — Quigley’s move seems completely hypocritical (and a little selfish– instead of worrying about her reputation, why didn’t she praise her student for being so new-media-savvy?).

I got a lot from Taylor’s blog on Media Shift. It opened a new door for me to contribute to the blogosphere.

Quigley should have embraced the criticism Taylor offered about the class and worked off it to make a curriculum that is better fit to students’ needs.

I hope Taylor writes the other side for Media Shift after the issue cools off. I’d be very interested in reading student/faculty perspectives, as well as Quigley’s.

Yesterday, I was reading a great little piece on Media Shift by Alana Taylor about NYU’s inability to adapt to new media demands in journalism.

One part of that blog especially stood out to me. It read:

Professor Quigley begins by explaining how blogs are becoming more important and asks if any of us have a blog. One hand slowly rises. It’s mine. None of the other students in the class have a blog.

Then I asked myself one question: As one of the “new media” stars at my university, as someone who started an award-winning Web site for my high school newspaper, why did I not have a blog?

Really, it’s not something I’d ever thought of doing — at least not consciously.  As an ardent blog-reader, I always felt like a consumer, rather than a producer.

Now I’m going to give it a shot and see where it goes.

Constantly, I’m someone who is sending links to friends, posting on Newsvine and sharing on GoogleReader. That’s all a blog really is, right? Linking and commentating on those links. It’s what I do everyday anyway.

Funny thing is, I’ve always lectured others about the importance of blogging and written research papers on why blogging is important. I’ve always felt close to the blogging community. I never considered doing it myself.

So, here goes nothin’.