PressThink's Jay Rosen opens up a very serious discussion (also known as the type we consciously avoid engaging in) on "Things I used to teach that I no longer believe," expanding on a panel he partcipated in wherein j-school profs waxed nostalgic on their instructional leanings.

Among the storytelling was the story of one j-schooler who gave up a $200,000 scholarship "just to get out of journalism." And no, that's not our autobiography. But what'd Jay have on his own list?

For many years I taught in my criticism classes that pointing out bias in the news media was an important, interesting, and even subversive activity. At the very least an intellectual challenge. Now it is virtually meaningless. Media bias is a proxy in countless political fights and the culture war. It’s effectiveness as a corrective is virtually zero.

Which, to us, sounds like an invitation to quit disclosing conflicts of interest. Because least of all would we be looking to support the terrorists fueling this "culture war." Meanwhile, he's also getting all Jon Klein up in here, slamming the lid on the deluge of critics.

Alas, I used to teach that the world needs more critics; but it was an unexamined thing. Today I would say that the world has a limited tolerance for critics, and while it always needs more do-ers, it does not always need more chroniclers, pundits, or pencil-heads.

Crankiness aside, where does that leave us? We're clearly not do-ers but recyclers, spinners and often talking heads. Maybe CNN blog reporter Jacki Schechner has some answers for us.