If you know me or you've read this blog a couple of times, you know I have iPhone envy. I've wanted one of the sleek little gadgets for some time now, but it's hard for me to justify the expense. With that in mind, however, I'm glad I'm NOT an incoming freshman at the University of Missouri because the last thing I want is my school to recommend to me that I have to buy one (You can catch up on any of the 100s of blurbs written about this HERE. In fact, whether it's a requirement or recommendation notwithstanding, I think it's a strange course for the world's oldest journalism school (and one of the world's best) to take. It seems contrary to the principles I've tried to teach for the last three years of inclusion and diversity.

Again, don't get me wrong. The iPhone is a fantastic tool. It has impressive audio and video capabilities, as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Brian Brooks explained to the Maneater, a student newspaper on campus. Students at the school have also tapped into the phone's vast potential for news application development in a recent competition. In fact, the growing iPhone app store bodes well for news organizations that want to reach their audiences outside of traditional means. Mike McKean, convergence journalism chair and Information Technology Committee chairman, said he recognizes the importance of cell phones in the future of news.

"Truly, the mobile phone is going to be one of the key components for not only students communicating with each other, that's the obvious thing, but in terms of trying to reach audiences," McKean said. "It's probably one of the most ubiquitous means of reaching people with news and information if you know how to do it."

Despite the iPhone's power and customizability, I worry that requiring or even recommending it to incoming freshman will narrow their focus too much. I'd love to see them develop new iPhone apps that make news exciting for young people. I'd jump for joy if they created an app that allows the audience to interact with the news more easily and conveniently. But what I'd love to see most is for them to develop an app that works on all phones, not just the one built by Apple.

In Principles of American Journalism, the class I just wrapped up, I emphasized over and over again how much journalists need to diversify. They can't rely on the same sources and the same stories over and over again. They need to step outside of themselves to involve people in the news that don't normally see their pictures on TV or in the paper. They also need to write in such a way that more people, especially those that don't normally pay much attention to the news, become interested and maybe even involved. Suggesting a focus on the iPhone does not fulfill that goal.

The gadget, while impressive, probably eludes the reach of most people, and I'm not just talking about its sticker price. Technologically speaking, not everyone will be able to use its full capabilities. What I'd like to see the journalism school focus on is cross platform development. If I were in charge, I'd encourage students to find new ways to use old technologies to ensure the news reaches as many people as possible. For example, KOMU, the NBC-affiliate on campus, does a great job with KOMU mobile, a news service that works on any Internet-capable phone.

One of my colleagues wants to take mobile news delivery a step further. Fellow Cyberbrains contributor Dr. Clyde Bentley has been named a Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellow for 2009-2010 and has privately told me his project will focus on finding new ways to make text messaging effective as a news delivery mechanism.

I can't wait to see what Clyde comes up with because not only am I certain it will be inventive, but more importantly, I know it will be inclusive. Even though Clyde recently joined the iPhone toting pack, he's worked with enough cell phones and carriers over the years to understand what people want and how they use technology. He was the first to tell me about cell phone novels in Japan.

I'd love to see the Missouri School of Journalism invest more in ideas that bring people together than ones that unnecessarily categorize them.