The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-28
NIPPED BY The CENSORS
YELLOW JOURNALISM FROWNED
UPON IN sHORTRIDGE SCHOOL.
The Faculty Interfered with the
Spread of SensatfonaIism-HOw
the Echo Is Run.

From recent developments in Shortridge
High School the day of yellow journal
ism in that institution is passed. Every one
who is at all familiar with the school
knows about the school organ, the Daily
Echo, which has the distinction of being the
only high-school daily in the world, while
only fourteen colleges boast of a daily pa
per- 1t has been in existence for five years.
having been started by Fletcher Wagner. 1t
has grown from one small sheet to a good
sized, four-page paper. 1t has large list
of advertisers and is now on business
basis.
The Echo is edited by students and con-
trolled by the faculty. A teacher reads the
paper each day and is the censor, using the
blue pencil that nothing harmful to the
school gets into the paper. The censor Sc
lects the leading editor and he chooses his
assistants. AT present, the censors are Miss
Laura Donnan, Monday; Mr.. Archer Fer
guson, Tuesday; Miss Flora Love. Wednes-
day; Mrs. Carey, Thursday, and Mr..
Charles S. Thomas, Friday. The leading
editors who have thus far been selected are
Edward Lewis, Tuesday; Grace Gibbons,
Wednesday; Edmund Elite, Thursday, and
John White, Friday. The copy for the pa
per first goes to the editor of the paper and
then to the censor, who kills that which
gan it was very amateurish. but when the
school took hold of ii and purchased
presses, 1t became a very newsy paper.
AS the Echo grew 1t changed its methods
and it is said became yellow and sensa-
tional. Especially was this true of a num-
Der which came out one day on yellow pa
per. Last year the Echo reached its limit
along this line, although nothing was
printed which would in any way be harm
full TO the school. Most of the matter con-
sisted in jokes on the students and personal
remarks on pupils of opposite SEX
DISCUSSION CAUSED.
Another thing that caused discussion is
that, under a rule which will. in all prob
ability be established. nothing can be
printed in the school paper against any of
the rules of the school. Last year when
rule was made that did not meet with the
approval of the student body, the paper
was the medium through which the sent-
ment of the pupil was voiced. This made
the paper interesting. The discussion as TO
the good of oratorical contests in High
the topic OF conversation for a long time
and the fight between the two factions
proved exceedingly interesting to outsiders
as we'll as to pupils in the school.
A meeting of the new principal and the
censors was called last week and the ques-
ton of revising the methods OF the Echo
was discussed. 1t was suggested that there
was need to change the policy Of the sheet
to a certain extent. Most persons agree
that the Echo cannot be made as conserva
tive a journal of to-day should be, but
they also admit that the paper can be
changed to advantage. The Echo has
wide circulation, being sent to every high
school of note in Indiana. After the dis
cuSsion with Professor Hull the matter was
brought before some of the leading editors.
1t is said they did not concur with those
at the head of the school and a report
was current that if the paper were made
too conservative there would be a strike
and the young editors would resign. 1t is
said that the editor of one edition last week
had an entire page killed" which did not
put him In the best of humor with a revival
OF any sort. 1t is believed, however, that
the policy being inaugurated will go toward
making the Echo much better than hereto
fore. 1t is known that the light side of
the school paper is the most popular among
the students, and If this is changed there
subscriptions. An amusing feature of the
was explaining the situation to her staff. She
was saying that only in a few cases would
slang be tolerated, and when she remarked
that hereafter all slang would be ''cut OUT
one of the editors informed the teacher that
she was using slang herself. While the
question of the policy of the paper has not
been settled in every detail, 1t is known
that the paper for the past four issues
has met with the approval of the most
conservative of the censors and that these
editions have met favor with the pupils, so
that there is no doubt but that the change
OF policy makes it much better and i'm
every respect a more thoroughly up-to-date
| journal.