The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1915-01-28
@TOO MUCH ENGLISH,
BANE OF STUDENTS
WHO WOULD WRITE

recently drew SO much aCtenCIon, mas
said, 81 think they are without
think any one could be graduated
from one of them and at once be-
come finished newspaper man, but
I do think he would stand better
chance eventually of becoming one
than a man of equal ability who had
not taken such a course
sore of the best features of a
course In Journalism went on Mr..
Cobb's statement, sis that it is good
as an antidote for too much study
of English. The tendency of many
courses in literature is to give the
idea that the English language is
an end and not a means. Which
taking into consideration the vast
array of English literature courses
that have multiplied in American
universities in the last decade, is I'M
deniably true. Too often the man
as a. life work puts in too much
time on the cavier and sweetmeats
of the language, on Walter Pater
and Francis Thompson, when he
should be devotings his time to the
actual preparation of copy of his
own, the red beef and potatoes of
the modern EngIsh-reacing world.
An inquiry. therefore, into the meth
DDS of training men in the actual art
of newspaper writing and newspaper
detective work essential to making
that writing effective, as employed at
the two perhaps best known Amer
lean schools of Journalism, those at
Columbia and Wisconsin. may not, in
view OF Mr. Cobb's recent remarks,
be- out of place.
Neglect Important Things.
As far as curriculum goes. the two
schools, do not materially differ At
each we find practically the same
- -
surveys of history, political economy,
legal procedure-particu with
reference to- the law of libel and
SANDER form the bulk OF the sub
jects taught, with the added require
ment, and a very good one it is, at
uation must be able to read at sight
from a French, German, Spanish or
Italian newspaper. But the main
feature in all professional newspaper
work, that of the practical corraIling
of the news, Sitting of evidence, and
story form, seeTns, on the whole to
haye been sadly neglected.
At Columbia, for example, al
though the Spectator, the university
undergraduates daily, has recently
been purchased by the university,
is. after all "a college publication
managed altogether by students. and
having no relation whatever to the
school of Journalism" The quota
ton is taken from letter written
by Professor Talcott Williams di-
rector of the Pulitzer School of
Journalism at Columbia, to a mem
Der of the Times staff. explanatory
OF the work of the institution.
In the work of reporting Pro-
fessor Williams letter goes on to
say the fourth year class, which
is our technical year, is organized
as a city ROOM and covers New
York city just as a city stan would
During the current year this is done
one day of the week. Which, in
comparison with the seven days a
week of work done by the average
twenty-four-hour-a clip, seems
surprisingly meager for q, man who
intends to devote his life to the
grind. During the next academic
year" the professors letter pro-
ceeds, ssit will be done two days
not avery near one, to actual news
paper hours sIn addition the
professor concludes. members of
the class are sent on special asst gn-
ments during the week when special
subjects come up
Now, to the newspaper man who
has never been accustomed to MAX
Ing an engagement even one day in
advance, for fear of an unusual pres
sure of work that would prohibit his
attending it, the idea of a school
where three years are spent in
amassing theory and general infor-
nation, valuable as they are, and
only one third of year of actual
work with the mechanics of sthe
trade, seems, to say the least, a lit
tie impractical And. when one takes
into consideration the fact that even
on the one or two days a week when
actual city work is done, there is, as
things stand at Columbia at present,
no press for the newspaper student
to feed, no proof to correct, no going
to press hour that one must strain to
meet-in short, none of the actual
tangible mechanics Of the trade for
him to famil1arize himself with the
prospect seems much more ethereal
than before, however Elysian it is for
the students In the course while en-
gagged in its pusuit.
Working Up Fakes.
For. although the school of jour
nalism on Morningside Heights, New
York, neminally gets out as the
term goes, a paper each week called
in type. never sees the light of day,
according to the school circulars
own confession. 1t consists merely
of a dummy, makeup, in which the
various articles or Stories prepared
by the students during the week are
assigned to pages according to their
Importance, are headlined, corrected.
and fitted with their appropriate pic
lures, which, too, are never made in
to actual newspaper 'cuts.'' The get
ting together of The Blot is more
like the weekly collection of test
papers in a college lecture course,
for the appraisal of the Instructor.
than it is akin to the process of pre-
pairing a daily edition for distribu-
ton And that brings the inspector
to- another dangerous feature of the
Columbia institutions work, the in
corporation in the weekly practice
sheet of fictitious news, done for
practice only.
For example. student sleuth,
who has been put WISE will go out
to the corner drug store and phone