Milford chronicle., 1929-05-24

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE
PRESS IN INTERPRETING
THE SCHOOLS TO tn Z
PUBLIC.
(GIenn Frank, president Of the Uni
versity of Wisconsin, Madison,
formerly editor of The Century
New York City,
If this subject, The Responsible
ity of the Press in Interpreting the
Schools to the Public, is supposed
to place upon me the duty of mere
" exhorting newspaper and maya
zine editors to devote more space to
news about schools and to publish
a larger number of articles about
educational institutions, 1 must re-
fuse to obey orders.
Before we can think stralgnt
about the relation of the press 10
the school, we must recognize TWO
very plain facts about the press;
~ It is the function of newspa-
per to handle news, not to convert
itself into a preaching agency IN
behalf of even the best cause, and
(2) a newspaper and the press in
general is a business institution
with a legitimate desire to show
handsome profit at the end Of the
year.
am not suggesting the many
things that. reformers would ike
to have the press be; I am trying
honestly to recognize what tne
press is. And, personally, 1 think
it will do little good to quarrel with
these two facts that characterize
the press.
g., If the press is to do more towards
Interpreting the schools to the pup
lie the primary responsibility lot
bringing that happy event about VIII
rest. in the practical working out
of things, not with the press, but
with the schools. If school men
want more matter about scnools III
the press, school men must DO more
things that have legitimate news
value in the minds of the editors.
Personally 1 should like to see the
American press develop more than
if has I'D to date a technique tor
extracting the real news values
that exist in creative ideas. II we
journalists are really up to our
Jobs we would realize more than
we do that there are as vivid news
values in ideas as there are in incl
dents. But, again, it will do no
good for school men to stand on Inc
side lines and tell the Journalist
how he should run his job.
We school men-I associate my
self with both the press and the
school tonight because 1 happen 10
be in the twilight zone between an
editorship and a university presl-
dency-we school men must realize
more than we have yet realized that
duIlness and scholarship are not
necessarily synonymous and that
accuracy does not have to be I'M
readable.
I suggest, therefore, that we stop
centering our energies on trying 10
wheedle the newspapers into giving
more space to the schools; that we
do our best to do things in our
schools that will be so vital that
newspapers will take the initiative
in giving more space to our activi-
ties. and that we try to make 1t in
creasingly clear that press ana
ScnOOl nave JOAht ASoPo
in seeing to it that there is thrust
into the stream of public thought
in terms that men who haven't a
PHI. d. can understand, those new
ideas. new idealisms, and new splr-
itual values that have been thrown
up as by-products of the sciences
PHILOSOPHERS, and practical adVeh-
lures of the modern mind.
The use of these ideas spells re-
birth for our civilization. The fall-
ure to use these ideas spells de-
cline for our civilization.
If the press and the school can Dc
brought to realize their joint re-
snonsibility in giving wide currency
to these new ideas, ideallsms, AM II.
spiritual values upon which our III