But the school of journalism ,as it has thus far been developed, has emphasized the process of producing a newspaper, and it has therefore taught the technical side of collecting news, and of pre
senting it in " crisp ,” “ breezy," " snappy” form and its curriculum therefore has as yet apparently left something still to be desired.69
There is little indication in it of a desire to look beyond the immediate effect that the “ story ” is expected to have on the reader , and to weigh the evidence in regard to the reliability of the material collected. A wide acquaintance with the facts of
history is regarded as essential for the journalist, but apparently
there is little appreciation of the importance of an acquaintance with historicalmethod. The value of economic study is conceded, but for the most part the school of journalism seems contented with conventional economic theories past and present and makes little effort to show their inadequacy in the present industrial order. Existing political and social institutions are accepted, but without investigation as to their sufficiency in time of need . The school of journalism has as yet shown more interest in the
technical process of producing a newspaper than it has in the press as a resultant of this process and it has thus seemed to fall short of the success possible to it.
It has helped to standardize
forms and processes, and it has made definite contributions to journalism , but its contributions to the press have been slight.
It has not been an investigator, its foundations have seemed in secure, and as yet it has occupied but a half-way house . Books dealing with the various parts of journalism — the
editorial, theadvertisement, the work of the reporter — are coming from the press in ever increasing numbers, but the appeal made in them all is to the present and they deal only with the mechan
ism of journalism . In this intensity of its concern with the present, the school of journalism might well take counsel of the modern
writers of advertisements who recognize the strength of the appeal to the past, writers who have apparently been trained for their work through their studies in psychology rather than in schools of journalism .
The general effect of this concentration on the present is an 69 See Hammond Lamont, “ The Curriculum of the School of Journalism ,”
Educational Review , November, 1903, 26 : 325- 331.
