Exhibit JC42 - The Leveson Inquiry

For Distribution to CPsHacks and Dons - Teaching at the London University Journalism School 1919-1939: Its origin,development and influence.Allied to the increase in staff was the need for more accommodation tohouse demonstration and lecture rooms with all the equipment, fromtypewriters to telephones, needed to provide a proper working environmentfor prospective journalists: from reference books to cuttings files, newsagency teleprinters to reporters’ desks. In the future, some kind of printingroom would be desirable.Harrison felt that a department which was not controlled could not beefficient and he, too, complained of being unable to get any report showingthe progress of his students taking a compulsory subject ’in a sisterCollege’ and in a marginal note he added: ’in a department, the membersare constantly in touch with the head of the Department... exchangingnotes on their students.’ 63He also supported Clarke’s plea for an assistant, saying was it wasbeyond the capacity of one man to be solely responsible for the practicalwork of 120 students. Harrison recommended that no student be admittedunless interviewed by both Clarke and himself and further suggested a newapplication form be used in which students would have to declare a seriousintention to follow the profession of journalism, as well as undertaking toreach proficiency in shorthand before the end of the first academic year.Provision should also be made for students to withdraw if, in the opinion ofthe College, they were unlikely to make a successful journalist.The reaction from University College underlined Harrison’s assertion thatthe attitude of other colleges towards journalism students rested on aneconomic basis: that they brought in fees that were useful, hence, out of100 students, 50 never intended to become journalists. University Collegestated it would not save money because there was little possibility ofreducing staff members to compensate for the losses of students if thecourse was centralized in King’s; University College had not appointedlecturers specially for the journalism students, preferring instead tostrengthen the staff of various departments and so no saving could bemade there.Nevertheless, the King’s College Delegacy approved the appointment ofan Assistant to the Director of Practical Journalism who should be a womanwho had herself taken the course and gained some practical experienceafter it, at a salary of £250 p.a. With this appointment at King’s the way wasset for the consolidation of the course in King’s College. To offset the lossof income to University College, of no longer registering students from theDiploma, the paper on ’Social and Economic Structure of Today’ wouldcontinue to be taught at University with King’s College paying three guineasa head to University College for arranging it. An interesting footnote to thisdebate was provided in an interview with Mr. Geoffrey Pinnington, theneditor 64 of the Sunday People (until 1982), who explained that the one timehe mentioned having been on the journalism course to Mr. Hugh Gaitskell,Mr. Gaitskell said that University College thought very poorly of journalismstudents and they were glad to be rid of them. This conveniently ignoresthe fact that University College were responsible for recruiting their ownstudents onto the journalism course.91MOD100051262