Exhibit JC42 - The Leveson Inquiry

For Distribution to CPsThe influence of the Diploma for Journalism on the National Union of Journalists and futurejournalism training and educationjournalist and was a former editor of the News Chronicle. ’54 Another, fromthe Institute of Journalists, said commercial correspondence courses wereof no value and should be strongly discouraged.The comments that were published were more pessimistic in nature andmentioned the need to re-instate returning servicemen, and the shortage ofnewsprint, as contributing to the difficulty in estimating postwar manpowerrequirements, and so providing ’few openings for men or women who havebeen on war service. ’5~It is difficult now to ascertain how widely the InterdepartmentalCommittee’s report was seen by participants in the debate over journalismeducation. Such references as the author has seen indicate that thejournalists who contributed to the report of the Journalists’ AdvisoryCommittee felt they had stated the case in favour of University-basedcourses in journalism. 56The Newspaper Society itself devoted some time to considering thefuture of the Journalism Course at the University of London and appointeda sub-committee to deal with the question. Their representative on theJournalism Committee, Mr Norman Robson, himself a former student onthe course, reviewed the course pointing, out that, in the early years, ’toomuch academic training was attempted. ’°’ His report included extracts froma letter from the Principal of King’s College, Dr. Halliday, dated June 22 °d1943, where the University view appeared:’... the Diploma is unsatisfactory in its present form on the grounds (a) thatit is non-homogenous; (b) that there is always difficulty in combiningvocational and academic courses, as in practice one side is bound topredominate to the detriment of the other, and (c) that the academiccourses are too miscellaneous in character.’ The University saw it meetinga ’limited demand from serious students from overseas’ but were stronglyof the opinion that ’if the course is to be continued the academic standardmust be substantially raised.’The Newspaper Society decided that, in view of the tone of Dr. Halliday’sletter, early representations by journalists were necessary and Mr. Robsonsuggested that, if the course was to be reconstituted, the followingconditions of entry ought to be insisted upon:’1. At least one year in a newspaper office (except in the case ofServicemen) before taking up the course;2. A working knowledge of shorthand and typing:3. A general standard of education of the level of Matriculation, Schoolleaving,or equivalent, certificate.’The major change, over pre-war conditions of entry, was the insistenceupon experience and the possession of Matriculation which, in itself, mightmeet the requirements of the University for strengthened academic training.The first condition, newspaper experience, was one that, by the last fewyears of the course, many entrants actually met. The second had beensatisfactorily dealt with between 1935 and 1939, under Clarke’sDirectorship.Mr. Robson was not in favour of extending the idea of universityeducation for journalism to other universities. Sir Robert Webber (1889-1962), however, much as he supported the London scheme, felt there was158MOD100051329