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.emphasis on education, status and professionalism. Mr Mansfield went onto state that the N.U.J. already had between ’70 or 80 of our ex-servicemembers unemployed.., and the question of entry into an already overcrowdedprofession.., is at this moment engaging the attention of ourexecutive. ,1But it was not only the N.U.J which objected to the proposed syllabus:one prospective candidate for membership of the course wrote to theInstitute of Journalists Journal to announce his disappointment with thecourse which ’instead of being a course in journalism is one in Arts andScience. Useful in perfecting one’s general knowledge, but hopelessly outof place to a student of journalism. ’12 The correspondent contrasted theLondon University of scheme with the titles from the University of MissouriSchool of Journalism, in the U.S.A., prospectus: 1. Newspaper make-up. 2.Comparative journalism. 3. Newspaper direction. 4. Editorial policy andwriting. 5. News gathering and editing. 6. Principles of advertising. 7. Thecountry newspaper. 8. Agricultural journalism. 9. Advanced news writing.10. Feature writing and illustration. 11. Rural Newspaper management. Amember of the London University Journalism Committee admitted that hecould not disagree with these criticisms, adding that such a course as thenexisted at London University could never be a substitute ’for practicaltraining in the real work of journalism. ’~3In their search for status for their profession the members of the Instituteof Journalists sought the respectability accruing from academicaccreditation without foreseeing the possible consequences of theirinitiative. By submitting to the University’s insistence on the purelyacademic approach to their problem, with no department to organize theteaching, the journalists perpetrated a basic, craven, mistake from whichthe Diploma never really recovered. Trying to recover this lost ground tookthe Journalism Committee fifteen years and the practical innovation ofClarke’s period as Director of Practical Journalism, between 1935 and1939, has usually been overshadowed by this earlier reputation.The lack of a departmental structure for the Journalism Diploma reducedits authority within the University of London and this can be attributed asthe most serious basic mistake in attempting university education forjournalism. That the money was there to fund such a department, at least inits early years, is beyond doubt. But the idea that this Diploma was just atemporary measure for returning ex-servicemen could also have been afactor. With no Department, and with no guiding light to steer it, theDiploma was doomed, in University terms. Apart from listing those whowere awarded the Diploma, constituent College Year Books (or annualreports) make no mention of the course.The Opening of the CourseThe University of London Diploma for Journalism was inaugurated in theUniversity building, then in South Kensington, with a lecture on ’The Art ofParody’ given by the editor of Punch, Sir Owen Seaman. As over 100students were reported as attending we can assume that all 102 studentswere in attendance, even though the Board of Education had only71MOD100051242