The Missouri School of Journalism housed under University of Missouri[1] in Columbia is one of the oldest formal journalism schools in the world. The school provides academic education and practical training in all areas of journalism and strategic communication for undergraduate and graduate students across several media platforms including television and radio broadcasting, newspapers, magazines, photography, and new media. The school also supports an advertising and public relations curriculum.
Founded by Walter Williams in 1908, the school publishes the city's Columbia Missourian newspaper and produces news programming for the market's NBC-TV affiliate and NPR member radio station.
Considered one of the top journalism schools in the world, it is known for its "Missouri Method," through which students learn about journalism in the classroom as well as practicing it in multimedia laboratories and real-world outlets. It also operates an international journalists' magazine, a local city magazine, a statewide business journal, a statehouse news bureau, and two student-staffed advertising and public relations agencies.
In 1930, the school established its Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism. The faculty selects medalists based on lifetime or superior achievement for distinguished service; each year a different aspect of journalism is selected for recognition. In 1960, the school established the Penney-Missouri Awards to recognize women's page journalism "that went beyond traditional content."[2] In 1994, the awards were renamed the Missouri Lifestyle Journalism Awards.
History
Two stone lions, a gift to the school by the Chinese government in 1931, grace the arch between Neff and Walter Williams Halls.
The school opened on September 14, 1908. Its founding was urged by Joseph Pulitzer, following lobbying by Walter Williams, the editor of the Columbia (Missouri) Herald and a university curator. Williams became the official founder. This came 13 years after the defeat in the Missouri State Senate of a bill to establish a chair of journalism at the University of Missouri. Previously newspapers usually required apprenticeships. The Missouri Press Association began supporting the proposal in 1896.
The first day's class published the first issue of the University Missourian, which was to become the Columbia Missourian. Williams was the first dean. Among the original faculty members was Charles Griffith Ross, who would become press secretary for President Harry S. Truman. It was initially based in Switzler Hall.
In 1910, the school began its Journalism Week celebration. On March 10, Kappa Tau Alpha was founded.
In 1919, Jay Holcomb Neff Hall, the first building formally assigned to the school, was built by a donation from Andrew Neff, a 1913 journalism graduate, in honor of his late father, a former Kansas City, Missouri mayor and publisher. At the time, it was the largest donation in the university history.[1]
In 1921, the school offered the world's first master's degree in journalism. In 1930, it created the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism. In 1934, it offered the world's first Doctor of Philosophy degree in journalism. In 1936, the school began offering broadcast courses in conjunction with KFRU, the radio station owned by the St. Louis Star-Times.
In 1944, Professor Clifton C. Edom and his wife Vi, in association with the school, developed the "News Pictures of Year Competition and Exhibition," now "Pictures of the Year International". A year later, they started the "College Photograph of the Year" program.[3][4]
In 1953, the university launched KOMU-TV, the only university-owned full-power commercial television station in the US, used as a training lab for students who provide its news programming. In 1958, the school opened the Freedom of Information Center, the world's first academic center dedicated to the topic. In 1971, the school switched its radio news programming to KBIA, a National Public Radio station.
In 1957, George McElroy, a pioneering black journalist from Texas, became the first African American to receive a master's degree in journalism from the university.[5]
In 1981, the school was ranked the top journalism school in the country, under dean Roy M. Fisher. In February 2004, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation awarded the School $31 million, the largest private donation ever to the University of Missouri, to create The Reynolds Journalism Institute. In 2008, the Reynolds Institute opened, offering advanced studies of journalism and its role in democratic societies.
In 2010, the school revamped its curriculum so undergraduate students could choose from an array of more than 30 interest areas. These are designed to build expertise in areas in which journalism and strategic communication majors.
Facilities
The journalism courtyard seen from the Francis Quadrangle on the MU Red Campus
The Missouri School of Journalism has eight buildings dedicated to the practice and teaching of journalism. These are Jay H. Neff Hall (1920), Walter Williams Hall and the Journalism Arch (1937), KOMU-TV (1953), Neff Annex (1962), Gannett Hall (1979), Lee Hills Hall (1995) and the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute (2008).
The classrooms and equipment include two high-tech design labs; three writing labs; a digital television editing lab; two major auditoriums with state-of-the-art audiovisual capabilities; an electronic photojournalism laboratory; an advanced computer lab for producing Web-based text, audio and video materials; more than 550 computers; and wireless network access. The Futures Lab and Technology Demonstration Center at the Reynolds Journalism Institute allow students to work alongside professionals and researchers to discover new ways to serve democracy through journalism.
Media outlets
At Missouri, real-world media experience is part of the curriculum. As part of the "Missouri Method" of hands-on journalism education, undergraduate and graduate students work at the School's community-based real-media outlets. News is delivered using traditional, digital, online and mobile formats. The outlets include the Columbia Missourian, a daily general-circulation newspaper and website; KOMU-TV, the NBC affiliate for mid-Missouri; KBIA-FM, an NPR member station; Vox, a monthly entertainment magazine; Missouri Business Alert, a digital newsroom that publishes the top business news from across the state; Missouri Digital News, a state government reporting program based in Jefferson City; Global Journalist, a converged newsroom producing digital, broadcast, print and mobile content for local and global audiences; Mojo Ad, a student-staffed agency that focuses on the 18-to-24 age Youth and Young Adult (YAYA) market; and AdZou, the strategic communication capstone agency.
Reynolds Journalism Institute
The Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI)[6] is a center for researching and testing new models of journalism in an era of technological advances. RJI makes the most of its location at the Missouri School of Journalism and the extensive resources at the university. It also takes advantage of the collective creativity of visiting professionals and researchers.[7]
RJI was launched in 2004 with an initial grant of $31 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. In conjunction with the centennial celebration of the School, it dedicated its world headquarters on September 12, 2008. This 50,000-square-foot (4,600m2) facility has state-of-the-art resources to test and demonstrate new technologies, experiment with convergence news production and delivery systems, and conduct real-time and virtual seminars and conferences.
RJI's work crosses diverse specialties within journalism, including media convergence, editorial content and methods, the evolution of advertising, innovation in management and the impact of new technologies. It also includes varied fields on campus such as law, computer science, marketing, education and other disciplines.
In the Futures Lab, interdisciplinary teams of journalism, business, and computer science students work together to create the future of journalism.
Endowed chairs
The School has 10 endowed chairs:
1982: Goldenson Chair in Local Broadcasting The Goldenson Chair in Local Broadcasting helps develop research programs and educate communities through local broadcast stations. The chair is named for Leonard Goldenson (1905–1999), who founded the American Broadcasting Company.
1986: Meredith Chair in Service Journalism The Meredith Corporation, based in Des Moines, Iowa, established an endowed chair in service journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism in 1986.
1995: Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press StudiesLee Hills had a long and varied newspaper career; he worked as a reporter, foreign correspondent, news editor, editorial writer, editor, managing editor, executive editor, and publisher and CEO of two major newspapers, the Detroit Free Press and the Miami Herald. Hills, who attended the Missouri School of Journalism between 1927 and 1929, was also the first chairman and CEO of Knight-Ridder Newspapers.
1997: Knight Chair in Journalism The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation helped fund an endowed chair and program in editing, recognizing editors as central to the success of a newspaper. The Knight Chair in Journalism and the Knight Center for Editing Excellence, which stimulates innovations in teaching and research on editing, was partially funded by the state of Missouri, which provided a $1.5 million matching grant.
1997: Maxine Wilson Gregory Chair in Journalism Research Maxine Wilson Gregory, an alumna of the Missouri School of Journalism, died in New York City in 1995. She earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas, after which she attended MU, graduating in 1930. Gregory worked as an editor on various book projects after graduation, and a bequest made after her death was used to fund the endowed chair that bears her name.
1998: Houston Harte Chair in Journalism The family of Houston Harte, co-founder of the Harte-Hanks newspaper group, established the Houston Harte Chair in Journalism. Harte, who graduated in 1915, bought his first newspaper while still a student at the Missouri School of Journalism. At the time of his death, he was executive chairman of Harte-Hanks Newspapers, Inc., which owned 19 newspapers and one television station. The Houston Harte Chair works as a teaching editor at the Columbia Missourian, the general-circulation daily newspaper staffed by professors and students.
1998: Curtis B. Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Reporting When Edgar A. McLaughlin graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 1931, he said, "If I ever make any money, I am going to do something for this place." Years later a gift from the E.A. and Lucile McLaughlin estate recognized Curtis B. Hurley, the country editor who, in 1927, both encouraged McLaughlin to study journalism at Missouri, and also lent him $400 to do so. McLaughlin credited Hurley and his experience at the School of Journalism with turning his life around, and left the bulk of his estate to the School.
2000: Missouri Chair in Community Newspaper Management More than 100 community publishers, alumni of the school, and friends of Missouri Press Association and the school made contributions to make this endowed chair possible. The Chair in Community Newspaper Management is a joint effort by the School and the MPA to strengthen and promote the teaching of community newspapering.
2000: Society of American Business Editors and Writers Endowed Missouri Chair in Business and Financial Journalism The SABEW Chair in Business and Financial Journalism is a joint effort by the School and the Society of American Business Editors and Writers to strengthen and promote the teaching of business journalism. Headquartered at the Missouri School of Journalism, SABEW is an organization of more than 3,200 dedicated business and financial writers and editors.
2008: Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation awarded the School a $2 million grant to establish the Donald W. Reynolds Endowed Chair in Business Journalism in 2008. The chair is the second in business journalism at the School, joining the Society of American Business Editors and Writers Chair, established in 2000. Working with other faculty and staff of Reynolds Journalism Institute, the Reynolds Chair helps develop, test and write about new digital models of journalism and advertising.
Student groups
Students can participate in more than a dozen student groups, most affiliated with national organizations. These include AAF Mizzou, American Copy Editors Society; Association for Women in Sports Media; Journalism Ambassadors; Journalism Student Council; Kappa Alpha Mu; Magazine Club; National Association of Black Journalists (Alé Chapter); Online News Association; Queer Media Association (QMA); Radio Television Digital News Association; Society of Professional Journalists; the Student Society of News Design; and Women in Media.
Professional organizations
Ten professional organizations and programs affiliated with the School allow students to interact with working journalists and news-related organizations:
The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit educational and professional organization based in San Francisco, California with more than 1,500 members and 21 chapters across the United States and Asia. The current president is Washington Post reporter Nicole Dungca. The executive director is Naomi Tacuyan Underwood.
The Medill School of Journalism is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the United States. Medill alumni include over 40 Pulitzer Prize laureates, numerous national correspondents for major networks, many well-known reporters, columnists and media executives.
The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism is located in Pulitzer Hall on the university's Morningside Heights campus in New York City. Founded in 1912 by Joseph Pulitzer, Columbia Journalism School is one of the oldest journalism schools in the world and the only journalism school in the Ivy League. It offers four graduate degree programs.
The E. W. Scripps School of Journalism is part of the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University. Founded in 1924, the school has been recognized by The Associated Press and U.S. News & World Report for excellence in instruction and research in the fields of journalism and mass communications. The program was recently recognized as a Center of Excellence by the Ohio Board of Regents, and has attracted more than $54 million in grants, awards and investments. The School of Journalism is accredited by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. The school's current director as of March 2020, Edith Dashiell, joined OHIO in 1992.
The Dartmouth is the daily student newspaper at Dartmouth College and America's oldest college newspaper. Originally named the Dartmouth Gazette, the first issue was published on August 27, 1799, under the motto "Here range the world—explore the dense and rare; and view all nature in your elbow chair."
The Berkeley Beacon is the student newspaper of Emerson College, founded in 1947. The paper is published weekly on Thursdays during the fall and spring semesters of Emerson's academic year.
The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication is a constituent college of the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, United States. Established in 1915, Grady College offers undergraduate degrees in journalism, advertising, public relations, and entertainment and media studies, and master's and doctoral programs of study. Grady has consistently been ranked among the top schools of journalism education and research in the U.S.
The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication is the journalism unit of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. The college is named for the former longtime publishers of The Oklahoman.
Walter Williams was an American journalist and educator. He founded the world's first journalism school at the University of Missouri, and later served as the university's president. An internationalist, he promoted the ideals of journalism globally and is often referred to as "The Father of Journalism Education".
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is one of the 24 independent schools at Arizona State University and is named in honor of veteran broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite. The school, which is located at the downtown Phoenix campus, offers several undergraduate and graduate programs in journalism, and in fall 2011, launched its first doctoral program in journalism and mass communication.
The Philip Merrill College of Journalism is a journalism school located at the University of Maryland, College Park. The college was founded in 1947 and was named after newspaper editor Philip Merrill in 2001. The school has about 550 undergraduates and 70 graduate students enrolled. The school awards B.A., M.A., M.J. and Ph.D. degrees in journalism. Undergraduates can focus on broadcast or multi-platform journalism.
The Columbia Missourian is a digital-first newspaper based in Columbia, Missouri, published online seven days a week and in print five days a week. The newspaper is affiliated with the Missouri School of Journalism, and is owned as a 501c3 non-profit under the Missourian Publishing Association. Students enrolled in staff classes produce the newspaper, which is managed by working professionals who also serve as professors.
The Investigative Reporting Workshop is a nonprofit, editorially independent newsroom based at American University in Washington, D.C. in that trains undergraduate, graduate student and early career journalists by pairing them with professional newsrooms on investigative, enterprise and data journalism projects. Since its founding, the IRW has partnered with dozens of professional newsrooms on hundreds of investigations, and trained more than 240 student journalists -- many of whom now work in leading newsrooms across the country.
Dorothy Judith Bolch is an American journalist and the first Houston Harte Chair in Journalism at the University of Missouri. Bolch has won awards for her writing and editing at The Raleigh Times and The News & Observer, both based in Raleigh, NC. She was managing editor/enterprise at The News & Observer in 1997, when she joined the faculty of the University of Missouri and became the first Houston Harte Chair. Until her retirement in September 2008, Bolch was Teaching Editor at the Columbia Missourian, which is staffed by Missouri School of Journalism students who work under the direction of professional editors.
Richard F. "Rick" Shaw is the director of Pictures of the Year International (POYi), a photojournalism program, and an educator in visual journalism at the Missouri School of Journalism. He is a former manager and senior editor at several daily newspapers in the United States.
Bill Adair is the founder of the Pulitzer Prize-winning website PolitiFact and Knight Professor of the Practice of Journalism and Public Policy at Duke University, where he specializes in journalism and new media, with an emphasis on structured journalism and fact-checking. He is a former adjunct faculty member at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla. and a contributing editor at PolitiFact.
Ron Mott is an American television news correspondent. He formerly worked for NBC News, and was a regular contributor to Today, NBC Nightly News, and MSNBC.
Ronald T. Farrar was an American journalist and academic. He was the chair of the Journalism Department at Southern Methodist University and University of Mississippi, and he later became the director of the School of Journalism at the University of Kentucky. He retired from academia as the Reynolds-Faunt Professor of Journalism at the University of South Carolina (USC) in 2001. He was the author of several academic books on journalism.
Sandra Mims Rowe is an American journalist. She is the former editor of The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia, and of The Oregonian, in Portland, Oregon. She was one of the few women editors of metro newspapers in the 1980s, and was the first woman editor at The Virginian-Pilot and The Oregonian. She was the second female president of the American Society of News Editors, a decade after Kay Fanning, the editor of The Christian Science Monitor, was the first.
Pam Johnson was the first woman to serve as managing editor of The Arizona Republic, the 15th largest newspaper in the U.S. and the largest newspaper in Arizona. She was also the first female managing editor of The Republic's sister newspaper, The Phoenix Gazette. In addition to her newspaper management career, Johnson worked at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in Florida and then as executive director of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri's School of Journalism, starting in 2004. Johnson, who died in January 2021, graduated from Missouri School of Journalism in 1969 with a bachelor's degree.
References
1 2 A Creed for My Profession: Walter Williams, Journalist to the World – By Ronald T. Farrar – University of Missouri Press – 1998 – ISBN0-8262-1188-7 – Page 175
Loupe, Diane E. "Storming and defending the color barrier at the University of Missouri School of Journalism: The Lucile Bluford case." Journalism History 16.1-2 (1989): 20-31.
Sanjiu, Y. A. N., and N. A. N. Ruiqin. "Institutional Research on the Construction of First-class Disciplines: A Case Study of Columbia Journalism School and School of Journalism in University of Missouri." Journal of East China Normal University 35.6 (2017): 95+ online
Taft, William H. "Establishing the School of Journalism." Missouri Historical Review 84 (October 1989): 63-83. online.
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