SURVEY OF HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM IN STATE OF OREGON
By Alfred Powers,
University of Oregon School of Journalism
[Mr. Powers' article synchronizes with the second annual convention of the Oregon High School Press Association, to be held at the University of Oregon School of Journalism April 14 and 15. Under the head of "Principles" the constitution of the association contains a statement of ethical principles which may be of interest in view of the recent adoption of the Code of Ethics by the grown-up journalists of Oregon.]
HIGH school publications in Oregon take four rather distinct forms—annuals, magazines, newspapers, and regularly established notes columns in the local papers.
Annuals have a seductive interest for students, but they have been the subject of considerable pedagogical criticism on the part of teachers and principals. They have too often been over-ambitious and have resulted in financial deficits. Some school administrators have pointed out that the same amount of money spent on a school newspaper would bring better results in many other ways—it would afford a continuous project in English work rather than an annual piece of editing with marked limitations of content; it would be more cooperative and socialized, using the product of a larger number of students; it would be printed at home. The expensive annual, edited by a small staff and printing de luxe editions out of all proportion to the size of the school, has undoubtedly provoked deserved indictments, but much can be said in favor of a year book of the right sort. Particularly, it is a convenient record in picture and article of the school and as such has great and permanent value. It gives editorial and writing experience of a very exact kind. But undoubtedly the annual will have to change its ways or it will steadily decrease in popularity. Even now in Oregon it is not much more than holding its own as a school publication. The first experience of a school with a year book is often too bitter for early repetition.
School literary magazines are the least numerous of all student publications in Oregon. One is not even published at the present time in any college or university of the state. The expense is probably a deterring consideration. The lack of general appeal in the literary content also helps to explain their scarcity.
The high school newspaper is already numerous in Oregon and is rapidly growing in popularity. Oregon high school students now edit three weekly papers and 30 papers appearing at longer intervals. These, in almost every instance, show the active cooperation of local newspaper publishers, and such cooperation should always be sought by schools planning the publication of papers. "The Nugget," of Baker, for instance, is an eight-page, four-column supplement of the Baker Herald, appearing every Monday. Circulation is thus taken care of and the Herald also attends to the business management. This is such an excellent idea for both the high schools and newspapers that it is specifically mentioned here for the suggestive value it might have. There are several excellent mimeographed papers, carrying both advertisements and illustrations. One school even mimeographed its annual.
School notes in the local papers are far and away the most dynamic and popular of all the forms of "interpreting the school to the community." Frequently
[ 16 ]
