Demarcated: Scholastic Journalism, Collegiate Journalism and the Fight to Define Journalism Education

Abstract

From 1920 to 1939, university journalism educators engaged in boundary work to establish authority over journalism education. They sought to differentiate themselves from high school journalism, which challenged their status as the primary educational arena for future reporters. Their rhetoric positioned university programs as the sole legitimate pathway to journalism, marking a shift from a working-class ethos to an elite profession requiring a university degree, thereby redefining the field and preventing competition.