News Dearth in Early Days of College Journalism Attributed to Indifference of Students--Editors Denied Responsibility

The difficult problem of news gathering, presented in its most acute form in the colleges where editors and reporters must also to a certain extent be students, has existed since the earliest days of college newspapers. At that time when journalism was still struggling to gain a definite place in the undergraduate life of the larger universities the much hearalded indifference of Harvard men made the task of the early Herald-Crimson particularly trying. In 1884, the first year of the new daily, protests by undergraduates about the scantiness of the news appearing in its columns brought forth a vigorous editorial answer in which the blame was shifted to the general student body.

"We have heard wonder expressed," says the writer, "that the Herald-Crimson does not contain more items of college news, but it is fair to say that the 'Fact and Rumor' column is somewhat deficient in that respect. But who is to blame for this state of things?

"Surely not the editors, for a few men cannot hear every rumor that may be floating about the college, nor can they give the time to run about picking up facts here and there, as newspaper reporters do. The fault is to be charged to the entire body of our students, and it is only owing to indifference on their part that our local column is less interesting to the students of Harvard, than the the columns of the 'Yale News' and the 'Cornell Sun' to the men in those colleges.

"In so large a community as ours there can be no dearth of news, athletic or otherwise, and if the men who frequent the gymnasium would be on the lookout for facts there about our crews and other teams the athletic interest would be well cared for, while the men in the various departments of the University might see to it that all news relating to their work and courses should reach us. Moreover, in a college supporting so many different societies, there ought to be a large amount of society news, but the secretaries are extremely backward in sending us reports of meetings or any items of general interest."