George William Gore

“ Already a few of the twentieth century Negro youths are being attracted to the professional study of Journalism, preferring the possibilities of its virgin field to the overcrowded professions of law, teaching, medicine and theology. ”

“ In the past, the editorial page has been the one redeeming feature of the average Negro newspaper. Today the papers are beginning to have well-balanced staffs, reporters, city editors, cartoonists, etc. News stories are being better written, copy is being handled more carefully, accuracy is being insisted upon, and make-up in general is being improved. ”

“ A realization of the power of the press has grown as the period of freedom has increased and race consciousness has been developed. More men with capital have invested in newspapers. Publishers and editors began for the first time to consider Journalism a profession from which a living could be derived.
Lack Funds and Need Equipment
Lack of adequate funds to fully develop a well-balanced newspaper has been and still is the greatest drawback to the Negro publisher. Until in very recent years, no Negro newspaper did all of its mechanical work. ”

“ Cornish, was one of the leading Negro journalists of the period. He had been associated with Freedom’s Journal, and throughout a period of twenty years he was actively connected with some newspaper.
Advocated Emancipation
The subscription price of The Colored American was two dollars per year in advance. Its objects were, according to its flag, “the moral, social and political elevation of the free Colored people; [6] and the peaceful emancipation of the enslaved.” The paper was well received by the American press of the period, and many favorable comments on it appeared from time to time. ”

“ No longer must the Negro journalist necessarily be an unpaid worker. Trained journalists can obtain respectable salaries and find as many openings as their fellow workers on metropolitan dailies and national weeklies and monthlies. ”

“ Negro newspaper offices are being transformed from mere receiving stations for news to newspaper plants. During May, 1921, The Chicago Defender, one of the leading Negro newspapers, moved into a new building fitted up by its owner, Robert S. Abbott, at an expense of over $200,000. The new Defender plant compares favorably with that of any paper of its size in the United States. [17] Its equipment includes four linotype machines, each equipped with two magazines, geared to cast seven lines per minute. ”

“ Today over 250 secular Negro newspapers are being published in the United States, with a total circulation of over one million five hundred thousand copies. These papers are published in 34 states and in the district of Columbia.
Papers Have Journalistic Appearance
Papers published in the larger centers where the Negro population is large, such as New York City, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Cleveland, St. Louis, Washington, Detroit, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Nashville and Atlanta have developed to a high degree. Their make-up on the whole is good ”

“ Poor Organization a Serious Handicap
Prior to and at the beginning of the twentieth century, the organization of the average Negro newspaper amounted to a printer-editor, perhaps an assistant whose duties were varied and manifold, an office girl, who in addition to keeping books, also performed the duties of copy-reader, and two or three agents who worked part time on a percentage basis. ”

“ The next serious attempt to publish a Negro magazine was in 1856, when Thomas Hamilton, of New York City, issued The Anglo-African Magazine, which was the outgrowth of his newspaper, The Anglo-African. ”

“ Many other Negro magazines have been attempted; many of more or less note, but of the magazines established prior to 1900, scarcely a one, if any, are in existence today. Of the leading present day magazines, none can boast of as long a period of publication as the present day newspapers. ”

“ Even in the high schools, the development of a vague appreciation of, and elementary training in Journalism is afforded by the publishing of school papers, under the supervision of the English department. Such schools as Dunbar High School, Washington, D. C.; Summer High School, St. Louis, Mo.; Central High School, Louisville, Ky.; Pearl High School, Nashville, Tenn., and Langston High School, Hot Springs, Ark., illustrate the point.
College Publications
What is true of the high schools is true of the Normal and Industrial schools and colleges on a larger scale. ”

“ The columns of the North Star were filled with contributions from correspondents in Europe and the West Indies, as well as from all parts of the United States. It was the first Negro newspaper to have any considerable circulation among the American people outside of its own race group. ”

“ On the mechanical side of newspaper publishing, work is offered in printing at Hampton Institute (Va.) , Tuskegee Institute (Ala.) , and Wilberforce University (Ohio) . Many of the present printer-editors are products of these schools. ”

“ Some of these are purely the product of the student body; a few of them are the product of both students and faculty; still others are the publication of the administration and faculty, and under the supervision of a university editor. Many of the latter have developed to the place where they are nationally known. [24] Such periodicals as The Fisk University News, The Southern Workman (Hampton Institute) , Howard University Record (quarterly) , The Tuskegee Student and The Atlanta University Bulletin (quarterly) are among the best Negro publications in the United States. ”

“ Practice in Writing, Newspaper Technique, Newspaper Editing, The History of Journalism, Advertising, Journalistic French, Journalistic German, Journalistic Spanish, Elements of Law, Freehand and Applied Drawing, and certain college courses in History, Economics, Sociology, Literature and Politics. ”

“ Papers in the large cities have built up enormous subscription lists of bona fide, paid-up subscribers. Likewise, they carry a large amount of well-paying advertisements, and as a result of these sources of income they are able to give attractive remuneration to their publishers, editorial staff and business staff. ”

“ Its editor was Willis Hodges, who according to The Afro-American Press and Its Editor [2] , furnished the money necessary to publish the first issue by whitewashing in New York City for two months. Within a short period of time the circulation of the paper reached two thousand five hundred copies. The subscription price was $1.50 to subscribers within the state, and $1 a year to those outside the state. Its motto was—“We are men, and therefore interested in whatever concerns men.” The publication was a five column folio, printed on both sides. It suspended publication in June 1848. ”

“ Thomas Hamilton, the publisher of the short-lived People’s Press, again attempted a publication in New York City. On July 23, 1859, he began publishing The Anglo-African. The paper was well printed and in the opinion of Frederick Douglass “had more promise and more journalistic ability about it, than any of the other papers.” The motto of the papers of the period was highly indicative of their editorial outlook and policy. Practically every paper had its motto, and The Anglo-African was no exception. Its motto was: “Man must be free ”

“ Daily Standard
The third paper is The Indianapolis Daily Standard which began publication the latter part of April, 1922, under the editorship of C. C. Shelby. It is a 7 column, 4-page paper and retails at 2 cents per copy. ”

“ School of Applied Science, four year course, granting the degree, B. S. in Civil Engineering, B. S. in Electrical Engineering, B. S. in Mechanical Engineering, B. S. in Architecture, B. S. in Agriculture, and B. S. in Household Economics. ”