Prior to WW2 being a reporter was a blue collar job with no degree required. Then the commies started their Long March Through The Institutions.
I started in a small city newsroom in 1998 and there were a few longtime reporters there, including the sports editor, who had only high school diplomas. They were excellent writers. Of my fellow reporters who had gone to college, the best, most accurate ones were those with
non-journalism degrees. Two had English degrees.
One day, a wet-behind-the-ears recent J-school grad joined the staff, and he was utterly unaware of how to cover even the least complicated event. "Mike," we said, "just go to the Lions Club meeting, listen to the guest speaker, and write a story on what he had to say."
When he came back, we asked, "Well, what was the meeting about?"
He started blankly at us. Turns out he hadn't bothered to take notes. He did tell us that J-school had taught him only about magazine writing, and he didn't know how to cover events like speeches.
