At a time of intense controversy about the press, James Boylan has written a candid, fascinating account of the best-known school for educating journalists. The Columbia Journalism School is undergoing its own revolution these days. Perhaps it will move back toward the goal, set by Joseph Pulitzer in 1902, that Boylan recalls: to teach journalists about 'politics, literature, government, constitutional ... Read moreprinciples.'
Anthony Lewis, James Madison Visiting Professor of First Amendment Issues, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University, former columnist, The New York Times Boylan has produced a detailed history of the school from its origin to the present. Making extensive use of archival materials, he traces the school's history through its deans and faculty and highlights the ongoing academic arguments over the nature of journalism education. Library Journal Boylan's book is absorbing certainly for anyone with a tie to the School or a concern about journalism education. And it portrays some fascinating characters, their oddities, their disputes, their fits of indignation, and even occasional heroism. Columbia Journalism Alumni Journal This book is a valuable contribution to the debate about journalism education. Boylan has done an admirable job of summing up the technical problems of the school's administration. But his history was ultimately written in the hopes that the school's leaders can transcend the details and lead the institution to realize Pulitzer's dreams. Columbia Daily Spectator This valuable book is far more comprehensive than John Hohenberg'sThe Pulitzer's Diaries: Inside America's Greatest Prize. Recommended [for] journalism collections at all levels. Choice [Boylan's] book provokes thought about the role of journalism in society and the place of a professional school.
Maurine H. Beasley American Journalism Boylan's attention to detail and his agreeable writing style make it highly readable...Pulitzer's Schoo is a fascinating look at the early days of their discipline.
Barbara Cloud The Journal of American History Show Less