Walter Williams

“FATHER OF JOURNALISM EDUCATION”

“His greatest contribution to journalism was the Journalist’s Creed. It changed journalism from a trade to a profession.”
—Bill Taft, Missouri Press Association historian

Little did anybody expect that a young man from Boonville would change the world of journalism. Ironically, Walter Williams also never attended college.

Walter Williams changed the code of ethics by which journalists do their jobs while also founding the world-famous School of Journalism at the University of Missouri.  The small-town Missouri boy made such an impact on society that he is often called the “Father of Journalism Education.”

THE EARLY YEARS

Walter Williams was born to a large family in Boonville in 1864. His innocent days of childhood came to an end at the age of 14, when both of his parents died. This tragedy forced him to drop out of school and get a job to support his family. He found work at the local newspaper, The Boonville Topic. 

On that early job, he only made 70-cents per week. It was a tough job for a teen, but it provided him with the opportunity to make a living and to learn a skill: writing.

RISE TO FAME

Since Williams was a good worker at the Topic, the publisher allowed him to write a few stories for the paper. He showed such an amazing amount of maturity and skill that when the company merged with the Boonville Advertiser a few years later, the 22-year old was hired to be the editor. He continued to learn the trade and was able to become a part-owner of the newspaper only two years after the merger. A short time later, he was named the president of the Missouri Press Association.

At the age of 26, Williams was lured to Columbia to edit the Columbia Herald. He loved the city and became increasingly convinced that the University of Missouri should offer a program in journalism for aspiring reporters and editors. He felt that journalism would never reach a high set of standards if journalists weren’t trained properly. Still, he faced opposition from many Mizzou faculty members, because at the time, newspaper jobs were seen as vocations and not professions. The Board of Curators eventually relented in 1905 and established the program with Williams acting as the first dean of the College of Journalism.

SHOW ME SUCCESS

Interest in the new school was initially strong with students, as well as with practicing journalists across the country. The School of Journalism was finally established in 1908 with only three faculty members and ninety-seven students.  One of Williams’ first tasks was to make the program as functional as possible by giving the students “real-life” experience. He established the University Missourian (now the Columbia Missourian) newspaper as a working lab for the students. It seems obvious today that a working newspaper on the campus was a great idea. Oddly, it again met with opposition by people who thought a state-supported paper is unfair competition to the private sector.

Not long after the University of Missouri established the journalism program, numerous other schools across the country started similar programs. Williams, however, was concerned that these other institutions would not keep the same high professional standards that he did. So he decided to write a set of rules that would guide professional ethics. Williams penned the Journalist’s Creed in the early 1920s to put forth a high set of standards for the profession. The creed continues to be the backbone of professional ethics that journalists follow today.

Walter Williams Saves Mizzou

During the Depression, the curators once again turned to Williams for help by naming him the president of University of Missouri. His high level of integrity and his vision for the university guided the school through a difficult time for everyone, especially colleges and universities. Cutbacks and school closures were common, but he argued for the continued support of the school. In fact, while requesting pay increases for faculty members, Williams cut his own salary. Due largely to his stellar reputation and commitment to higher education, he sustained the university in the face of certain peril.

He died in 1935 at the age of 71 in Columbia.  Williams honored in papers across the globe as the man who changed journalism. Oddly enough, the man called the Father of Journalism Education never went to college.  Ironically, he even has a college building named in his honor.

EXTRA, EXTRA!

• Williams spoke to leaders all over the world to promote journalism.  That included Adolf Hitler, long before the atrocities of World War II.
• Joseph Pulitzer helped Williams push for the School of Journalism.
• KOMU, a commercially affiliated TV station partially run by students, opened in 1953.
• Due to his influence, Missouri produced dozens of famous journalists broadcasters.