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ACKERMAN, CARL WILLIAM 1890-1970

DEAN OF COLUMBIA GRADUATE SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM

Freedom of the Press

One of the first systematic instructors of journalism in the United States, Carl William Ackerman was moved by the belief that if the press does not police itself, it will be policed from outside. There-fore, he saw a great need for journalistic education to enhance potential journalists' understanding of press etiquette and standards. Influenced by his days as a war correspondent, he perceived that an unsystematic presentation of the news leads democracies to horrible wars.

Early Work

Ackerman's work as a journalist began in 1915 when, during World War I, he was a correspondent for the United Press. In 1917 he became a special writer for The New York Tribune, reporting on France, Spain, Switzerland, and Mexico. In 1917 he also began writing for the Saturday Evening Post By 1919 he was in Siberia with the Allied forces as a correspondent for The New York Times. He became director for the Foreign News Service for the Philadelphia Ledger in 1919 when he returned to the United States. From 1921 to 1931 he worked in public relations, first as president of his own company and then as assistant to the president of General Motors.

Academic Work

Ackerman was appointed dean of Columbia University's School of Journalism, from which he had graduated eighteen years earlier, in 1931. It was turned into a graduate school within a year after his arrival. In October 1943 the graduate school of journalism in Chung-ching, affiliated with the Central Political Institute of China, was organized by Ackerman, who assisted in procuring two anonymous financial gifts.

Ideas on the Press

Both in his work as a teacher and as a journalist, Ackerman's major concern was maintaining the freedom of the press. In his many speeches and articles dealing with the subject he frequently under-scored what he expressed in 1936, that he was "dedicated to the study of the daily newspaper and government. We need scientific studies of the press, by the press, and for the press, which will contribute to the progress of journalism as the great educational foundations have advanced medicine." He also made many statements against censorship, as in his open letter to Otto Dietrich, Nazi press chief in Germany: "No nation has ever been able to create confidence in its money by government decree. The same conditions apply to the printed and the spoken word as a medium of exchange between nations. Good news, meaning truthful information, always has and always will drive bad news, meaning false information, out of circulation."

The Fight against Censorship

Although various government agencies, including those in the United States, attempted to silence the press during World War II under the guise of preserving national security, Ackerman saw this sort of activity as censorship. He spoke often about how traditional democracy relied upon freedom of speech, firmly supporting the Bill of Rights. He also felt that American journalists must challenge any attempts by the government to regulate salaries or working hours of newspaper employees.

Other Activities

During the war Ackerman visited Trinidad, Buenos Aires, Uruguay, and Brazil, promoting freedom of the press and pointing out that adequate supplies were not being delivered to these countries. To promote freedom of the press during the war Ackerman, along with a committee appointed by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, visited England, the Nether-lands, Norway, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Greece, Egypt, Palestine, and the Philippines. During this world tour he discovered that the bulk of the populace knew little of the war activities; thus Ackerman and the rest of the committee proposed a postwar world conference on freedom of the press. His continued work in such endeavors contributed much to the cultural understanding between nations.