Summary of findings from a survey among agricultural communicators on professional work, interests, educational background, training needs and qualifications for training others.
Survey report at annual AAACE meeting. "About 40 per cent of the county extension agents now furnish extension information to their local newspapers regularly, only a very few altogether neglecting to do so, but there is a distinct need for editorial training for agents." Among the training means proposed: journalism courses for prospective agents while in college, state news-writing training meetings held by the college editor for county agents, correspondence courses in news writing, and bulletins on news writing. American Association of Agricultural College Editors.
Author emphasizes intellectual curiosity as a striking characteristic of the effective agricultural college editor. Among other cited credentials: agricultural college education, newspaper training and practical farm experience.
Presentation by R. W. Trullinger, chief of the office of experiment stations and assistant research administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at 1950 AAACE conference. Calls for AAACE to become a stronger professional organization and urges development of strong agricultural journalism training programs. "Has your group gone on record urging the Association to increase opportunities for professional agricultural journalism?" "There must be a basic reason why the editorial departments are so frequently assigned quarters in the basement or attic; why the editor so often has to take on nondescript chores ranging from the duties of janitor to teaching English."
