Just happened upon this nifty post. Supporting you and chipping in with my 2 cents. Certainly there were people who wrote the news back before we were even a country! Remember that nifty pamphlet-COMMON SENSE-by Thomas Paine?
Were people writing for newspapers not Journalists? What is a journalist? If one definition includes some one who writes stories to report the news then journalists have clearly predated the MO. J-School.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_American_newspapers
Excerpt from the above link below:
“The history of American newspapers begins in the early 18th century with the publication of the first colonial newspapers.... The U.S. Postal Service Act of 1792 provided substantial subsidies: Newspapers were delivered up to 100 miles for a penny and beyond for 1.5 cents, when first class postage ranged from six cents to a quarter.
By 1900 major newspapers had become profitable powerhouses of advocacy, muckraking and sensationalism, along with serious, and objective news-gathering.”
Unfortunately, the last item in the above paragraph has been diminished and the FAKE NEWS MEDIA has increased the muckraking and sensationalism exponentially! JMHO
You know there were dentists before dental schools, but I'm pretty happy they decided to try to formalize best practices. My grandfather graduated from dental school in 1920. I never experienced his "technique" but according to both my parents it was crude and painful.
J schools are apparently still at that level, much of the output of their graduates is crude and painful.