ABSTRACT
The vision of a Progressive society posited a more powerful and active citizenry who would need information to pursue reform. To chart the future wisely, the populace would need guidance from trained communicators, not just from poorly trained newspaper printers or from college graduates who had taken one freshman composition course. At state universities, initially in the Midwest, college administrators and professors began developing new courses that would educate the specialists who would become important leaders of a new democracy.
