One of the most persistent and irritating myths spun by some veteran journalists goes like this: Things were better in the old days, back when reporters were ordinary working stiffs who had just wandered in off the farm with the hay still stuck to the bottoms of their shoes, instead of people with college degrees and solid knowledge of world affairs. The professionalization of journalism-- which brought, along with a better-educated work force, the kind of compensation that would entice them to stay--was regarded by some as terrible news, because it uprooted that grizzled old myth, the one that says that street smarts are superior to book learning.