Communication Journalism Concentration

Communication Journalism Concentration
Department of Communication
College of Liberal Arts

Neff Hall 230 ~ 260-481-6825

This area is designed to provide students with theoretical, conceptual and practical skills that they will need as a consumer and practitioner of journalism, and to enable students to fulfill their responsibilities as citizens in a self-governing democracy. The area will prepare students with essential skills for today’s digital media environment. Students will learn how to research, write, interview and produce news content, including written, audio and video components, for newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the Internet, including Web sites and social media.

Suggested minors: Biology, business studies, criminal justice, economics, history, media production, political science, psychology, public relations, and sociology.

Student Learning Outcomes for the Journalism Concentration:
Upon completion of this concentration, students will be able to:

Understand and apply the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press and understand the range of systems of freedom of expression around the world, including the right to dissent, to monitor and criticize power, and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances
Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications
Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information
Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity
Think critically, creatively and independently
Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications professions in which they work
Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness

Program Requirements:

Communication (Journalism) 4-Year Plan:

A grade of C- or higher for all courses required in the concentration and an overall GPA of 2.00 or higher.
COM 32300 is not available for credit toward any Communication major, minor or concentration.
Students pursuing the Communication Journalism concentration may not use Journalism as their required minor.

To earn the B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Journalism, students must fulfill the General Requirements and Communication core requirements as outlined in Program Description of the Communication B.A. program in this catalog, and the following concentration requirements:

Journalism Core: Credits 24

COM 20000 - Reporting, Writing And Editing I Cr. 3.
COM 20101 - Reporting, Writing, And Editing II Cr. 3.
COM 14000 - Introduction To Media Production Cr. 3.
COM 31700 - Digital Storytelling Cr. 3.
COM 33200 - Television Studio Production Cr. 3.
COM 35200 - Mass Communication Law Cr. 3.
COM 41401 - Multimedia Design And Production Cr. 3.
COM 44101 - Social Media: Theory and Practice Cr. 3.

Concentration Total: Credits 24

Student Responsibility

You are responsible for ensuring that you satisfy all graduation requirements specified for each selected program. Thus, it is essential that you develop a thorough understanding of the required courses, academic policies, and procedures governing your academic career. If you cannot complete all program requirements by your stated graduation date but fail to remove those from your plan of study, the Registrar’s Office in consultation with your academic advisor will remove unmet pursuits from your plan of study. Changing curricular records during the graduation term of application may affect state or federal financial aid awards. All requests for exceptions to specific requirements must be made in writing and may be granted only by written approval from the appropriate chair or dean.