The times, they are a-changin’ for journalism, and the University’s School of Journalism and Communication doesn’t plan on being left behind.
This year marks the debut of the journalism school’s new curriculum, one designed to prepare students for a changing journalism landscape while still emphasizing tried-and-true reporting.
“We’re in such a time of flux, and we don’t know what the future holds for the field,” said associate dean of undergraduate studies Julianne Newton. “But what hasn’t changed is the need for good, solid information.”
Among the changes are a completely new pre-journalism core sequence which will replace the old pre-core sequence, including the infamous Journalism 202: Information Gathering, or as it’s better known, Info Hell.
Three classes in the old pre-core sequence — Journalism 202, 203 (Writing for the Media) and 204 (Visual Communication) — have been replaced by a two-term three-course sequence, Gateway to Media.
Gateway I and II are taken concurrently in fall or winter term, followed by Gateway III in spring. The remaining 200-level core course for journalism, Journalism 201 (The Mass Media and Society) has been retained.
All of the old pre-core classes will be phased out at the end of the school year. This term will be the last for Journalism 204. Students who declared a journalism or pre-journalism major before this fall term will still be held to the previous major requirements.
In addition, the school is consolidating the “tracks,” or specialties, within the major. The old options of news editorial, magazine and electronic media are all being rolled into a catch-all “journalism” track.
“What the new technology has done is let us see that the concept of journalism is much bigger than the platform of delivery,” Newton said.
The new curriculum is the result of three years of planning and work from the journalism faculty. Newton said that while the classes had been changing with times, they were still too specialized and separate.
“The courses had been evolving and the technology was coming through, but what we needed was integration in the curriculum,” she said.
The changes reflect the journalism field at large, where newsrooms are shrinking and reporters are expected to be jacks of all trades.
“Where we used to teach journalism from an industrial perspective, it’s now from a multimedia, multi-platform perspective,” said journalism professor Mark Blaine.
Blaine taught one of the pilot Gateway courses offered last year. He said the emphasis behind the class is being able to tell a story through a variety of mediums, not just text.
“Picking up a camera or recorder is just another way to observe,” Blaine said.
“It’s really about identifying story and observing better. Our core assumption is that ultimately, this is a class about story,” said Greg Kerber, associate dean for student services at the journalism school.
The Gateway classes are capped at 70 students for this term and are expected to ramp up to full size, about 150 students, for winter term. For the time being, they are still being tweaked and modified.
“One of the things we found is that we needed more coordination between the gateway classes, and the place we’re going to try and do that is in the labs,” Blaine said.
Blaine said that among the journalism school’s other goals is to move students into the major earlier in their college career, as well as building stronger groups.
Newton also said that plans are in the works for all students in the journalism school to build a portfolio before they graduate, although nothing has been finalized yet.
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So much for ‘Hell,’ the new Gateway to J-school
Daily Emerald
October 6, 2009
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