Courses

BDST 11 Production Essentials: Audio 
This course introduces the student to the basics of digital audio production. Students complete studio assignments in order to master the basics of audio production,including an introduction to principles of sound, audio formats, analog vs. digital recording, editing,use of various microphone types.Remote equipment use, studio production and production for the web will also be introduced.
Credits: 3.00 

BDST 12 Production Essentials Video 
This course introduces the student to basic skills in video and web production. Specifically, it includes the three camera switched shoot, three camera set up, blocking, microphones, soundboard operation, setting levels and creating a show rundown. It will also introduce single camera production ,including shot composition, camera movement, as well as preproduction, postproduction, storyboarding and scripting.
Credits: 3

BDST 25 Intermediate Television: Field Production 
Students explore more advanced television field production techniques for news, documentary and narrative projects. Students learn how to produce interviews and dramatic short pieces with emphasis on pre-production,proper field production practices, post-production and critical analysis of finished work.Prepares student for upper level projects in field production.
Credits: 3.00 

BDST 34 Advanced Digital Audio Production 
This advanced-level course is designed to provide students with exposure to complex digital audio editing techniques through the process of creating more sophisticated radio productions and podcasts. Students develop imaging for various radio formats. affording the student the opportunity to improve audio production skills and develop a critical ear. Students will create sweepers, jingles, promos ,underwriting announcements , documentaries and more complex productions for air on university radio station WCWP.
Credits: 3.00 

BDST 46 Web Video Production 
Students develop skills required to merge video production and web design . Students will learn how to design, edit , export and display video for the web. They will create and produce several short videos and post them to a website they have created. Each video will be part of a continuous narrative , bringing the user back to the site to view the new video. Students will master the skills needed to create a website and produce video content especially for the web.
Credits: 3.00 

BDST 63 Applied Radio: Newsroom 
This course is a practicum for students with radio experience who wish to refine their skills in news writing and anchoring for a news broadcast. Students produce news programming for WCWP-Web radio. Advanced work is broadcast on the University radio Station, WCWP-FM.
Credits: 3.00 

CIN 5 The Art of the Documentary Film 
This course is an analysis of the major contributors to the film documentary from the Lumière and Edison one-shot films through the contemporary documentary. This course fulfills the Perspectives on World Cultures thematic cluster requirement in the core curriculum.
Credits: 3.00 

CIN 24 Video Documentary Workshop II 
Students learn the basics of producing a short documentary film, including research, interviewing, budgeting, shooting styles and organizing footage for editing.
Credits: 3.00 

CMA 2 Mass Media in American Society 
This course will introduce the student to ways of thinking critically about media and gaining a historical perspective on the media that surround us. It will stress ways of understanding the relationships among media, society and the individual through the 20th century and to the present. This class will examine a number of examples drawn from various media and time periods , focusing on how our society has adapted media from radio to Twitter to its needs and desires, and how Media have changed our society in major ways over the course of modern history.
Credits: 3.00 

CMA 4 Media Literacy: Behind the Message 
Becoming media literate means developing an understanding of how diverse media formulate, deliver and finance their messages. This course gives the student the critical and analytical skills needed to interpret media messages and understand their effects on audiences. It also serves an introduction to the concepts and terms involved in analysis of media messages as a foundation for further study in this field. The student will use modern media theories and see illustrations of their application in current media coverage, with special attention to the impact of new social media. This course fulfills the Creativity, Media, and the Arts thematic cluster requirement in the core curriculum. This class is cross-listed with COMM 1
Credits: 3.00 

CMA 10 Media, Law and Ethics 
This course examines the legal and ethical responsibilities of media professionals in broadcasting, journalism, public relations, and other fields. Students are introduced to the legal framework that supports freedom of speech and freedom of the press and examine the current laws of libel, invasion of privacy, copyright and newsgathering, as well as FCC and other telecommunications regulations. Students also examine ethical codes that guide media professionals and study conflicts that arise when legal and ethical principles conflict with real-world dilemmas. Recommended to be taken in sophomore year for all Department of Communications and Film majors. This course fulfills the Ethics, Self, and Society thematic cluster requirement in the core curriculum.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 3 Basic Reporting 
The course is an introduction to the reporting and writing of news stories. Emphasis is on the fundamentals of journalism ¿ accuracy, newsworthiness, balance, fairness and the importance of deadlines; basic news writing skills ¿ spelling, grammar, AP style, use of quotes and attribution, and compelling news leads; and basic reporting techniques ¿ good interviewing skills and the use of social media, sources, databases and the internet to background stories and to find news. Recommended to be taken during freshman year, or sophomore year at the latest for JOU majors. Open to students of all majors who want to hone strong writing skills.
Credits: 3.00

JOU 4 Beat Reporting 
The beat reporting class is for students who have taken Basic Reporting (JOU 3)and are ready to expand into a more in depth class about the process of reporting and writing the news, including the beat system of reporting. The class is designed to hone student journalists¿ ability to research and report deeply, to be able to develop fresh ideas, test them with the strength of their reporting and research and then present them in story form. Students cover beats for professional news organizations.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 5 Writing for Radio, TV and Web
This course focuses on reporting, newswriting, and editing for radio, television and online media. Students gain experience in radio and television newscasts, podcasting, video and audio slideshows, and using social media for reporting. Students create an online portfolio.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 6 Feature Writing 
This course emphasizes long-form, narrative journalism, with emphasis on writing features for magazines and websites. It focuses on reporting and writing investigative features, trend stories, profiles and day-in-the-life stories. The culminating goal of the course is for each student to produce a 2,000 word story for publication. Students will also learn how to write query letters and market their stories.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 12 Investigative Reporting 
This course covers the fundamentals of investigative reporting, including developing story ideas, finding documents and data to support the reporting, including the nature of public information and the use of Freedom of Information and open meetings laws, ethical sourcing, interviewing techniques, and writing long form narrative.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 20 Photojournalism 
Photography is a powerful storytelling tool. This is a hands on course in which students will learn how to craft compelling visual narratives. The course will emphasize conceptualizing ideas and mastering the tools needed to produce high-quality stories. The class will analyze professional work in the media to discover what holds public attention.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 40 Topics in Journalism 
Advanced special topics in journalism, chosen on occasion, focusing on contemporary developments in the field. Subjects vary by semester.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 41 Newspaper Laboratory 
Students earn 3 credits for making a significant weekly contribution to the student newspaper. Students are required to attend weekly staff meetings, and meet regularly with the editors and faculty adviser. Course stresses newsgathering, writing, revising, and teamwork. At the end of the course, students have a portfolio of published work. Course is open to students of all years and majors who would like to work on the newspaper staff as reporters, photographers, artists, editors, layout staff, or in other capacities. Course may be taken multiple times for credit.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 52 Interviewing Skills for Media 
This course teaches communications skills essential for any media career. Students receive practical training in interview techniques, including the one-on-one interview, the news interview, panels, and oral history interviews. Students record video or audio of interviews to assess their performance, and gain instructor feedback and peer critiques. Cross-listed as BDST 52.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 56 Electronic Newsgathering 
This is a hands-on television news gathering course in which journalism and broadcasting students learn to investigate timely and newsworthy stories, both on and off campus, and then collaborate to create news programs for television. 
Students work in teams, rotating roles, as they learn to plan, investigate, report, write, shoot and edit news packages and produce a newscast in the television studio setting. Cross listed with BDST 54
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 87 Journalism Internship 
This course is an opportunity to carry classroom experience into on-the-job situations. The student will work for 120 hours at a news or media organization that makes significant use of the student's journalistic training. Hours are arranged by the student and the on-site supervisor. Regular meetings with the faculty mentor, evaluation reports, weekly logs and a final evaluation are required. Open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. Students must have a B average in order to be eligible for an internship. May be taken twice for credit.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 89 Journalism Internship II 
This course is an opportunity to carry classroom experience into on-the-job situations. The student will work for 120 hours at a news or media organization that makes significant use of the student's journalistic training. Hours are arranged by the student and the on-site supervisor. Regular meetings with the faculty mentor, evaluation reports, weekly logs and a final evaluation are required. Open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. Students must have successfully completed a first internship (JOU 87) and have a B average in order to be eligible for a second internship.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 91 Journalism: Senior Research 
In this course, seniors carry out research in preparation for a major investigative journalistic piece, research paper, essay in media analysis and criticism or a journalistic media project. Independent work is guided in regular meetings with a faculty mentor. An annotated bibliography and an outline must be produced by the end of the semester. This course is followed by JOU 92 in the following semester.
Credits: 3.00 

JOU 92  JOU: Senior Thesis & Portfolio 
After successful completion of JOU 91, the student writes a substantial investigative journalistic piece or research paper, or creates a media-based journalistic project, that is based on the research conducted in JOU 91 and serves to advance the student's interests and skills. Independent work is guided through regular conferences with a faculty mentor. JOU 91 and 92 should be taken in the senior year and may not be taken in the same semester. At the end of JOU 92, the student submits the completed senior thesis project as well as a portfolio that features a current resume and at least 10 samples of professional multimedia work, including writing, audio and video work.
Credits: 4.00 

PR 38 Social Media Tools 
Social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have become platforms for brands and organizations to connect and communicate directly with their audiences and are now integral parts of well-rounded public relations campaigns. Students will learn about the various networks and apps available, how to leverage them effectively using best practices, and strategically integrate these platforms into an overall communications plan with appropriate listening and measurement metrics.
Credits: 3.00