2023-2024 Academic Catalog

Journalism (JOU)

JOU-2100: News Writing and Reporting (3 hours)

Principles and practice in reporting and writing news stories, including hard news, features, profiles and beat stories. Analysis of articles written by professional journalists, generating story ideas, conducting research and learning to write and edit stories in various multimedia formats.

JOU-2200: Investigative Journalism Methods (3 hours)

Finding and analyzing a wide variety of informational resources relevant to reporters, using qualitative and quantitative methods.

JOU-3100: Journalism History and Criticism (3 hours)

Covers journalism history and criticism in relation to broader issues in media, democracy, power and contemporary citizenship. Analysis of journalistic practices; history of news reporting; impact of media institutions.

JOU-3200: Feature Writing (3 hours)

Literary journalism skills for writing in newspapers and magazines. Historical and theoretical background of literary journalism. Prerequisite: C or higher in JOU-2100.

JOU-3300: Photojournalism (3 hours)

Study and practice of photography as a major component of reporting and storytelling. Basic digital picture-taking; historical, ethical, legal and stylistic aspects of photojournalism. Students supply own digital camera.

JOU-4100: Magazine Journalism (3 hours)

Students will learn the specialty of magazine article writing, understand strategies for becoming published and examine the national marketplace. Emphasis on long-form writing, magazine design and layout. Prerequisite: C or higher in JOU-2100.

JOU-4200: Journalism Law and Ethics (3 hours)

Examine law and ethics in relation to the rights, responsibilities and moral obligations of journalists.

JOU-4891: The Spectator Practicum I (1 hour)

Involvement in the campus student newspaper, The Spectator, as a writer, beat reporter, photographer, graphic designer, copy editor or other non-editorial role in the production of the publication. Prerequisite: The Spectator faculty advisor consent. May be repeated up to six times; practicum and JOU internship combined credits not to exceed 15 credit hours maximum. Offered Pass/Fail only.

JOU-4892: The Spectator Practicum II (1.5 hours)

Involvement in the campus student newspaper, The Spectator, in management or editor role. Offered Pass/Fail only. Prerequisite: The Spectator faculty advisor consent. May be repeated up to six times; practicum and JOU internship combined credits not to exceed 15 credit hours maximum.

JOU-4910: Topics in Journalism (3 hours)

Selected current topics in journalism as they relate to various settings. Topics vary each time the course is taught. May be repeated once for a maximum of six hours of credit. Field Trip: Required.

JOU-4980: Senior Project (3 hours)

Supervised involvement in a journalism project-related experience. Open to majors in the journalism program who have senior standing.

JOU-4990: Internship in Journalism (12 hours)

Supervised involvement in a journalism work-related experience. Open to journalism majors and minors who have senior standing and approval of the department. A maximum of 3 credit hours may be applied to a journalism major or minor. Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing and approval of the department.