Journalism and New Media

A study of the news media in America, including how they work, their strengths, weaknesses, problems, and priorities with an emphasis on print journalism and journalists. Students also receive instruction in the art of news reporting and writing.

This course is designed to teach the theory and practice of digital video editing including capturing images and sound; manipulating them on a timeline; designing titles, transitions, and effects; and finally outputting the project tape, web or DVD. Each student is required to script, shot-list, cast, and shoot a short, original narrative, and then electronically manipulate the sound and images to explore the vast flexibility of the medium, gain a greater understanding of how an editor generates causality, and develop a recognition of the connection between one’s own edit technique and successful story telling.

Students explore the rhetorical and cultural effects of social media as well as the shifting expectations for writers in these environments. Along with investigating how self and society are shaped by the ways information is presented, collected, vetted, and shared, students work with a variety of social media platforms to create a coherent web presence designed for real audiences. In the course, students learn to effectively curate information, create infographics, podcast, blog, and vlog.