For a list of program requirements click here.

Journalism Course Descriptions

 

Three Core Courses

 

JOUR 501  The Social Responsibility of Journalism (4 hours) Lecture. Enrollment maximum: 30

 

This course introduces students to the historic development of social responsibility theory and its continuing role in defining the obligations of journalists in creating an informed citizenry as a critical part of the democratic process. The course analyzes the ongoing tension between journalistic responsibility and the obligations of news organizations to turn profits for their shareholders and the constitutional imprimatur of journalism to offer the information that makes self-governance possible.

 

JOUR 502  News Now: Journalism in the Information Age (4 hours) Lecture. Enrollment maximum: 30

 

This course offers historic context in critically examining issues now facing journalism. Students will analyze the impact that convergence and digital technologies are having on ethical decisions that must be made by socially responsible journalists during every news shift. Topics include: who is a “reporter” in the digital age and what are the rights and privileges of the online reporter in a converged environment that influence confidentiality, defamation, privacy, gate-keeping, sensationalism, the public’s right to know, globalization, corporatization, and public opinion.

 

JOUR 503  Reporting for Converged Newsrooms (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

This course is designed to equip journalists with the techniques needed in assembling and producing stories that can be published and distributed across integrated media platforms. Students will learn to write and edit reports for online media in ways that add value to stories and encourage readers to drill down into these news narratives for information worth knowing. Students will develop an understanding of how newsgathering practices are evolving through digital media and the role of teamwork in disseminating these stories to an informed citizenry.

 

Journalism Electives

 

JOUR 504  Backpack Reporting (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

This course gives students the practical experience they need in news gathering and distribution within the converged landscape of electronic newsgathering. This will involve the preparation needed in covering stories, writing reports, shooting pictures and videos, and downloading these files along with links to relevant sites online. This course will prepare students to act independently and with others throughout the digital news gathering cycle, including the production of content in multiple information formats.

 

JOUR 505  Advanced Television Reporting (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

This course will teach students how to be responsible broadcast news reporters, anchors, producers, and editors, who bring added value to stories in today’s converged newsroom environment. Students will learn all aspects of the news gathering and distribution process from story conception to the research, interviewing, reporting, writing, shooting, editing, and producing that goes into a successful, must-see story.

 

JOUR 506  Newscast Practicum (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

This course teaches students how to construct a newscast, while fulfilling the social responsibility of the press. Students will learn how to utilize digital technologies to craft stories that empower citizens to participate more fully in public life. Students will rotate through different positions weekly---reporter, anchor, editor, technical director, director, floor director, and producer---in producing a weekly public affairs program.

 

JOUR 507  Visual Communication (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

This course gives students a theoretical and practical grounding in the digital world of photo-journalism. Students will be introduced to the wide array of tools available to reporters in illustrating content from their stories on the web. This includes the hardware and software packages now available in digital story-telling and how citizens use the information in interpreting the news of the day.

 

JOUR 508  Niche Journalism (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

The course examines the explosion in magazine and trade publication journalism that is able to target specific audiences with content designed exclusively for them. Students will use the tools now available in reaching reader communities that share common interests and information. This is revolutionizing the ways in which stories are told, while creating communication communities that share common interests and speak a common language.

 

JOUR 509  The Press, The Law, and Democracy (4 hours) Lecture. Enrollment maximum: 30

 

This course examines the impact the digital revolution is having on the role of journalists in preserving, protecting, and defending a democratic process, founded on the Enlightenment understanding that giving citizens critical information is central to the democratic process. Twenty-first century technology is furthering the ability of journalists to meet their obligations to an informed public, while greatly complicating that role. This course analyzes the uniquely democratic landscape of the internet and other virtual worlds while probing the role of journalists in that world.

 

JOUR 510  Sports Reporting (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

This course gives students an historic understanding of the role of the sports writer and sports section and the impact the online universe is having on sports writing and reporting. Students will the values of modern sports editors and the techniques used by modern sports writers. Students will learn the perspective and context that makes good sports writing truly exceptional.

 

JOUR 511 Arts and Entertainment Reporting (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

Arts and Entertainment reporting is among the most widely read, but often is the most poorly executed aspect of a publication or broadcast. Students taking this course will develop a critical appreciation for the role of arts and entertainment reporting in the history of the press and its current role in creating a culture that appreciates and understands the arts and their profound contribution to human understanding.

 

JOUR 512  Business and Finance Reporting (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

This course will help students better understand the critical role that business and finance reporting plays in the United States and the world economy. Students will develop the techniques that are necessary in responsibly researching, reporting, writing, and editing business and financial news. Segments of the course will be devoted to the history of the discipline, the ethical responsibilities of the business press, and the unique opportunities now available to the digital reporter of business and financial news.

 

JOUR 513  Chicago and Urban Affairs Reporting (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

This course analyzes what is distinctive about Chicago reporting. Students will be introduced to the rich tradition and history of reporting in this city, and the central role this work has played in the development of urban reporting nationwide. To do this, students will take a close look at the institutions, people, neighborhoods, decision-makers and events that impact Chicago residents in their everyday lives. The emphasis will be on localizing our approach to stories through a beat system that will allow students to regularly report on important areas of municipal life.

 

JOUR 514  Opinion and Column Writing (4 hours) Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 23

 

Students will learn what makes for extraordinary opinion and column writing with an emphasis on strong reporting that enables writers to assemble arguments based on the firm foundation of fact. Also examined will be the new ways in which digital delivery systems both empower and threaten the free flow of ideas within and across interest communities.

 

JOUR 515  Special Topics in Journalism (4 hours) Lecture and Practicum. Enrollment maximum: 30 for lecture. 23 for practicum.

 

Topics will include The Chicago Olympics; War and Disaster Reporting; Reporting the Presidency; Science and Technology; Celebrity Reporting; Health and Medicine, Religion and Moral Issues; and Globalization and the Political Economy of the Press.

 

JOUR 516  Independent Study (4 hours) (Instructor consent required)

 

Students will be guided in the development of a special project that furthers their collaboration with an instructor and produces a report that demonstrates their mastery of critical content and competencies. The independent study option is intended for students who have demonstrated a mastery of course content, who would benefit from a sustained, focused collaboration with a relevant faculty member.

 

JOUR 517  Journalism Internship (4 hours) (Program consent required)

 

The journalism internship is intended as a cooperative educational experience between an internship site and our students coordinated by the director of the journalism program. The partnership involves weekly meetings with the program director designed to enrich the internship experience, including the development of relevant assignments and readings that enable the intern to reflect on the internship experience and to produce tangible work reflecting competencies gained and enhanced as a result of the collaboration.

 

Cross-Listed Electives

 

PRAD 535  Health Communication (4 hours)

 

CMNS 545 Communication and Technology (4 hours)

 

CMNS 552 Strategic Communication (4 hours)

 

CMNS 561 International Media (4 hours)

 

PRAD 562 Media Relations: Special Topics (4 hours)

 

CMNS 563 Multicultural Media Representations (4 hours)

 

PRAD 575 Media Law and Ethics (4 hours)

 

MCS   530 New Media and Culture (4 hours)

 

MCS   534 Documentary Studies (4 hours)

 

NMS   502 New Media, Old Media (4 hours)

 

NMS   520 Web Design I (4 hours)

 

NMS   521 Web Design II (4 hours)

 

DC      420  Advanced Non-linear Editing (4 hours)

 

DC      471  Documentary Production (4 hours)

 

ENG    409 Writing and Technology/Online Documentation/Writing for Magazines (4 hours)

 

 

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