Journalism

College of Humanities
Dean: Paul Sherwin

Department of Journalism
HUM 305
415-338-1689
E-mail: jour@sfsu.edu
Web Site: www.journalism.sfsu.edu
Chair: Venise Wagner
Associate Chair: Jon Funabiki

Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism
HUM 307
415-338-2083
E-mail: CIIJ@sfsu.edu

Faculty

Professors— Burks, Daley, Funabiki, Kobré

Associate Professors—Kanigel, Long-Scott, Wagner

Assistant Professors—Azocar, Wilson

Programs

B.A. in Journalism: Concentration in Print and Online Journalism
B.A. in Journalism: Concentration in Photojournalism
Minor in Journalism

Program Scope

The Bachelor of Arts in Journalism prepares students for careers in journalism. This is accomplished by providing instruction that requires students to demonstrate a working knowledge of the skills, laws, ethics, power, and responsibilities of the news media. A strong liberal arts education also is required.

The main goals of the program's skills courses are to help students become accurate and thorough researchers; precise and graceful writers; technically, aesthetically fine photojournalists; and competent digital technologists. Introductory courses emphasize the need to think and write clearly. Many students choose the major because these skills provide excellent preparation for numerous occupations, not only for journalism.

Writing students are required to take introductory courses in research, reporting, writing, digital skills, and editing. Photojournalism students are required to take introductory courses in writing, digital skills, and reporting as well as courses in basic photography and news photography. All students are required to take a course in multimedia journalism. Advanced courses are more specialized—feature writing, depth reporting, public journalism, investigative reporting, computer-assisted reporting, advanced multimedia, magazine writing, design courses and visual journalism for writers and editors. In order to understand the role of journalism in society, students also are required to take courses in mass media, journalism ethics and law, and cultural diversity. Students are strongly urged to develop speaking, writing, and listening competency in a second language.

Minor in Non-Journalism Discipline: Because the practice of journalism requires an understanding of larger social, political and cultural issues in society, the program requires students complete a minor in a liberal arts or science discipline.

Practicum: To give students pre-professional experience, the program requires students to work on a laboratory publication with a world-wide on-line and broad print circulation. These publications are produced by classes and are taken for credit. Consistent with the department's commitment to protect students' First Amendment rights, students have editorial control of the publications. Students must complete two semesters of publication. In their second semester they can choose between working on the student publication, completing an approved internship, completing a senior seminar project or working in the department’s News Bureau for ANG papers. Students should consult with an adviser to choose the option that works best for them.

Internships: Students may earn up to three units for journalism internships, and if the internship is approved they can get credit toward publication laboratory requirements. Students should consult the department office about how to arrange credit for internships.

Advising: To help students stay on top of the challenges they face, all journalism majors and minors are required to consult with a faculty adviser every academic year. They can choose their advisers or have one assigned by the department office. Students are asked to provide advisers with ongoing records of their complete academic record for the department advising folders.

CIIJ: Services are available to all journalism students at the department's Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism. The privately funded center was established in 1990 to create programs that increase retention rates and job/internship placement of journalism students and to increase ethnic minority enrollment and graduation rates. It conducts special programs for high school and community college students, high school journalism advisers, and for Bay Area journalists in both mainstream and ethnic news media.

Through the center, department faculty and students and center staff engage in research that has had a national and international impact on journalism, with an emphasis on research about the coverage on ethnic minority people and issues.

The Department and Faculty: The journalism department is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). It is a member of the California Newspaper Publishers Association and sponsors student chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Press Photographers Association.

The faculty includes ten full-time members and a fluctuating number of part-time instructors, most of them active journalists. Faculty encourage and assist students in finding jobs and internships. Coaching and mentoring are provided by Bay Area journalists who volunteer to work with any student enrolled in department skills courses.

Career Outlook

The writing, editing, photography, and on-line news skills taught in the department prepare students for entry-level jobs on a wide variety of newspapers, magazines, and new media. The critical thinking and clear expression that are taught in department courses prepare students well for jobs in broadcast journalism and in many fields outside journalism. Because of the department's national reputation for excellent preparation of students and for being ethnically diverse, students in the department are recruited from throughout the nation for internships and entry-level jobs in journalism.

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN JOURNALISM

To earn the Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, students must complete 40 journalism units. Only ten journalism units may be lower division--JOUR 205 and JOUR 221, JOUR 222 (plus JOUR 235 for photojournalism students), or their equivalents taken elsewhere. Courses numbered 300 and above are not open to freshmen. The department requires students have their own personal computers, modems and digital audio recorders. Upon enrolling in journalism classes, students will be required to use their SFSU e-mail accounts. These email addresses will be used as the primary source of communication between students and the department.)

In order to assure that every journalism student's education is as rich and varied as possible, the department has established these requirements:

• A journalism major must complete a minor in one of the areas of study approved by faculty advisers. A list of approved disciplines for this requirement is posted at www.journalism.sfsu.edu.
• A journalism major must have a minimum of 80 non-journalism units in the 120 minimal overall units required for graduation. These 80 units must include at least 65 units in liberal arts and science courses. Included in these 80 units must be the minor in a single subject area chosen in consultation with the adviser. The 80-unit requirement is consistent with the department's philosophy that a well-rounded education is crucial preparation for journalism and is consistent with the standards of the national accrediting agency (ACEJMC) that evaluates journalism education programs. These standards exclude classes in broadcasting, public relations, and advertising from qualifying as non-journalism units.

Courses are 3 units unless otherwise indicated. On-line course descriptions are available.

Courses are 3 units unless otherwise indicated. On-line course descriptions are available.

Courses are 3 units unless otherwise indicated. On-line course descriptions are available.

Skills Courses

Skills courses offered by the Department of Journalism impart the various skills and crafts necessary to the practice of journalism. There are three levels of skills courses: foundational, advanced, and laboratory. The laboratory skills course provides students a culminating opportunity to integrate skills acquired in foundational and advanced courses, working and learning collaboratively. Journalism majors and minors must earn grades of C or better in all foundational, advanced, and laboratory skills courses.

• Foundational Courses: JOUR 205, Social Impact of Journalism, JOUR 226, Digital News Gathering; JOUR 221, Newswriting; JOUR 222, Newswriting Lab; JOUR 300, Reporting; JOUR 330, Editing, JOUR 395, Intro to Online Journalism; JOUR 235, Photojournalism I
• Advanced Journalism Courses:
  

  Category A: JOUR 320, Investigative Reporting; JOUR 321, Feature Writing; JOUR 560, Public Journalism; JOUR 570, Opinion Writing; JOUR 595, Magazine Writing; JOUR 650, Seminar in Contemporary News Media; JOUR 667 Variable Topics in Journalism,
  Category B: JOUR 500, Contemporary Magazine; JOUR 675, Media Entrepreneurship; JOUR 680, Advanced Multimedia
  Photojournalism: JOUR 335, Photojournalism II; JOUR 435, Photojournalism III; JOUR 535, Photojournalism IV; JOUR 635 Photojournalism V.

• Practicum: JOUR 609, Publication Laboratory; and for the 2nd semester of practicum: JOUR 617, Journalism Internship and JOUR 695, Senior Seminar are also options.

Other Requirements

Students may enroll in only one laboratory course section per semester.

Journalism majors and minors must earn a minimum grade of C in all laboratory and skills courses, and must attain at least an overall C average in the major and the minor.

Journalism majors and minors must take all journalism courses and the non-journalism minor for letter grade only.

MINOR IN JOURNALISM

This program is not a requirement for any credential or degree but is intended to give students an opportunity to pursue their interests in journalism in an organized way. A total of 24 units is required, approved by an adviser.

Courses are 3 units unless otherwise indicated. On-line course descriptions are available.