The Department of Journalism is founded on the principle that a well-informed and engaged public is essential to democracy—perhaps more so now, at a time of dizzying change, than it has ever been; and that, in the face of this change, Journalism retains a unique role in contributing to civic life and to the quality of public discourse.
We put this principle to work by helping students become constructive participants in an ever-evolving global media landscape, where distinctions between producers and consumers of content have blurred. More specifically, we prepare them, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, for careers in Journalism and other fields of public communication. We train students to gather information from a diversity of sources, to analyze it critically, and to report what is significant, through stories and other media forms across multiple platforms. As part of this work, we encourage ethical awareness so that students will think independently, being prepared to reflect on and to help shape media practices and norms rather than take them at face value.
We believe in the integration of classroom instruction with practical experience. Many of our students work for—and manage—campus online news and entertainment sites, television programs and a radio station. They intern at broadcast stations, newspapers, magazines, websites and social media companies.
Lastly, as a faculty, and with the help of colleagues elsewhere in CMCI who are working on new and innovative forms of human communication, we are committed to improving Journalism through pioneering research and creative work.