Undergraduate Courses in Journalism

4.00 Credits
Students explore the role of news in United States history, from its raucous beginnings at the time of the American Revolution to its tumultuous present in a world of "all news all the time." The course gives students the tools to analyze and understand how print, broadcast and online news organizations have evolved over time. Students study the First Amendment, examine parallels between issues raised by the explosion of online journalism and earlier periods in journalistic evolution, and explore other issues confronting the contemporary journalist. In looking at how news has evolved, the class also visits some of the ethical dilemmas faced by those practicing the journalists' craft.

(FALL07) Donna Halper  Michelle Johnson  Emmannuel Paraschos  Megan Streicher  (SPRG08) Emmannuel Paraschos 

4.00 Credits
In order to write or deliver the news, journalists need a sound, focused idea and specific, authoritative information. Students in this class learn how to do the legwork to report stories that make a difference. Through discussion, critique and reporting in the city, students learn how to identify, focus and find news; how to ferret out and make sense of records, both online and in the library; and how to select sources and measure their reliability and authoritativeness. Students also learn how to interview effectively, both for print and broadcast, and are introduced to writing leads and structuring stories for print, broadcast and online news. Journalistic standards such as accuracy and fairness are emphasized. Prerequisite: JR 101 for freshmen. (This is a co-requisite for transfers.)

(FALL07) Paula Childs  Matthew Pitta  David Richwine  (SPRG08) Paula Childs  Michelle Johnson  Christopher Mahoney  Matthew Pitta  David Richwine  Christopher Szechenyi  Ken Sternberg 

4.00 Credits
This class provides students with a framework for understanding the power of images, still and moving, and of sound, and of how all are used in conveying the news. Students study the history, aesthetics, content and context of visual story telling. They also rotate through labs that provide an introduction to still photography, audio recording, videography and html as they relate to the presentation of news. Working in teams, students develop multimedia stories that help them understand differences in reporting news in different media.They also examine ethical challenges in a digital age when manipulation of images and sound can distort reality and compromise journalistic integrity. Prerequisite: JR 102. Students are encouraged to take JR 200 concurrently with JR 204 or JR 205.

(FALL07) Michelle Johnson  (SPRG08) Michelle Johnson 

4.00 Credits
The course emphasizes the skills needed to report and write basic print stories on deadline. Class discussion stresses the fundamentals of writing for a print medium with significant critique of such things as story organization, leads, attribution and issues of style. As the semester progresses, students are assigned to cover a variety of events in the city and on the Emerson campus. Prerequisite: JR 102, recommended that it be taken concurrently with JR200.

(FALL07) Mark Leccese  Emmannuel Paraschos  (SPRG08) Emmannuel Paraschos 

4.00 Credits
This class is devoted to developing and sharpening student skills in writing for radio and TV news. Students also are introduced to radio beat reporting and further develop interviewing skills for the broadcast media. Students critically evaluate newscasts and are introduced to the components of producing them. Prerequisite, JR 102, recommended that it be taken concurrently with JR200.

(FALL07) Robert Clinkscale  Paula Childs  (SPRG08) Robert Clinkscale  Paula Childs 

4.00 Credits
A critical examination of the American legal system and its relationship to the press. Students will gain an understanding of journalists' rights and their ethical responsibilities. The class will provide students with a foundation of case law that defines what journalists are allowed to do and the means for reaching ethical decisions in gray areas outside the boundaries of law. Students also will be introduced to the structure and processes of federal and state courts. Prerequisite: JR 101.

(FALL07) Laurie Ruskin  (SPRG08) Laurie Ruskin 

4.00 Credits
This course emphasizes the skills needed to define and originate news in a specific, geographic or subject "beat" area and to report and write/produce those stories in forms suitable for print and online news readers. Class discussion will focus on means of finding and developing original "enterprise" stories in the context of a beat, of reporting them with authority and impact, and of writing them, using a variety of story structures. Students are strongly encouraged to publish stories through the Journalism Students' Online News Service, in community newspapers and in the Berkeley Beacon. Prerequisite: JR 204 or JR 205.

(FALL07) David Abel  (SPRG08) David Wallace 

4.00 Credits
In this intensive course, students produce, write and anchor radio newscasts on deadline, building them in part on original reporting. They conduct in-depth analyses of writing, story selection, agenda setting and the gate-keeping processes. They also learn how to format, to include sound in newscasts and to manage time. Prerequisite: JR 205.

(FALL07) Stephen Iandoli  (SPRG08) Paula Childs  Stephen Iandoli 

4.00 Credits
Covering Terrorism is an analytical course which examines how the press reports about acts of terrorism around the world. Students will research the media's role in presenting news with historical context as well as breaking events.

(FALL07) Marsha Della-Giustina 

4.00 Credits
Students go behind the scenes, dig up back-stories and delve into the dynamics of an American arts and entertainment sector in flux. Course comprises an overview of the colorful history, contentious debates and public tastes that shaped the American arts, lecture/discussions on today's hot-button cultural issues, and practice in the specialized research and writing that distinguish arts reporting from entertainment promotions. Students should note that this course emphasizes research and reported writing, rather than personal opinion or commentary.

(SPRG08) Maureen Dezell 

4.00 Credits
This course will explore the coverage of stories of people considered society's powerless and voiceless: the poor, the sick, the children, the homeless, the substance abusers, the uneducated, the victims of domestic abuse, the mentally ill and the people who have been harmed by racial, ethnic and gender discrimination. Students will learn about these social ills through research and analysis of current journalistic work as well as producing their own reporting. Assignments will be designed so that students learn how to produce news projects in a compelling fashion to enlighten the public about their community and those who are struggling to survive in it.

(SPRG08) Carole Simpson 

4.00 Credits
Putting out a newspaper or web site takes a lot more than reporting and writing stories. This course emphasizes the craft of editing: of refining news copy and choosing how and where it will run in a newspaper or on a web site. Students edit stories for content, structure, word usage and story flow. They also write headlines and design pages. The class will explore issues of style, bias, stereotyping, fairness and taste. Students also learn appropriate software needed to design pages. Prerequisite: JR 304.

(FALL07) Michelle Johnson  (SPRG08) Douglas Banks 

4 Credits
An introduction to reporting, writing and designing online news. In the first half of the semester, students analyze best practices of online news publications and build their own web pages to report their findings. In the second half, they work in teams to define one or more section topics for their own publication, write stories to fit that model, and build one or more prototype sites. Prerequisite, JR 204, or JR 205. Offered Spring semester. Required junior year for students taking the Online Publishing (JR590) capstone.

(SPRG08) Michelle Johnson 

4.00 Credits
This lab course gives students the real-time experience of a deadline-driven television newsroom. In producing newscasts on deadline, students rotate through newsroom jobs such as tape editor, writer, producer, anchor, reporter and videographer. Students learn to write news scripts, edit video to tell a news story, organize and produce a newscast, coordinate video elements for a newscast and work together as a broadcast news team. Prerequisites: JR 305 or permission of the instructor.

(FALL07) Cristin Mitchell  (SPRG08) Christopher Roach 

4.00 Credits
Working in the field, students research, shoot, write and edit television news stories. Special emphasis is placed on developing reporting and interviewing skills, visual acuity, writing for the eye and ear, and general TV performance abilities. Students also learn the technical aspects of ENG shooting and reporting. Prerequisite: JR 305 and JR 418/518. Can be taken concurrently with JR 418/518.

(FALL07) Marsha Della-Giustina  (SPRG08) Marsha Della-Giustina 

4 Credits
From the personal essay to the dramatic narrative, students research, organize, write, and market feature articles for publication in newspapers and magazines. The course emphasizes techniques for finding and focusing stories, interviewing in depth, observation and story-telling. Students analyze and apply a variety of approaches. Prerequisite: JR 204 or JR 205 or permission of the instructor.

(FALL07) Maureen Dezell  (SPRG08) Jerry Lanson 

4 Credits
This course focuses on photography as a journalistic, story-telling medium. Through weekly assignments and critiques, students learn how to communicate news visually in a variety of situations. Hands-on exercises include shooting pictures on deadline, writing concise and compelling cutlines, and editing for impact. Through historical and contemporary examples, students learn about the power of photojournalism to document, inform, entertain, persuade and provoke emotion. The ethical and legal challenges of photojournalism also are discussed. Prerequisite: JR 200 and JR 204 or JR 205.

(SPRG08) Lane Turner 

0.00 Credits
Students may only apply four internship credits toward the journalism major. Internships, typically at a radio station, TV station, newspaper, magazine or online news site, must be journalistic in nature and must be cleared in advance by the department's internship coordinator. Students are supervised by an approved full-time employee of the organization at which they work and by the internship coordinator. Students are required to keep a journal of their activities, to meet with the internship coordinator and other interns at least three times a semester, and to complete other tasks assigned by the department. Prerequisite: Junior or senior standing, a grade point average of 2.7 or above, a recommendation from a journalism instructor and completion of JR304 or JR305. A 4-credit internship requires 16 hours a week over a 12 week period and a 8-credit internship requires 32 hours a week over a 12 week period. No more than eight credits of internship and no more than 12 credits of any combination of internship, directed project and directed study may be applied to the total graduation requirements. Students must participate in the Internship Experience Workshop offered through Career Services, prior to the start of the internship, and should consult the Academic Calendar for registration deadlines. Students who wish to participate in an internship in the Los Angeles, CA area must be enrolled in the Emerson Los Angeles Program.

(FALL07) Jerry Lanson  (SPRG08) Jerry Lanson 

4.00 Credits
This course will help students understand the mass media in other countries. What are they like? What are their differing philosophies? How do their practices differ? The course will examine concepts of press freedom, media conglomeration and globalization, and the use and impact of new media technologies. Students go online to communicate with other journalists around the world and to monitor international news and issues. Fulfills the General Education Global Diversity requirement.

(FALL07) Melinda Robins 

4 Credits
In this course, students will explore what makes successful sports radio in the 21st century. Students will learn how to produce the various types of sports radio content and programming, such as sports talk, event play-by-play, live reporting, news and commentary. They will learn about the ethical and regulatory challenges and limitations of the broadcast industry as applied to sports radio. They will learn how to conduct and produce a successful interview-based talk show, how ratings and expenses are intertwined, how to formulate and present informed sports commentary and the "art" of play-by-play in several sports and/or athletic events.

(FALL07) John Rooke 

4 Credits
Should the news media show images of American soldiers in Iraq? Is it OK as a journalist to contribute to political campaigns and cover politics? Should you vote? And when, if ever, should journalists carry a hidden camera? This course will consider these and a host of other issues in journalism ethics and help you develop the tools and thought process to reach good decisions when such questions come up in your careers. This course will challenge you to DO ethics, not merely learn about them. We will approach ethics as situational, not absolute. The course will look at the foundations of ethics and how they've been applied to journalistic codes, and it will challenge you through a series of case studies to make good decisions, not through "gut reaction" but through a process of research, thought and review that weighs all sides. Through video, audio and print, the course will review historic and contemporary ethical dilemmas. Then it will put you to work. Writing and role-playing to reach your own conclusions.

(SPRG08) Jerry Lanson 

4 Credits
This course will prepare students to cover international competitions like the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Students will learn basic sports reporting skills such as how to interview foreign athletes, how to write breaking news for an international wire service and how to find stories angles under deadline pressure. To fully appreciate this summer's hands-on reporting experience, students will also study Mandarin Chinese, the history and culture of China, and the environmental and economic pressures that affect the country's ability to host the Olympic Games.

(SPRG08) Paul Niwa 

4.00 Credits
Students choose, edit, produce and post stories to an ongoing journalism news web site of their design. The course weds issues of law, ethics, content, style, depth and breadth as students grapple with ways of presenting news in different layers online and of involving audience in interactive dialogue. Participants in the course do original reporting but also work with broadcast, print and online students in other classes to improve their stories and to present them in a manner suitable for the Web. Prerequisite: JR 408 or JR 419.

(FALL07) Paul Niwa 

4.00 Credits
Students are given the opportunity to develop ENG or producing skills at an advanced level with the goal of putting together a professional portfolio by semester's end. In addition to completing a body of work, students are expected to engage in depth research and critical analysis. Prerequisite: JR 419.

(FALL07) Marsha Della-Giustina  (SPRG08) Marsha Della-Giustina 

4.00 Credits
This class exposes students to the challenges of depth reporting about issues of government and civic life. Students will prepare print, online or radio news reports related to Massachusetts state government and Boston city government for outlets throughout the state. In addition to preparing a portfolio of their best work, students will keep a journal, critique professional coverage in their area of interest, and, through reading, lectures and field trips, gain some expertise in the workings of state and city government. Prerequisite: JR 404 or JR 419.

(FALL07) Carole Simpson  (SPRG08) Mark Leccese 

4.00 Credits
Study of the rise of civilization from its beginnings in the Neolithic Revolution through the classical empires, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the hegemony of European and American civilization throughout the world. Emphasis on the influence of Judaism and Christianity in this process. Fulfills the Historical Perspective of the General Education requirements. (FALL07) Allan Converse  (SPRG08) Megan Streicher 

4.00 Credits
An imaginative attempt to treat the problems of contemporary civilization on a global scale. The course will integrate the political, social, intellectual, literary, and artistic aspects of the 20th-century landscape. It will also cover such major themes as nationalism and the disintegration of empires, war and revolution, anti-colonial movements in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and the efforts to construct a new world order. Fulfills the Historical Perspective of the General Education requirements. (SPRG08) William Mott IV 

4.00 Credits
An examination of the political movements of industrial and agricultural workers, the unemployed, and the poor to gain power and economic rights since the Great Depression. The course chronicles movements that shaped the policies of the New Deal and the Great Society, and analyzes the ways in which these movements fostered a conservative response late in the century. The history is presented in the context of the ideals of democratic liberalism, the emerging power of corporate capitalism, and the modern conservative political coalition. Historical texts and a variety of cultural sources (literature, films, photographs, songs and museum exhibitions) are examined. Fulfills the Historical Perspective of and the General Education U.S. Diversity requirements. (FALL07) Roger House  (SPRG08) Brian Glenn 

4.00 Credits
An interdisciplinary study of the origins of Islam and the role of Mohammed, the global expansion of the faith, the theology and thought of the Koran and Moslem traditions, and forms of art and architecture generated by the teachings of the prophet. The course also explores the impact of the renewal of Islam and its increasing role in the modern world. Fulfills the Historical Perspective and the General Education Global Diversity requirements. (FALL07) Gordon Robison  (SPRG08) Gordon Robison 

4.00 Credits
A study of the history of England from the Norman Conquest through the twentieth Century. Emphasizes the personalities of the rulers, the rise of parliamentary government, the interaction of England and other European nations, and the rise and decline of the British Empire. Included are discussions of how Shakespeare and Hollywood have depicted and often distorted English history. Fulfills the Historical Perspective of the General Education requirements. (FALL07) Lester Lee 

4.00 Credits
The emphasis is on Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the origins and events of World War II, the Cold War, and the Vietnam War. Fulfills the History option of the General Education requirements. (FALL07) William Mott IV  (SPRG08) Lester Lee 

4.00 Credits
A survey of sub-Saharan history of the pre-colonial era, and the history of African-Americans from the slave trade through the Civil War to the present. Fulfills the Historical Perspective of the General Education requirements. (SPRG08) Roger House 

4 Credits
A study of the history of the United States from it colonial beginnings to the present. Special attention will be given to the Civil War and its consequences. Lectures will be illustrated by contemporary political cartoons. Fulfills the Historical Perspective of the General Education requirements. (FALL07) Michael Brown  (SPRG08) Roger House 

4.00 Credits
The American political system including national, state and local government, Constitutional foundation, citizenship, civil liberties, public opinion, political parties, the electoral system and the legislative process. The course will examine in detail the judicial history of these issues. In particular, the role of the Supreme Court will be studied in-depth. Fulfills the Historical Perspective of the General Education requirements. (FALL07) Michael Brown  (SPRG08) Michael Brown  Brian Glenn 

4.00 Credits
A study of eight historical personalities (Napoleon, Bismarck, Lenin, Hitler, Gandhi, Mao Zedong, Mandela, and Gorbachev) whose political ideas have contributed to the contemporary debate concerning the origins of the modern world. Special emphasis will be placed on leadership concepts, models and techniques, as they apply to the formation of mass political movements. The course will make use of films, journalistic accounts and historical commentary to foster an interdisciplinary approach to the study of political issues and events. Fulfills the Social and Psychological Perspective of the General Education requirements. (FALL07) Brian Glenn  (SPRG08) Megan Streicher 

4.00 Credits
This interdisciplinary course is designed to introduce students to the political-legal communication field. Emphasis is placed on our legal system and constructing and communicating arguments. Fulfills the Historical Perspective of the General Education requirements. (FALL07) Michael Brown 

4.00 Credits
An analysis of the evolution of political theory from early Greece to the present. Emphasis is placed on the formation of the Western political tradition and the relationship of political theory to the development of absolutism, constitutional monarchy, liberal democracy and socialism. The course will also address the issues of idealism and realism in political thought, individual rights versus the needs of the collective, and the relation of these considerations to the emergence of totalitarian political ideologies. Fulfills the Ethics and Values Perspective of the General Education requirements. (FALL07) William Mott IV  (SPRG08) William Mott IV 

4.00 Credits
The course is a review of the United States Constitution, congressional legislation and Supreme Court cases affecting and controlling minority rights from 1776 to the present. Fulfills the Historical Perspective and the General Education U.S. Diversity requirements. (FALL07) Michael Brown  (SPRG08) Michael Brown 

4.00 Credits
A study of law relating to communication in the United States. Includes the First Amendment, the Federal Communication Commission and political speech. Fulfills the Historical Perspective of the General Education requirements. (FALL07) Brian Glenn  (SPRG08) Michael Brown