Journalism
Journalism
Overview
Journalism is a career and a calling. We serve the public interest by gathering news and telling stories across media—using words, photos, videos, graphics, sound and more. That’s why our program is experiential, giving students hands-on training to develop the skills needed to succeed in a variety of positions and industries.
Our students write travel stories through study-abroad classes in Prague and Copenhagen and they run television news shows in our broadcast studio. They produce podcasts. They create multimedia content for our laboratory news website, Grady Newsource, and for a community newspaper that our program operates, The Oglethorpe Echo. They intern in Atlanta, New York and they work at UGA’s independent student newspaper, The Red & Black.
We have a breadth-and-depth curriculum that teaches foundational skills that all journalists need to know, as well as advanced skills and subjects that students can study based on their interests. We offer classes in video and photo journalism, digital design, feature writing, sports and social media, media law and ethics and podcasting. Discover ways we educate democracy’s next generation.
Department of Journalism Head
Dr. Jonathan Peters
Department Head, Associate Professor
Faculty
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Karin Assmann
Assistant Professor
About: Dr. Karin Assmann teaches video journalism, multimedia production, reporting and storytelling, as well as graduate courses on journalism and mass communication theory. She studies the sociology and business of news […]
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Skylar Bandoly
Part-time Instructor
Skylar Nicholson Bandoly (ABJ ’20, MA ’22) is a part-time instructor at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Bandoly is a social media editor with The Wall Street […]
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Moni Basu
Charlayne Hunter Gault Distinguished Writer in Residence; Director of the MFA Narrative Nonfiction Program
About: Moni Basu, otherwise known as Prof B, teaches feature and narrative nonfiction writing. She is the director of the low-residency MFA in Narrative Nonfiction and the Charlayne Hunter-Gault writer […]
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Matthew Binford
PhD student
Matt Binford is a first year PhD student specializing in journalism and political communications. His research interests typically focus around knowledge gain and retention from nontraditional news sources. Matt’s secondary […]
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Barbara Bond
Lead Business Manager
Prior to Grady College, Barbara Bond spent the last ten years in the health care industry – nine years as a lead certified pharmacy technician and one year as a […]
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Amanda Bright
Clinical Associate; Director, Cox Institute Journalism Innovation Lab
ABOUT Amanda Bright teaches capstone journalism and news literacy classes and digital design. She serves as the managing editor for Newsource’s digital products and is the instructor and assistant editor for The Oglethorpe […]
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Rebecca Burns
Part-time faculty
About: Burns serves as publisher of The Red & Black Publishing Company, Inc., an independent student media nonprofit that publishes the largest student newspaper in Georgia, provides journalism training, produces […]
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Dodie Cantrell-Bickley
Senior Lecturer
About: Thirty+ years in various television news positions including anchor, investigative reporter, executive producer and News Director. As News Director launched one of the first local news websites in the […]
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Nick Chiles
Writer in Residence
About: Nick Chiles is a writer in residence teaching Feature Writing courses. Previously he was the writing coach at the Grady Writing Lab for journalism students and an industry fellow […]
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Tracy Coley
Part-time Instructor
Tracy Coley (ABJ ’90, MFA ’19) worked for nearly 30 years as a writer, editor, graphic designer, and student mentor in marketing and communications for the University of Georgia. She […]
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Charles N. Davis
Grady College Dean, Professor
About: Charles N. Davis is the Dean of the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. He was appointed in 2013, after a […]
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Carlo Finlay
Lecturer, Assistant Director of Carmical Sports Media Institute
Carlo Finlay is the associate director and lecturer for the Carmical Sports Media Institute.
Sports Media Certificate
The Carmical Sports Media Institute is home to the Sports Media Certificate, the most in-depth yet wide-ranging program of its kind.
The six-course certificate program uses hands-on experience to help students develop a variety of skills, including broadcasting (on-air and production) and creating social and digital sports content. The Sports Media Certificate is open to all UGA undergraduates, regardless of major or year in school.
Certificate students explore the societal impact of sports and sports media while gaining the multiplatform skills that give them a distinct job-market advantage in one of the media industry’s growth sectors.
The Sports Media Certificate debuted in 2014. Its graduates are working across the sports media industry, for networks such as ESPN, for professional and college teams, and for media outlets such as The Washington Post and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
For more information about the Sports Media Certificate and up-to-date information on how to apply for the program, please visit sportsmediainstitute.uga.edu.
Certificate in News Literacy
Clickbait. Deepfakes. Disinformation. Bias. Conspiracies. Hoaxes. The media, especially the news media, shapes what individuals know about their community and the world, and being literate about the information they receive is essential to making good decisions. There is no better time to learn how to navigate the news, as disinformation isn’t going anywhere. Our democratic society needs as many people as possible — citizens as much as journalists, educators, and other professionals — to wade into the digital world equipped with concepts and tools to help them recognize the difference between truth and falsehoods.
Research
Above Grady’s door is the slogan, “Democracy’s Next Generation.” Key to this mission is the role of journalism. Grady’s journalism scholars study public opinion, journalism history, media law, media management and international journalism.
Research Spotlight
The Digital Media Attention and Cognition Lab
Founded in 2014, the Digital Media Attention and Cognition (DMAC) Lab is focused on studying how people view, understand, and form impressions of digital media. We are housed in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia.
Qualitative Research Lab
Founded in Spring 2022, the Qualitative Research Lab, directed by Dr. Karin Assmann, an assistant professor in the Journalism Department, has the software needed for students, both undergraduate and graduate, to conduct qualitative research, which involves analyzing texts, video and audio. Under Dr. Assmann, the lab also provides a space for student researchers to interact and brainstorm with their peers. The Qualitative research lab is located in room 252.
Journalism-Specific Study Abroad Opportunities
Learn the craft of travel reporting, with a special emphasis on photography. Visit historical sites and learn more about the significance of the Czech Republic and Central Europe.
Join us in May for an intensive, exhilarating and immersive experience in International Mass Communication taught in Croatia! Don’t speak the language? No problem. English fluency is widespread in Croatia.
Immerse yourself in an exciting travel writing course that focuses on subjects that you are most passionate about.
Learn More About Our Study Abroad Opportunities
Careers
A Journalism degree from Grady is a ticket to a world of opportunities in media. Our graduates have gone on to successful journalism careers at:
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See Where More Journalism Alumni Are Working
Other graduates, drawing on the transferable skills and entrepreneurial mindset offered by a journalism degree, have gone on to work for the government, social media companies, book publishers, nonprofits and public relations agencies. Still others have gone on to law school or graduate school.
Journalism is more important than ever, and we are helping students to develop the knowledge, creativity, and critical thinking needed to serve the public interest.
Young Alumni on the Job
Grady Career Services
Grady College Career Services offers individual counseling sessions for students to discuss career options, job and internship search strategies, resumes and cover letters and interviewing skills. They also provide workshops on topics related to career planning and development.
Contact Director of Experiential Learning, Samantha Meyer, at (706) 542-5032 or sam610@uga.edu, or Grady Career Consultant, Whitney Denney, at (706) 542-3375 or whitney.denney@uga.edu.
Internships
As part of our experiential learning at Grady, students have the opportunity to earn academic credit while completing an internship. If you successfully complete all of the requirements of an approved internship while concurrently enrolled in JOUR 5010, you can earn up to three (3) college elective hours of credit.
For more assistance and guidance with internships, visit our Careers and Internships page.
Journalism Internships, Summer 2023
Centers
James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research
The James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research (Cox International Center or “Cox Center”) is one of the fully established units in the United States dedicated to international outreach and research in mass communication, media, and journalism. Named after the late James M. Cox, Jr. – chairman of the board of Cox Enterprises – the Cox International Center began operations in 1985. Since 1990, the Center has been supported by annual contributions of the Jim Cox Jr. Foundation of Atlanta as a living memorial to James M. Cox, Jr.
Institutes
Cox Institute for Journalism, Innovation, Management & Leadership
The James M. Cox Jr. Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership at the Grady College prepares students and professionals for leadership roles in the news media. By sponsoring intensive training programs and funding applied research, the Cox Institute is at the forefront of addressing the strategic challenges faced by contemporary news organizations.
John Huland Carmical Sports Media Institute
The Carmical Sports Media Institute gives UGA’s undergraduate Sports Media Certificate program a home base and a distinct brand. The institute provides the resources for student support and experiential-learning opportunities, on-campus programming, community outreach and industry networking.
Housed in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Carmical Sports Media Institute emphasizes foundational journalistic principles while helping students adapt and innovate as sports storytellers.
Special Initiatives
McGill Program For Journalistic Courage
For four decades, the McGill Lecture has brought significant figures in journalism to the University of Georgia to help us honor Ralph McGill’s courage as an editor. In 2007, we added the McGill Symposium, bringing together students, faculty and leading journalists to consider what journalistic courage means and how it is exemplified by reporters and editors. In 2009, we awarded the first McGill Medal to a U.S. journalist whose career has exemplified journalistic courage. All of this is for a single purpose: to advance journalistic courage.
Solutions Journalism of the South at the University of Georgia
That’s the mission and purpose of the Solutions Journalism Hub at the University of Georgia—to support storytelling that covers both the problems and the actions being taken to address them.
We are committed to advancing education, research and industry collaboration and innovation to improve the understanding and reach of solutions journalism, with a special focus on the southern United States.
National Press Photographers Association
As a leading institution in visual journalism education, Grady College is proud to be the home of the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) and the Best of Photojournalism Competition, which is judged each year within the college’s walls.
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Your media career starts here. Choose from four majors: Advertising, Entertainment and Media Studies, Journalism and Public Relations.