Certificate in News Literacy

In this introductory course, students will become critical consumers of media and will explore how media create and disseminate messages, with a focus on current issues in all media forms.

This course must be taken first, but may be taken concurrently with other certificate courses.

The course considers social responsibility and presents a contemporary framework for transparency and community with a focus on diversity as a guiding journalistic principle.

First Amendment principles and communication law affecting print, telecommunications, advertising, and public relations.

Mass media of the world – what they are like, how they operate, and what impact they have. Philosophies of different systems will be compared, as well as efforts at development or regulation of these systems.

Relationship between men, women, and racial and ethnic minorities in the United States and the media. Includes discussions of representations in mass media (television, print media, advertising, and film); impact of representations on audiences; inequities in media professions and institutions; and alternative, feminist, and minority media.

A central conflict in journalism: sustaining credible practice in a time of wrenching change. Understanding change offers the chance to resolve this conflict in favor of credible practice. Focus on media trust and credibility, as well as trust in institutions, and their sources and consequences from theoretical and practical perspectives.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Evaluation of graduate students differs significantly from that of undergraduate students. Not only will graduate students be assigned more readings and additional projects, they will also be graded with higher expectations than undergraduate students. Specifically, graduate students will be assigned an additional research or applied project depending upon the discretion of the instructor. Research projects may involve secondary research reviews and synthesis, whereas primary research studies will involve collection and analysis of data. Applied projects will consist of an original professional-level project delivered as a written report and/or oral presentation.

Mass media in the United States from the colonial period to the present. Special attention is given to newspapers, magazines, radio, and television and their relationship to the history and development of the nation.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students are expected to do additional outside reading and a longer term paper using largely primary sources.

Exploration of the various ways news is visualized and how to analyze, understand, interpret and select news imagery. A critical evaluation of media images from a theoretical perspective, with emphasis on the ethical, credible, cultural and social aspects of visual news in its various forms.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Evaluation of graduate students differs significantly from that of undergraduate students. Not only will graduate students be assigned more readings and additional projects, but they will also be graded with higher expectations than undergraduate students. Specifically, graduate students will be assigned additional research or applied project depending upon the discretion of the instructor. Research projects may involve secondary research reviews and synthesis, whereas primary research studies will involve collection and analysis of data. Applied projects will consist of an original professional-level project delivered as a written report and/or oral presentation.

Management, leadership concepts, and techniques relevant to news media firms and entrepreneurial endeavors. This study of creating news within for-profit and not-for-profit models examines business structures, strategy and innovation, data analytics, product development, human resources emphasizing diversity and inclusion, and media economics.

*Includes study abroad

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Evaluation of graduate students differs significantly from that of undergraduate students. Not only will graduate students be assigned more readings and additional projects, they will also be graded with higher expectations than undergraduate students. Specifically, graduate students will be assigned an additional research or applied project depending upon the discretion of the instructor. Research projects may involve secondary research reviews and synthesis, whereas primary research studies will involve collection and analysis of data. Applied projects will consist of an original professional-level project delivered as a written report and/or oral presentation.

This capstone course enhances the ability to discern between news and misinformation through critical examination of how we access, analyze, verify, and create media messages. We will look closely at the critical role news organizations play in informing us and its significance for our democracy. This course’s purpose is to be a project-based survey of concepts, techniques, and tools that guide those who are media savvy, such as journalists, to make educated decisions about digital content. NOTE: JRLC 3600E fulfills the requirement during summer semesters.

In this introductory course, students will become critical consumers of media and will explore how media create and disseminate messages, with a focus on current issues in all media forms.

This course must be taken first, but may be taken concurrently with other certificate courses.

The course considers social responsibility and presents a contemporary framework for transparency and community with a focus on diversity as a guiding journalistic principle.

First Amendment principles and communication law affecting print, telecommunications, advertising, and public relations.

Mass media of the world – what they are like, how they operate, and what impact they have. Philosophies of different systems will be compared, as well as efforts at development or regulation of these systems.

Relationship between men, women, and racial and ethnic minorities in the United States and the media. Includes discussions of representations in mass media (television, print media, advertising, and film); impact of representations on audiences; inequities in media professions and institutions; and alternative, feminist, and minority media.

A central conflict in journalism: sustaining credible practice in a time of wrenching change. Understanding change offers the chance to resolve this conflict in favor of credible practice. Focus on media trust and credibility, as well as trust in institutions, and their sources and consequences from theoretical and practical perspectives.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Evaluation of graduate students differs significantly from that of undergraduate students. Not only will graduate students be assigned more readings and additional projects, they will also be graded with higher expectations than undergraduate students. Specifically, graduate students will be assigned an additional research or applied project depending upon the discretion of the instructor. Research projects may involve secondary research reviews and synthesis, whereas primary research studies will involve collection and analysis of data. Applied projects will consist of an original professional-level project delivered as a written report and/or oral presentation.

Mass media in the United States from the colonial period to the present. Special attention is given to newspapers, magazines, radio, and television and their relationship to the history and development of the nation.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students are expected to do additional outside reading and a longer term paper using largely primary sources.

Exploration of the various ways news is visualized and how to analyze, understand, interpret and select news imagery. A critical evaluation of media images from a theoretical perspective, with emphasis on the ethical, credible, cultural and social aspects of visual news in its various forms.

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Evaluation of graduate students differs significantly from that of undergraduate students. Not only will graduate students be assigned more readings and additional projects, but they will also be graded with higher expectations than undergraduate students. Specifically, graduate students will be assigned additional research or applied project depending upon the discretion of the instructor. Research projects may involve secondary research reviews and synthesis, whereas primary research studies will involve collection and analysis of data. Applied projects will consist of an original professional-level project delivered as a written report and/or oral presentation.

Management, leadership concepts, and techniques relevant to news media firms and entrepreneurial endeavors. This study of creating news within for-profit and not-for-profit models examines business structures, strategy and innovation, data analytics, product development, human resources emphasizing diversity and inclusion, and media economics.

*Includes study abroad

Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Evaluation of graduate students differs significantly from that of undergraduate students. Not only will graduate students be assigned more readings and additional projects, they will also be graded with higher expectations than undergraduate students. Specifically, graduate students will be assigned an additional research or applied project depending upon the discretion of the instructor. Research projects may involve secondary research reviews and synthesis, whereas primary research studies will involve collection and analysis of data. Applied projects will consist of an original professional-level project delivered as a written report and/or oral presentation.

This course enhances the ability to discern between news and misinformation through critical examination of how we access, analyze, verify, and create media messages.