Minor in Applied Journalism

Facebook. Twitter. YouTube. Reddit. The explosion of the internet and social media have changed the world of journalism and reporting forever, enabling new forms of media coverage, in which stories emerge with unprecedented speed and impact. Yet the ability to tell a good story – one that catches attention, changes the way people think, even alters the course of society – remains at the heart of any media enterprise. In OSU’s new Applied Journalism Minor, you won’t just learn how to ask tough questions and break timely stories, you’ll be encouraged to use all the media at your fingertips to explore the many worlds around us; not just worlds of sports, recreation, commerce and politics, but the worlds inside people.

The minor represents and unprecedented collaboration between The School of Writing, Literature and Film, The School of Art and Communication, and The Orange Media Network. While more traditional journalism programs tend to foster specialization in a narrow range of media forms that are slowly downsizing (investigative newspaper journalism, etc.), our Applied Journalism Minor will nurture visionary entrepreneurship that results in jobs providing content for booming new media journalistic enterprises—and even new forms of mass communication that you will invent.

Graduating with an Applied Journalism Minor is a good career move, too. It will open the doors to many fields; not just broadcast and multimedia journalism, but advertising, marketing, public relations and social media coordination. Our intensive internship program will provide you will all the firsthand experience you’ll need to succeed in the new media landscape.

Learning Outcomes

  • Compose professional reportage: obtain valuable information by conducting interviews, analyzing research databases and exploring digital sources.
  • Actualize writing projects in firsthand practicum experience with Orange Media Network and other campus publication venues through required applied journalism internships.
  • Tell news stories in a clear and compelling way, whether that entails print, broadcast and digital applications - or a hybrid of multi-media forms.
  • Actualize highly-polished journalistic projects that meet the most rigorous stylistic Associated Press standards; every course in the Applied Journalism Minor emphasizes copyediting skills and intensive proofreading.
  • Execute ethical decision-making that aligns with responsible exercise of the First Amendment and the legal considerations that frame the media's role as watchdog of public interest.
  • Implement critical thinking skills that account for global cultural awareness and diversity, while acknowledging the media's multifarious role in influencing, shaping and informing society.

Credit Requirements 

Required Courses (15 Credits)

  • AJ 311. Media Storytelling (3)
  • AJ 312. Advanced Media Storytelling (3)
  • AJ 313. Professional Practices in Applied Journalism (3)
  • AJ 410. Internship (3)
  • AJ 490. Media Law and Ethics (3)

 

Electives (12 Credits) to be selected from the following:

  • ART 263. Digital Photography (4)
  • ART 350. Photography on Assignment (4)
  • ART 446. Documentary Photography (4)
  • COMM 368. Propaganda and Social Control (3)
  • NMC 349. Video Art (4)
  • or ART 349. Video Art (4)
  • NMC 409. Practicum (1-16)
  • NMC 482. Documentary (4)
  • WR 303. *Writing for the Web (3)
  • WR 330. *Understanding Grammar (3)
  • WR 353. Writing About Places (3) (Ecampus only)
  • WR 362. *Science Writing (3)
  • WR 383. Food Writing (4)
  • WR 414. Advertising and Public Relations Writing (4)
  • WR 448. Magazine Article Writing (4)
  • WR 449. Critical Reviewing (4)
  • WR 462. ^Environmental Writing (4)
  • WR 497. Digital Literacy and Culture (4)

 

TOTAL CREDITS: 27