Department of Journalism

JRN 100. Special Topics in Journalism.3 Credits.

This course is only open to high school students in the QU Academy program. The content of this course is specialized and varies by semester and by section. A variety of topics in journalism may be covered. Students should consult the course description in the schedule for details on specific offerings.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed

JRN 106. Video Storytelling Techniques.3 Credits.

Students learn the fundamentals of video production, including the use of cameras, editing software, lights, microphones, and more to tell stories on TV, online, and on social media. Special emphasis is placed on video camera use, composition and lighting, capturing audio, continuity, interviewing, voiceovers, graphics, and shooting and editing action.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 200. Special Topics in Journalism.3 Credits.

Students engage in a detailed examination of current issues in journalism in a format that may incorporate academic research, journalistic writing and multimedia presentations. Students should consult the School of Communications course bulletin for information about each semester's offerings.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed

JRN 205. Photojournalism Fundamentals.3 Credits.

This hands-on course focuses on creating compelling, original news photography using the latest DSLR and Mirrorless cameras that journalists in the field are using today. Students learn about the basics of photography in this course and how to shape those technical skills into competent photojournalism.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All
UC: Fine Arts

JRN 260. News Writing.3 Credits.

This course teaches the principles and practices of news writing for digital platforms and print. Journalists must acquire skills to identify a news story and its essential elements, gather information efficiently, place it in a meaningful context, and write concise and compelling accounts. The readings, discussions, exercises and assignments for this course are designed to help students acquire such skills and understand how to utilize them wisely.

Prerequisites: Take COM 140.
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 263. Broadcast News Writing.3 Credits.

Students are introduced to the fundamentals of writing for the broadcast media in a professional environment. Topics include writing for audio and television, as well as integrating sound and video into news stories. The course also provides a basic understanding of primary journalistic values such as accuracy and fairness as they apply to broadcast news.

Prerequisites: Take COM 140.
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 275. Reporting Fundamentals.3 Credits.

This course helps develop strong news reporting skills, including how to gather, analyze and use information for journalistic stories. Students learn to identify and use public records and documents, make FOIA requests, conduct thought-provoking interviews, and more in ethical and legal ways.

Prerequisites: Take JRN 260 or JRN 263.
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 285. Mobile Journalism: The Future of News.3 Credits.

News consumption on smartphones and tablets has surpassed that of desktops and newspapers, making mobile devices key to the future of news. Students examine the impact of this trend on the future of journalism, learn about the technologies necessary to produce news on these devices, critique the user experience provided by various apps and mobile websites, and produce a news app of their own. They also learn how to cover news events using mobile technology, how to produce mobile news stories and how to work in a mobile newsroom.

Prerequisites: Take COM 140.
Offered: As needed, Spring

JRN 300. Special Topics in Journalism.3 Credits.

Students engage in a detailed examination of current issues in journalism in a format that may incorporate academic research, journalistic writing and multimedia presentations. Students should consult the School of Communications course bulletin for information about each semester's offerings.

Prerequisites: Take COM 140.
Offered: As needed, All

JRN 301. Special Topics.4 Credits.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed

JRN 302. Podcasting & Audio Storytelling.3 Credits.

This hands-on course explores creative audio storytelling via the podcast. Students learn how to research, write, record, edit and self-publish creative nonfiction and fictional stories that are both original, and emulate some of the most popular podcasts on the market. Special emphasis is placed on audio gathering techniques, storytelling techniques and interviewing for live and recorded shows. Students may not receive credit for both JRN 302 and JRN 280.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 303. TV Reporting and Anchoring.3 Credits.

Students learn how to report, write, shoot, edit, and present news packages for TV and online streaming. Additional topics include news judgment, content selection, interviewing, use of voice, and creative performance in standups and newscast anchoring. Students may not receive credit for both JRN 303 and JRN 291.

Prerequisites: Take one from each group: JRN 106, SPS 106, SPCM 110 and JRN 260, JRN 263, SPCM 201.
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 306. Social Media for Journalism.3 Credits.

Students are introduced to ways of sharing stories and reaching audiences on social media, the critical concepts of search engine optimization, and using industry recognized best practices for writing headlines, leads and URLs.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 311. Advanced TV Reporting.3 Credits.

In this course, students produce in-depth television news, sports, entertainment, event and feature stories building on the skills learned in TV Reporting.

Prerequisites: Take JRN 291 or JRN 303.
Offered: As needed

JRN 315. The Art of Interviewing.3 Credits.

Compelling stories don't just happen. They come from strong interviewing skills. Students learn how to ask questions that lead to meaningful responses, emotion and expertise, using in-class and out-of-class exercises. Students also analyze and critique the interviewing techniques used by professional journalists.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed

JRN 325. Telling Global Stories.3 Credits.

Using multimedia to gather and present facts lets journalists expand the scope of their storytelling. Students in this course examine current international journalism trends and socioeconomic and political issues specific to a developing country, learn fact-gathering techniques, and travel to that country during spring break to put into practice what they have learned. After spring break, students work on an interdisciplinary multimedia project.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed, Spring

JRN 328. Data Visualization & Emerging Storytelling.3 Credits.

News audiences are adapting to more sophisticated storytelling across all screens. Data visualization engages those audiences by adding layers of comprehension and beauty to dense information. This course teaches students to enhance journalism through hands-on information design, both static and interactive.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall and Spring

JRN 360. Public Affairs Reporting.3 Credits.

In this course, students learn and practice watchdog journalism, helping to inform our communities and keeping public figures and institutions in check. Students cover in-depth news off campus, on topics such as crime, public health, politics, education and the environment. In conversations with working journalists, students learn both innovative and proven strategies for reporting. Students also work individually and in teams to publish stories and multimedia projects based on public data, documents and interviews.

Prerequisites: Take JRN 275.
Offered: As needed

JRN 361. Sports Reporting (SPS 361).3 Credits.

This course introduces students to coverage of sports for the news media and includes event coverage, profiles and trend pieces.

Prerequisites: Take one of the following: JRN 260, JRN 263, or SPCM 201.
Offered: Every other year, Fall

JRN 362. The Story of Football (SPS 362).3 Credits.

This course traces the historical trajectory of American football and the coaches, players and media portrayals that transformed the game from a 19th-century collegiate test of manliness to what it is today: a spectator sport of immense appeal whose popularity endures despite more than a century of concerns over the game's debilitating and sometimes lethal violence.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 364. Sports Broadcasting.3 Credits.

This course introduces students to the concepts and content of what makes a good sports broadcaster. Aspects of sports broadcasting, both from inside the studio and outside on the field of play are explored. Students will learn and take on all the roles involved in sports broadcasting: that of a studio host, play by play, analyst, sideline reporter, interviewer and more.

Prerequisites: Take one from each group: JRN 263 or SPCM 201 and JRN 106 or SPS 106 or FTM 110.
Offered: Every other year, Fall

JRN 365. Effective Copy Editing.3 Credits.

Students learn the basics of editing online text, magazines and newspapers, with an emphasis on copyediting, headline writing, composition and story packaging.

Prerequisites: Take JRN 275.
Offered: As needed

JRN 372. Entrepreneurial Media (The MIC Project).3 Credits.

This course addresses the fiscal and distribution challenges faced by journalists and media professionals and empowers student teams to construct sustainable business models. Students experiment with the latest technology, exchange ideas with some of the industry's most prominent thinkers and developers, and create content or products for viable media business ventures. Open to all School of Communications students.

Prerequisites: Take COM 140
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 375. Cultural and Entertainment Journalism.3 Credits.

Students learn how to write about arts and culture by reporting on local events and developing a theoretical framework for cultural reviewing. Topics include television, music, theater and film. In addition to hands-on reporting assignments, coursework includes readings, screenings and fieldwork.

Prerequisites: Take JRN 260.
Offered: As needed

JRN 380. Multimedia Storytelling.3 Credits.

This course covers the principles and practices associated with researching and producing stories for digital media. Students are required to produce stories that include textual, audio, video and interactive elements.

Prerequisites: Take one from each group: JRN 106 or SPS 106 or FTM 110 and JRN 260 or JRN 263 or SPCM 201.
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 388. The Stories of Business.3 Credits.

Students learn methods and tactics of writing about businesses for mass communication. The course covers why and how companies operate and how to write stories about corporate news from public records and other sources.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed

JRN 395. Broadcast Performance.3 Credits.

This course explores the variety of skills required to communicate effectively through broadcasting. Students learn and practice on-air presentation techniques for effective delivery and interpretation. The course focuses on voice, voice control and the phrasing interpretation of copy and body language. Study focuses on performance techniques, creativity, writing and analytical skills needed to communicate effectively. Open to broadcast and print students.

Prerequisites: Take one from each group: JRN 106 or SPS 106 or FTM 110 and JRN 263 or SPCM 201.
Offered: Every other year, Spring

JRN 400. Special Topics in Journalism.3 Credits.

Students should consult the School of Communications course bulletin for information regarding each semester's offerings.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed

JRN 450. Senior Seminar.3 Credits.

This seminar entails an in-depth examination of issues and research perspectives in journalism. Seminar titles vary each term and may include topics such as ethics in journalism, diversity in the newsroom, and international journalism practices. Students should consult the School of Communications course bulletin for information about each semester's offerings.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 470. Narrative Journalism.3 Credits.

Students in this class learn to report and write long-form articles suitable for publication in online and print magazines. Over a series of major writing assignments, students apply their research and interviewing skills to produce exhaustively reported and elegantly written articles. Topics in the course include: lead writing, article structure, interviewing, the use of statistics and the application of narrative techniques to journalistic writing.

Prerequisites: Take JRN 275.
Offered: As needed

JRN 480. Advanced Multimedia Storytelling.3 Credits.

Many newsrooms now combine multiple types of media to immerse readers and make complex stories more digestible. This course covers the reporting and production skills needed to build many of these new forms, including interactive graphics and maps, and advanced audio and video projects. Students also study past and present interactive journalism projects and meet with some of the professionals who designed them.

Prerequisites: Take JRN 380.
Offered: As needed

JRN 495. Advanced Reporting.3 Credits.

Students will learn about advanced storytelling techniques across news distribution platforms (broadcast, video, audio, online, social media, photojournalism, etc.) and work on a series of long, in-depth pieces of journalism showing mastery of those techniques.

Prerequisites: Take JRN 275.
Offered: As needed

JRN 496. The QNN Newscast.3 Credits.

In this course students act as producers, news and sports reporters, writers, editors and anchors as they put on a live weekly newscast. Newscasts are recorded and critiqued for student portfolios.

Prerequisites: Take one from each: JRN 106 or SPS 106 or FTM 110 and JRN 263 or SPCM 201.
Offered: As needed, Spring

JRN 498. Journalism Capstone.4 Credits.

In this capstone course for the journalism major, students work on long, in-depth pieces of journalism across platforms. The stories include numerical or statistical information, multiple interviews from a variety of diverse sources, and show the students' command of the techniques used to produce and present news in print, broadcast and digital environments. Senior status required.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 499. Independent Study.1-6 Credits.

Prerequisites: None

JRN 500. Special Topics in Journalism.3 Credits.

This course consists of seminar-based classes that consider emerging areas of scholarly research or industry developments in journalism, with a particular focus on how a specific research activity or industry development illustrates issues regarding economic, gender and social groups.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed

JRN 501. Reporting and Fact-Checking.3 Credits.

Students are introduced to the basic practices and tools of journalism, which include interviewing, identifying and accessing public documents, writing leads and constructing organized, balanced stories.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 504. Sports Writing, Reporting & Content Creation.3 Credits.

This course focuses on the fundamentals of sports writing, reporting, and creating video, online, and social content to present comprehensive sports stories.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 506. Social Media for Journalism.3 Credits.

Students are introduced to ways of sharing stories and reaching audiences on social media, the critical concepts of search engine optimization, and using industry recognized best practices for writing headlines, leads and URLs.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 521. Podcasting & Audio Storytelling.3 Credits.

This hands-on course explores creative audio storytelling via the podcast. Students learn how to research, write, record, edit and self-publish creative nonfiction and fictional stories that are both original, and emulate some of the most popular podcasts on the market. Special emphasis is placed on audio gathering techniques, storytelling techniques and interviewing for live and recorded shows.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 524. Sports TV Reporting and Anchoring.3 Credits.

Students learn how to report, write, shoot, edit, and present sports news packages for TV and online streaming. Additional topics include news judgment, content selection, interviewing, use of voice, and creative performance in standups and sportscast anchoring.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 525. TV Reporting and Anchoring.3 Credits.

Students learn how to report, write, shoot, edit, and present news packages for TV and online streaming. Additional topics include news judgment, content selection, interviewing, use of voice, and creative performance in standups and newscast anchoring.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 528. Data Visualization & Emerging Storytelling.3 Credits.

News audiences are adapting to more sophisticated storytelling across all screens. Data visualization engages those audiences by adding layers of comprehension and beauty to dense information. This course teaches students to enhance journalism through hands-on information design, both static and interactive.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 530. Independent Study (ICM530).3 Credits.

This is a special course offered to accommodate students who seek advanced practical training or advanced research in an area not directly included in the curriculum. The topic and scope of the course is developed by the student in consultation with a faculty adviser, subject to approval by the dean.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 531. Graduate Internship.3 Credits.

Experience in association with working professionals is essential to securing career opportunities. Students completing an elective internship to secure such experience are required to work in a supervised environment, approved by the graduate program director.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All

JRN 546. Advanced Multimedia Storytelling.3 Credits.

Many newsrooms now combine multiple types of media to immerse readers and make complex stories more digestible. This course covers the reporting and production skills needed to build many of these new forms, including interactive graphics and maps, and advanced audio and video projects. Students also study past and present interactive journalism projects and meet with some of the professionals who designed them.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Spring

JRN 552. Media Law and Ethics.3 Credits.

A thorough knowledge of laws and ethical behavior is essential to the professional practice of journalism. As such, this course covers the legal and ethical dimensions of media communications across platforms, with an emphasis on First Amendment, privacy and copyright issues.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Spring

JRN 561. TV Sports Game Coverage.3 Credits.

Play-by-play coverage, color commentary, pre-game, post-game and intermission reports are among the most important aspects of televised sports, as each reveals and promotes the storylines through which games are covered. This course introduces students to the concepts and content behind the production of studio shows.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 562. Sports Law and Ethics.3 Credits.

Federal antitrust law and regulations show that college and professional sports are treated as special components of American culture. This course examines the legal structure that grants special privileges to sports and to the ethical challenges sports journalists confront in going beyond the games to find the story.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Spring

JRN 563. Sports Data Visualization & Analytics.3 Credits.

Sports audiences are adapting to more sophisticated storytelling across all screens. Data visualization engages those audiences by adding layers of comprehension and beauty to dense information. This course teaches students to enhance journalism through hands-on information design, both static and interactive.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Spring

JRN 564. Sports Audio & Podcasting.3 Credits.

Audio production and podcasting are important ways to engage with audiences. Students will learn how to produce, present, and distribute talk shows, news stories, opinion segments and sports narratives in a compelling way.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 565. TV Sportscast Producing & Anchoring.3 Credits.

Students in this course write, produce and distribute a 30-minute sports program for broadcast featuring stories that illustrate intriguing and inspiring stories of a Division I college athletic department. Every student engages in shooting, editing, writing, interviewing, presenting and distributing the final product. Additionally, students originate and perform local and national style sports highlight segments along with live in-depth interviews.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Spring

JRN 567. Sports Social Media.3 Credits.

Students are introduced to the concepts of reporting sports stories on social media platforms, audience engagement, search engine optimization, and other techniques to ensure strong storytelling reaches targeted audiences.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Spring

JRN 574. Crafting the Sports Feature.3 Credits.

Feature writers capture athletes when they are most noble, frail or otherwise vulnerable or heroic. They also capture the moment when a game means more than that. This course teaches students to apply creative vitality to their ideas and writing on sports outside of game stories.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Spring

JRN 588. Business Reporting.3 Credits.

Students learn methods and tactics of writing about businesses for mass communication. The course covers why and how companies operate and how to write stories about corporate news from public records and other sources.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: As needed

JRN 589. Critical Issues in Sports.3 Credits.

This seminar-style course explores a current issues in sports and sports media in-depth from a variety of perspectives to provide a greater understanding of the role of sports in society.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 595. Sports Newsroom Clinical.3 Credits.

In this course, students cover stories for a sports website, focusing on weekly assignments and longer form stories that include a variety of multimedia elements.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Spring

JRN 600. Capstone Proposal.3 Credits.

Students completing the journalism program conduct research and do preliminary reporting to write a capstone project proposal based on their area of inquiry. The faculty adviser and graduate program director must approve the topic.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, Fall

JRN 601. Capstone Project.3 Credits.

Students completing the journalism program must complete a capstone project. Under the guidance of the their faculty adviser, students create an original, in-depth, professional-quality journalism project. This course is graded on a pass/fail basis.

Prerequisites: None
Offered: Every year, All