Recognizing the journalism world is changing by the minute, the WVU Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism has launched a new converged “journalism” major to better prepare students for careers in digital media.

The new major in journalism replaces the previous silos of broadcast news and news-editorial and requires students to produce content across media platforms as they will in today’s converged newsrooms.

Students in the new major will learn the fundamentals of reporting and writing, as well as visual design, multimedia storytelling and how to engage audiences in the digital era.

School of Journalism Dean Maryanne Reed says the new major was created in response to the changing needs of the industry.

“The way that people consume news has changed dramatically over the past 10 years,” said Reed. “Readers and viewers are moving away from traditional media – newspapers, television and radio – and increasingly turning to the Web to receive and share information about news stories and events.”

Reed says School of Journalism graduates will be prepared to work for a variety of media and tell stories using text, photos, video and audio.

The new program establishes cross-platform journalism as an integral part of the curriculum.

Students enrolled in the journalism major will share core classes in mass communications, media writing, ethics, law, and visual journalism and design.

By their junior year, they will have selected their area of emphasis in print, television or visual journalism. With fewer required courses, students will be able to take more electives outside of their area of emphasis.

In their senior year, journalism majors will come together in a shared capstone experience, serving as a multimedia reporting bureau to produce content for a variety of news organizations across the region.

To learn more about the new journalism major, visit the School of Journalism website at http://journalism.wvu.edu (see “Academics”).


kb 11/10/09

CONTACT: Kimberly Brown, School of Journalism
304-293-3505 ext. 5403

Photo Caption: Students in VISJ 220: Introduction to Photojournalism break into small discussion groups to analyze, discuss and debate image content in student-produced photo stories. (Photo by Lingbing Hang)