Fall 2006 Curriculum
Introduction
Overview
Grades
Summer Reading and Preparation
Additional Suggested Reading
Specialized Curriculum Concentrations
The First Term (August-December)
Courses Offered Fall 2006
Other Fall Term Courses (not open to full-time M.S. students)
Equipment and Facilities
Spring 2006 Curriculum
TO: All M.S. Students
FROM: David A.
Klatell, Vice Dean
RE: Instructional Program
Note: The Fall 2006 Ballots will be available on June 21, 10 a.m., in the Academic Links section of the Student Resources page. Assistant Dean of Students Melanie Huff must receive your preference ballot by Monday, July 10, 10 a.m.
To all of you who are new, welcome to the Graduate School of Journalism. The faculty, administrators and staff are glad that you have chosen to study with us, and we look forward to working with you and our continuing part-time students. You are joining a community of teachers and learners who are dedicated to the highest ideals and aspirations of journalism. We believe that journalism is an integral part -- the glue, really -- of a free, open and well-informed society.
By choosing to attend the school, you have entered into what amounts to a contract with us. It binds us together in pursuit of a shared goal: to give you the finest opportunity to understand and master the craft of journalism. The school will do its part by providing faculty members who are accomplished professional journalists and educators, offering a curriculum that is varied and flexible, setting and upholding the highest standards of ethics, nurturing in you the core principles of the professional journalist, and serving as an example to working professionals. Your responsibilities include a devotion to achieving and sustaining excellence in your work, always behaving in an honorable and professional manner, whether with faculty, peers, sources or the public and above all, to telling the truth. The school works best when we work together in an atmosphere of mutual trust, respect and professionalism.
The school cannot, however, be all things to all people. We cannot, for example, promise students they will gain a seat in any specific class, no matter how ardently they seek entry, as some classes and instructors receive many more applications than can be accepted. What we do promise, however, is that the great breadth of our offerings and the strength of the teaching faculty will permit all students access to outstanding classes and teachers. Similarly, we cannot promise students a job upon graduation. Many factors beyond our control will influence the relative success of each graduate. A Columbia degree does not -- nor should you expect it to -- guarantee immediate professional success or placement in "the job you've always wanted." If you come to the school with such unrealistic expectations, it will diminish your appreciation for your own progress, strengths and weaknesses, as well as damage your relationship with faculty and colleagues.
You will be participating in a unique form of self-guided education. The skills of the interviewer, reporter, writer and producer develop differently and at a different pace in every person, so you will have to rely on your intellect, dedication, motivation and creativity to solve the problems journalists frequently confront. In addition, you will spend many hundreds of hours in the lesser-known residential communities throughout New York City, trying to understand and report about people quite unlike yourself. We immerse students in all aspects of community reporting, so you will be finding and developing stories almost from your first day. Be prepared to open your mind, eyes, ears -- and heart -- to the successes and failures of residents new and old, as they struggle to cope with this metropolis.
To help you make appropriate decisions, I have prepared this detailed letter. It describes the instructional program for the Fall semester for full-time and part-time M.S. candidates and answers many questions about the school. Candidates for the M.A. will receive a separate communication detailing the academic program, and they are to ignore this document. You should also carefully consult the school's Bulletin, available on the Web or in hard copy. It contains much valuable information about courses, faculty, academic regulations and other important matters. You are responsible for reading and obeying our policies related to academic discipline and professional conduct.
You may read students' evaluations of many of the classes and professors at http://www.columbia.edu/cu/journalism/evaluations/. You will have to log in using your UNI and password, about which you've already received information.
You can help to determine your own schedule by the preferences you indicate, based on what's in this letter. Assistant Dean of Students Melanie Huff must receive the preference ballot by 10 a.m. on Monday, July 10. The ballot must be submitted online (the ballot link will appear in the Academic Links section of the Student Resources page as of 10 a.m. on June 21). Please note: if you are submitting writing samples to apply for Judith Crist's courses, these, too, must be received by Dean Huff by 10 a.m. on July 10; you should e-mail them to her (mgh2@columbia.edu) as the body of your document - not as an attachment. If you are sending a hard copy of your writing samples, address it to Melanie Huff, Assistant Dean of Students, Graduate School of Journalism, 2950 Broadway, Mail Code 3800, New York, NY 10027.
The academic year for all new, full-time M.S. candidates who are broadcast concentrators begins August 7, at 9 a.m. The formal orientation for all M.S. students is August 17 & 18. All students are expected to be in the Lecture Hall on the third floor of the Journalism School by 9 a.m. You should plan to arrive early (check-in and the distribution of I.D. cards begins at 8:15 a.m.), as we will begin on time. A packet of information with your name on it, containing schedules for orientation and classes will be available in the lobby. Members of the school's staff will be on hand to answer questions and offer help.
Orientation will be short, and real work begins the first day. It is extremely important that you are prepared to begin classes and writing assignments immediately. You will be required to attend classes, work on assignments and participate in seminars and other activities five days and several evenings per week. You will be busy, so plan accordingly.
Full-time M.S. students will be placed in each required course: Critical Issues in Journalism; Journalism, the Law and Society; New York as a Foreign Country (for internationals), so these do not appear on your ballot. You may indicate a preference for an instructor on the ballot for RWI; RWIIs (print students only); and the Master's Project, but there is no assurance that you will be placed in that instructor's section. Please be certain to fill out the correct ballot completely, and to submit it by the deadline to be considered for the course(s) you request; seats are assigned on a space-available basis. We cannot promise that you will get your first choice.
In addition, each student must take at least one of the Journalism Skills 5-week mini-courses: Radio, Television, Television News Writing, New Media, Photojournalism or Computer-Assisted Reporting (CAR). Broadcast concentrators will be automatically enrolled for Television News Writing. New Media students will automatically be enrolled in Advanced New Media Skills (others interested in an introduction to interactive media should select New Media Skills). Stabile students will automatically be enrolled in Computer Assisted Reporting and Investigative Skills. Broadcast Stabile students will be automatically enrolled for both Television News Writing and these other skills; New Media Stabile students will take Advanced New Media skills and these other skills.
Part-time students concentrating in Broadcast are encouraged, but not required, to take Television News Writing. Part-time Broadcast students may also opt to take Radio skills on a non-credit (free) basis (please contact Dean Huff for instructions; do not request the class on your ballot).
These courses all meet in the evening or on Saturday. Students may try to add an additional skills course during the add/drop period provided they do not exceed 19 credits during the term. However, this should be undertaken with extreme caution, as the total work load of your courses will be far greater than most students anticipate. The "Skills" mini-courses cannot be used as a substitute for the RWII Elective.
Remember that you must fill out the ballot (the ballot link will appear in the Academic Links section of the Student Resources page as of 10 a.m. on June 21). Assistant Dean of Students Melanie Huff must receive your ballot by 10 a.m., July 10. All ballots meeting the deadline will be treated equally. If your ballot is received after the deadline, you will be placed in classes on a space-available basis in the order in which late ballots are received.
In September, we will welcome the arrival of candidates for the Ph.D., as well as the Fellows of the Knight-Bagehot Program in Business and Economic Journalism, and students enrolled in the M.A. program. You will also get to meet and share classes with the nearly 100 members of the part-time M.S. program. As second or third-year students, they are a valuable resource for information about courses, instructors and coping with the school and city. When everyone is assembled, we - faculty, adjuncts, fellows and students - will be a community of more than three hundred fifty journalists, one of the largest in the nation.
The Program of Instruction and Related Information
OverviewFollowing is the program of instruction for candidates for the Master of Science in Journalism. Each student, either full-time or part-time, is required to take the courses listed below. Limited variations may be authorized by Dean of Students Sreenath Sreenivasan or Assistant Dean Melanie Huff. For full-time students, the minimum credit load per term is 16 credits, with the maximum being 19 (the loads of part-time students vary; they should consult with Dean Sreenivasan, their program coordinator.) To graduate, students must complete all required courses, accumulate at least 30 graduate credits (most will earn more,) and pass the four "core" courses: Reporting and Writing I, the Master's Project, the Spring Reporting/Writing Seminar (RWIII) and the Spring Media Workshop. A student who fails any two courses, or the same course twice, will be dismissed.
The Faculty of the School of Journalism reserves the right to withhold a degree from any student it deems unworthy because of poor performance or unprofessional behavior. Faking a story, making up quotes, or plagiarizing constitute grounds for instant dismissal. Professors and adjuncts have the authority to check on your sources and source material. All deadlines must be met. Students may not turn in the same assignment in two different courses without the prior knowledge and approval of the instructors of both courses.
We expect students to read newspapers and magazines, watch newscasts and listen to the radio so that they are familiar with issues, ideas and people making news. Spot news quizzes will be given during the school year. Poor performance can result in faculty review, and ultimately, dismissal.
Students must act professionally at all times, on and off campus. They are expected to attend all classes and complete all assignments. If unable to do so, they must notify their instructors prior to the scheduled meeting of each class or assignment.
Students who fail to adhere to the school's policies may receive an official "academic warning." If the problem persists, the student may be placed on "probation," or ultimately, dismissed from the school.
While most courses are required of all students, flexibility within the requirements enables students to determine a specific emphasis or direction, e.g., urban or international reporting, print or broadcast, for their individual programs. Thus, students should look at the possibilities for the year as a whole when considering their goals. Most courses, such as the specialized seminars, have limited enrollments to assure optimum teaching conditions. Occasionally these courses are oversubscribed; while every effort is made to satisfy first choices, some students will, at times, have to accept second, third or fourth choices, or a second section of a chosen course taught by a different instructor.
For guidance in achieving their objectives, students should consult early and frequently with their RWI professors, who will serve as their principal adviser for the school year, or with the Dean of Students Office. Each student also will have an adviser for the Master's Project. The school assumes that the student seeking advice will initiate contact with his/her adviser.
The schedule is busy and tight throughout the year and involves much coming and going, both inside and outside the school. Full-time students should expect to be occupied with schoolwork most of the time Monday through Friday and during many weekends. Some missed class work may be made up on weekends. (Note: Many courses require frequent use of subways, buses and cell phones. Some courses require substantial amounts of long-distance telephoning, an additional expense that students have to assume; such a consideration might affect course selections.)
To request additions or changes to your schedule, you must submit an online add/drop form (the add/drop link will appear in the Academic Links section of the Student Resources page as of Monday, August 25, 9 a.m.). The add/drop period runs from Monday, August 25, 9 a.m. to Monday, September 18, 9 a.m. Add/Drop requests ARE handled on a first-come, first-served basis and we are not able to guarantee that we will be able to accommodate your request.
Grades
The Journalism School has a Pass-Fail system of formal grading. It aims at encouraging students to perform as well as they can, without competing with classmates. In most courses (some electives excepted), students receive written evaluations of their work from the instructors. Copies of these evaluations are kept in the Dean of Students Office.
In RWI, written evaluations are issued at midterm and at the end of the semester. These preliminary evaluations indicate students' early progress and, if necessary, serve as a warning if any students are in danger of failing. Students who are not doing passing work are placed on probation. If a student's work is passing at midterm but deteriorates after the midterm evaluation, the instructor will give written notice of possible failure and inform the faculty.
RWI is the most important Fall course. The decision to pass or fail a student in that course is determined solely by the instructor(s). No grades of incomplete are allowed in RWI. Other required courses-such as Journalism, the Law and Society-are important, too. Inattention can result in failure. Students also should note that the "Skills" mini-courses are meant to be taken very seriously. The faculty reserves the right to dismiss a student who fails the same course twice or two courses, regardless of the credit points of the courses.
Deadlines for the Master's Project drafts are strictly enforced. The Faculty retains the right to fail or place on probation a student who fails to meet deadlines for the Master's Project.
No student is permitted to graduate while still on probation.
At graduation, the honors list is announced, recognizing approximately 15 percent of the students for superior performance in multiple courses, as measured by the number of instances each student has been designated for “honors in class.” Students are informed of the honors designation. The faculty determines the honors list by comparing and discussing each student's complete record. The faculty also awards more than a dozen special prizes at graduation, including five Pulitzer Traveling Fellowships for overall performance during the academic year
Summer Reading and Preparation
Upon arrival you will be given The Elements of Style and The Associated Press Stylebook. We also suggest you review a grammar handbook and bring it with you. Poor grammar and usage are unacceptable. So is poor spelling. We have noticed a decline in skills in these areas during the past several years and we urge you to work hard this summer to improve your mastery of the language.
We also urge you to get into the habit of reading daily newspapers and following important news events in other media. Most new organizations in the city maintain excellent web sites, which offer a convenient way to begin learning the neighborhoods, issues, officials and personalities likely to be important to your reporting in all classes. If you have a foreign language skill, you'd be wise to brush up. For example, even a little conversational Spanish can be helpful in street reporting.
Students should know about the City of New York, and about the reporting and writing techniques they will use to cover the city. Each professor decides whether or not to use one or more textbooks.
To assist students in arriving with a basic understanding of the twists and turns of the city that will serve as their laboratory for the subsequent 10 months, we recommend that you read most of Robert Caro's The Power Broker (New York: Knopf, 1974). E.B. White's short work, Here Is New York, (Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York, 1949), also is recommended. It can be found in most libraries and in his collected essays.
Additional Suggested Reading
Students may wish to deepen their knowledge of the history and dynamics of New York City -- the complex laboratory they will explore for the academic year. Here are some books recommended by the faculty:
- American Institute of Architects: AIA Guide to New York City (New York: Macmillan, 1968)
- Jervis Anderson: This Was Harlem: A Cultural Portrait 1900-1950 (New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1991)
- Meyer Berger: The Eight Million, Journal of a New York Correspondent (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1942)
- Samuel G. Freedman: Small Victories: The Real World of a Teacher, Her Students and Their High School (HarperTrade, 1991)
- Alex Haley: The Autoboigraphy of Malcolm X (Mass Market/Paperback, Reissue 1989)
- Pete Hamill: Snow in August (Little Brown, 1997)
- Clifton Hood: 722 Miles: The Building of the Subways (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993)
- Thomas Kessner: Fiorello H. LaGuardia and the Making of Modern New York (McGraw-Hill, 1989)
- A.J. Liebling: Back Where I Came From (North Point Press, 1990)
- Willie Morris: New York Days (Little, Brown, 1993)
- Jack Newfield and Wayne Barrett: City for Sale (Harper & Row, 1988)
- Diane Ravitch: The Great School Wars of New York City 1805-1973 (Basic Books, 1974)
- David Rogers: 110 Livingston Street: Politics and Bureaucracy in the New York City Schools (Random House, 1968)
- Luc Sante: Low Life (Vintage, 1992)
- Jim Sleeper: The Closest of Strangers: Liberalism and the Politics of Race in New York (W.W. Norton, 1990)
- Lloyd Ultan: The Beautiful Bronx 1920-1950 (Arlington House, 1979)
- Elliot Willensky: When Brooklyn Was the World, 1920-1957 (Harmony Books, 1986)
- Tom Wolfe: Bonfire of the Vanities (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1988)
- The WPA Guide to New York City: The Federal Writers' Project (Pantheon Books, 1982)
Specialized Curriculum Concentrations
The school offers four media concentrations: Newspaper, Broadcasting (either radio or television,) Magazine and New Media and the Stabile Investigative Journalism specialization. Although the choice of a Spring-term workshop is the primary factor in determining a concentration, some concentrations include Fall-term requirements. Students are assigned to concentrations based on their original applications to the School.
All new FULL-TIME M.S. students must double check their concentrations at 2006 FT Concentrations. The only switches possible are for those who want to leave broadcast or new media for print, ie, newspaper/magazine. If you are a broadcast or new media student who wants to move to print, please send e-mail to dos@jrn.columbia.edu and we will approve you to fill out a print ballot. For those with an interest in switching to broadcast or new media, we have a waitlist you can join by sending e-mail to dos@jrn.columbia.edu. Those who complete a ballot for a concentration other than the one to which they are assigned will have their classes assigned randomly in the correct concentration.
Newspaper
Students with a newspaper concentration take the regular, 6-credit version of
RWI in the Fall and a Newspaper Workshop in the Spring, either the Bronx Beat or
the Columbia News Service.
Broadcasting
Full-time students who concentrate in this discipline must take the 8-credit
broadcast version of RWI in the Fall and one of the broadcast workshops offered
in the Spring. As noted earlier, they also take Television News Writing in the Fall. Some broadcast students choose to take Broadcast Management as their Spring elective. Part-time students take a separate print RWI, followed by TV Reporting and Writing, offered in the Fall.
Magazine Journalism
Magazine journalism courses are offered through the George T. Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism. While students who concentrate in magazine journalism must take one of the magazine workshops offered in the Spring, they are not required to take a magazine elective in the Fall. However, they are required to attend the "Delacorte Evening Lectures" in the Spring term, for which they receive one-half credit. Magazine courses offered under the auspices of the Delacorte Center include Magazine Writing, Literary Journalism, Narrative Writing, The Literature of Non-Fictionand Producing a Magazine.
New Media
Full-time students who concentrate in this discipline must take RWI, Advanced
New Media Skills, the Fall RWII elective Issues in Online News, as well as the New Media Workshop in the Spring.
The Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism
The Stabile curriculum varies by media concentration, but will include the following: All Stabile students will be assigned to work with the Center’s director (this person’s name will be released as soon as University hiring protocols have been completed) or with investigative journalist Wayne Barrett for their Master’s Projects (if students are approved to do a broadcast or new media project, another adviser will be assigned). In the Fall semester, all Stabile students will be registered for Computer Assisted Reporting Skills and Investigative Skills (as well as any skills classes required by their media concentration). In the Spring semester, Stabile students will be registered for Investigative Techniques elective with Robert Port and for the Investigative Project seminar.
The First Term (August-December)
| Reporting and Writing (RWI) | 6 credits |
| Broadcast Reporting and Writing (RWI) (all broadcast students) | 8 credits |
| Skills of the Journalist | 1 credit per unit |
| Master's Project | 3 credits |
| Elective (RWII) | 3 credits |
| Critical Issues in Journalism | 2 credits |
|
Journalism,
the Law and Society International Division students take The U.S. As a Foreign Country instead |
2 credits |
For RWII (electives), print students will take one of the classes below; new media students will all take Issues in Online News.
The Art of the Profile (I) - John Bennet
The Art of the Profile (II)- Cynthia Zarin
Covering Conflicts - Judith Matloff
Cultural Affairs Reporting and Writing - Diane Solway
The Documentary Tradition - Joseph Dorman
International Reporting - Tom Kent
Investigative Techniques - Robert Port (for non-Stabile Students in Fall, Stabile students in Spring)
Issues in Online News - Sreenath Sreenivasan (New Media concentration have priority)
News Editing – Arlene Schneider
Opinion Writing (I) – Gwenda Blair
Opinion Writing (II) – David Hajdu
Personal and Professional Style (I) - Judith Crist
Personal and Professional Style (II) - Judith Crist
Principles of Economics and Financial Reporting – Robin Schatz
Science Narratives - Jonathan Weiner
Social Impact of Mass Media - Todd Gitlin
Sociology of News – Michael Schudson
Techniques of Feature Writing (I) – Alexandra Peers
Techniques of Feature Writing (II) - Paula Span
Writing With Style - Kevin Coyne
Courses Offered Fall 2006
Reporting and Writing (RWI) 6 credits
Note: we will assign you to a RWI
section and instructor(s); you may suggest, but do not get to choose, the
section or instructors.
This is the core course in reporting and writing on which much of the students' work is built. Using metropolitan New York as a laboratory, students cover a variety of news events and issues. This street reporting is supplemented by weekly deadline writing exercises under the supervision of the Faculty and by assignments designed to familiarize students with material they will encounter in professional work.
RWI seeks to blend instruction in the craft and the substance of journalism so that, upon completion of the course, students are accurate, clear and complete in their writing, can meet a deadline, understand how to gather and to verify material, report in a fair and balanced manner and have an understanding of several subject areas that are essential to reporting.
Competence in varied subjects is stressed. Weekly sessions explore such topics as reporting on police, courts, politics, education and race, and ethnicity. Weekly seminars review student work and examine the craft.
Street Reporting: Instructors give students at least one street reporting assignment each week. Some assignments may come from the AP Daybook, i.e., stories to be covered and written that day; others may require in-depth coverage for an entire day, to be handed in the same day or the following day. Later in the term, instructors may ask students to execute longer pieces requiring reporting/writing spanning two or three weeks.
Deadline Writing: One day per week, students spend several hours writing in class, under deadline conditions, and with on-the-spot supervision. Sometimes, students are given material in class from which to write their stories, while other days they must develop their own sources.
Professional standards are expected. Instructors expect students to use a dictionary and grammar handbook. Errors in punctuation, spelling, and grammar may be grounds for failing a paper. Students are asked to rewrite copy that fails to meet their instructors' standards.
Print RWI Instructors: Bearak; Boyle; Fuentes; Gissler; Hancock; Isaacs; Maharidge; Ojito; Reisig; Shapiro
Reporting and Writing for Broadcasting (RWI) 8 credits
Several sections of RWI will be tailored for broadcast students and taught jointly by print and broadcast professors. This year, the faculty partners are Ann Cooper and Laura Muha, Rhoda Lipton and Ari Goldman, and June Cross and Addie Rimmer. The course will cover the same print reporting techniques as other sections, plus reporting for radio and television. Because the Jumbo RWI is an eight-credit course, broadcast students DO NOT take an RWII elective.
Broadcast RWI Instructors: Cooper and Muha; Cross and Rimmer; Lipton and Goldman
Journalism, the Law and Society 2 credits
Instructors: Vincent Blasi, Anthony Lewis, Floyd Abrams and John Zucker, Roger Newman
Fri., 9 a.m.-12 p.m. (Blasi, Lewis and Abrams), Wed., 7:30-9:30 p.m. (Zucker
or Newman)
The course examines the current and historic conflicts between journalists and jurists over fundamental First Amendment issues such as libel, privacy, prior restraint against publishing the news, protection of sources, the right to gather news, and national security. Broadcast regulations, including the Fairness Doctrine, and questions of equal time and access are also explored. Reading includes texts of landmark cases. Two special sessions at the end of the course concentrate on practical aspects of libel and invasion of privacy. This course includes a final examination.
Note: All full-time students except international students will automatically be enrolled in the Friday section of this course. International students do not take this course; instead, are automatically enrolled in The U.S. as a Foreign Country.
Additional Note: part time students may enroll in either the Friday section or the alternate sections taught by John Zucker and Roger Newman, Wednesdays 7:30-9:30 p.m. Advanced fellows and others should enroll in one of the Wednesday evening section.
New York As a Foreign Country 2 credits
Instructor: Josh Friedman
Fri., 9-11 a.m.
Required of students in the International Division. A series of class meetings and field experiences designed to help foreign students overcome differences between their home communities and New York City and the U.S. so they can more effectively carry out the local assignments that form the core of the Fall curriculum.
International students only (who will be automatically registered).
Critical Issues in Journalism 2 credits
Instructors: Sam Freedman Fri., 12:30-2 p.m., Richard Wald Thurs., 7-9 p.m.
This course, required of all students, explores the social role of journalism and the journalist from legal, historical, ethical, and economic perspectives. While the course covers some of the same issues raised in Journalism, the Law and Society, they are examined more from an ethical and professional point of view.
Note: part time students may enroll in the Thursday night or the Friday afternoon section. Knight Bagehot fellows and should enroll in the Thursday section.
Master's
Project 3 credits in Fall 3 credits in Spring
Instructors: Baranauckas, Barrett Benedict, Blair, Blum, Buckley, Cabral, Cohen, Cooper, Cornog, Cotts, Coyne, Cross, Donahue, Freedman, Friedman, Gitlin,
Goldman, Hickey, Holloway, Issacs, Karr, Klatell, Lemann, Lipton, Love, Mahardige, Morgan, Nasar, Norton, Ojito, Porter, Richardson, Rimmer, Shapiro, Sharkey, Span, Spielmann, Sreenivasan, Stewart, Stille, Wald, Weiner, Zarin, Zinsser, and Zook
In its scope and duration, the Master's Project is the student's most sustained effort of the year. In terms of relative importance, credits and priority, however, it should be kept in proper perspective with the rest of the curriculum. The Project is not a master's thesis in the traditional academic sense, but rather an in-depth exploration of a topic as a journalist would pursue it.
Master's Projects may be executed in print, new media or broadcast (radio or television) forms. Students work on radio and print Projects individually, and students doing video or new media Projects work with one or two partners.
The student receives guidance from an assigned faculty adviser who offers advice in selecting a topic, fixing its focus and working through an approach, conducting the research and doing the reporting and interviewing, and organizing, writing, rewriting (and recording and re-recording, where appropriate) and polishing the various versions. Some faculty advisers specialize in one or more subject areas, so you may wish to indicate the general topic you hope to pursue for your Master's Project.
We would like to know from students which type of Project they would like to undertake-including the general topic, if that is known now. Students should indicate their preferences, even if they are tentative, on the Fall ballot, since an attempt will be made to match faculty advisers with students according to their preferences. Students will begin meeting with their adviser in September, and thereafter depending on the arrangement worked out between individual students and their adviser.
Requirements
Every student carrying out a Project must meet the minimum requirements of 1) a proposal; 2) an early outline; and 3) three drafts or edits. Some variations are permitted at the discretion of individual advisers. The broadcast and new media faculty impose slightly different requirements.
Students must meet with their advisers during the Fall to develop a topic. That topic must be fixed by Nov. 20. Serious work on the project will proceed during the Fall as well as over the holiday break. A "billboard" or brief description, preliminary outline and a list of likely sources must be submitted to advisers December 1. The results of your initial reporting and interviews are due by December 15 - your adviser will specify what he/she requires. The first draft is due on January 16, 2007. The second draft is due Feb. 19. The third-and final-draft will be turned in at the end of the Spring break, March 19.
You should stay in close and frequent contact with your adviser, who will explain the school's expectations and stipulations for completion of the Project.
Choosing a Topic
Students should consider a topic that is significant, interesting, and feasible and will sustain their interest over months of research. The Faculty recommends that students choose topics that make them passionate or that at least really interest them. One does not have to be an expert on the subject; indeed, a good reporter becomes an expert.
For both logistic and educational reasons, the topic must focus on the
Print Projects should run between 5,000 and 7,000 words but may go longer if the material requires it and if the adviser so recommends. Those executed in broadcast or new media form vary according to the complexity of the material involved; most are the equivalent of a 30-minute documentary.
Master's Project Reference List
These are highly recommended as examples of the kind of journalism to which the Master's Project aspires:
- Helen Benedict: Portraits in Print (Columbia University Press, 1991)
- Joan Didion: Slouching Towards Bethlehem (Washington Square Press, 1991) and The White Album (Simon & Schuster, 1979)
- Oriana Fallaci: Interview with History (Houghton Mifflin, 1977)
- Frances Fitzgerald: Cities on a Hill (Simon & Schuster, 1986)
- Samuel Freedman: Upon This Rock: The Miracles of a Black Church (HarperCollins, 1994)
- Pete Hamill: Piecework (Little Brown, 1996)
- LynNell Hancock: Hands to Work: The Stories of Three Families Racing the Welfare Clock (William Morrow, 2002)
- Randolph T. Holhut: The George Seldes Reader (Barricade Books, 1994)
- J. Anthony Lukas: Common Ground (Knopf, 1985)
- William Lutz: The New Doublespeak (Harper Collins, 1996)
- John McPhee: The John McPhee Reader (Vintage, 1976, originally published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
- Jessica Mitford: Poison Penmanship (Knopf, 1979)
- Sylvia Nasar: A Beautiful Mind (Touchstone, 2001)
- Bruce Porter: Blow (St. Martin's Press, 1994)
- Michael Shapiro: Solomon's Sword: Two Families and the Children the State Took Away (Westview Press, 2002)
- In-depth broadcasts such as Frontline, 60 Minutes, All Things Considered, Nightline, and various radio and television documentaries
Specialized Reporting/Writing Electives (RWII) 3 credits
As the title indicates, these 10-week courses focus on specific news beats, such as international reporting or business reporting, or on specific media, such as feature writing. While an average of three writing assignments are given, instructors in most courses stress subject matter. All seminars include a weekly 2-3 hour class meeting on Monday, Wednesday or Thursday, usually in the evening, or on Saturdays. (Schedule adjustments may be needed for Thanksgiving week.) No classes for full-time students are offered Tuesday evenings, because these students are required to attend the School’s all-class lectures and panel discussions. Part time students are invited, but not required to participate.
Specialization is continued and expanded in the Spring term in the two-day Advanced Reporting/Writing Seminars. Thus, in the Spring students can either choose a second specialty or enlarge on the one taken in the first term. In courses that are offered in both the Fall and Spring terms, such as "Personal and Professional Style," students who fail to get their first choice in the Fall have another chance in the Spring.
The Art of the Profile
Instructor: John Bennet, Cynthia Zarin
(Bennet) Mon., 6:30-8:30 p.m.
This elective offers an in-depth chance to read, study and write profiles. The reading list includes John McPhee, Jane Kramer, Calvin Trillin, Gay Talese, Susan Orlean, Joan Didion and others. Students will write two short profiles and one long one. Your work will be critiqued in class and edited in detail.
(Zarin) Mon., 7-9 p.m.
How do we describe the content of a person's character? Does the way she wears her hat have anything to do with it? In this course, we'll address the mechanics of profile writing: choosing a subject, approaching sources, pacing reporting, and honing powers of observation. At the center of every profile, stated or unstated, is the relationship of the writer to his or her subject. We'll talk about the substance of that relationship, the responsibilities that go along with it, and how that elusive thing, a narrative voice, can be a natural outcome of the writer's stance. We'll also pay particular attention to how to think through what you've learned and organize it into a finished piece.
For the first class, students will bring in one or at the most two sentences of prose in which they feel the writer has illuminated some truth-profound or ridiculous-about a subject or character. What has the writer seen? What makes the prose tick?
Class assignments will include two profiles: 800 words and 2,500 words, respectively, about the same subject, as well as occasional in-class writing exercises.
Covering Conflicts
Instructor: Judith Matloff
Wed., 6-8:30 p.m.
Covering conflict poses unique challenges to reporters and is arguably the trickiest field to navigate from an ethical point of view, due to the life and death stakes. Your reporting and writing can get someone killed -- including yourself. This course will cover all areas of this delicate subject, from moral minefields to logistics. The aim of this class is to prepare you to think critically when hit by propaganda and how to work most effectively in volatile situations of danger. As well as dealing with content and ethical issues, we will also discuss practical matters such as how to find fixers, use satellite technology, and navigate mined roads.
Taking Iraq as the central paradigm, we will evaluate whether the media could have done a better job. We will examine the following questions: how technology and the globalization of 24-hour news have changed the nature of war reporting; can you be a patriot and maintain objectivity; what are the pitFalls of embedding; how do you get beyond military spin; do you give equal weight to both sides of genocide; is it better to operate beneath or above the radar; do you intervene to save a life? We will discuss the need for context, for protecting sources and how to dig beneath spot news to grapple with wider issues.
Each student will "adopt" a crisis and track coverage throughout the semester. The first assignment will prepare you to parachute into a strange country. Then, two news analyses will train you to think about the implications of breaking news, with particular focus on the causes of fighting and possible solutions.
Cultural Affairs Reporting and Writing
Instructor: Diane Solway
Mon., 6-9 p.m.
This is a course for the aspiring arts journalist as well as for those who want to strengthen their skills in covering the arts and entertainment. The class addresses both content and technique. We will focus on how to generate, research and shape different kinds of stories with a view to producing informed and thoughtful work. You will be encouraged to sharpen your critical thinking and to find engaging ways of writing about culture—from the cutting edge to the mainstream. We will also examine the ideas and issues driving creative expression in a number of disciplines. Through readings and class discussions, students will analyze the reporting and writing techniques of seasoned writers and learn how to apply these lessons to their own assignments. We will discuss how to provide context in an arts story, how to identify credible sources, how to handle interviews, quotes and scenes, how to make complex ideas accessible and not least, how to convey the distinctive qualities of an artist and their work. Each student will pitch story ideas in class as well as produce—and rewrite--two features and a profile which may range from the impact of hip-hop on comedy to the first-amendment controversies issues surrounding a museum exhibition. Guest speakers appear regularly throughout the term to provide behind-the-scenes perspectives on key issues shaping the cultural landscape and to offer glimpses into their own creative process. (Guests have included Philip Seymour Hoffman, Russell Simmons and Sarah Jones.)
The Documentary Tradition (section 20)
Instructor: Joseph Dorman
Wed., 6:30-9:30 p.m.
The course will trace the documentary film from its origins to the present day. We will explore the development of the documentary and the shifting intentions of documentary filmmakers through the evolution of narrative approach and structure paying special attention to the documentary tradition's relationship to journalism. We'll explore how different filmmakers have gone about trying to convey "reality" on screen both through the use and avoidance of narration, through interviews, editing and dramatizations. Finally, we'll look at how an image-driven medium attempts to report stories and the ways an emotion-driven art can be problematic for journalistic objectivity. Films and readings will be assigned weekly.
International Reporting
Instructor: Tom Kent
Wed., 7-9 p.m.
Introduction to the techniques and difficulties of international reporting. The instructors and guest speakers will discuss issues of ethics, writing, engaging the reader and viewer, reporting from dangerous areas, coverage of the military, censorship issues, and the impact of modern communication on the international reporting profession. Students will be assigned readings and be expected to write three stories of varying length.
Investigative Techniques
Instructor: Robert Port
Tues., 2-4 p.m.
The role of the investigative reporter is as important as ever. Yet the techniques of the craft, invaluable to any journalist, are changing rapidly. This course will equip students with an array of skills - high-tech and old-fashioned shoe leather - applied to real-world subjects. Students will learn advanced applications of computer-assisted reporting, and will be able to find a variety of hidden documents useful to good journalism: court records, pollution and safety studies, campaign contributions, the filings of tax-exempt organizations, child abuse and industrial safety statistics, corporate records, etc.
Issues in Online News
Instructor: Sreenath Sreenivasan
Mon., 7-9 p.m.
Note: All new media students will automatically be enrolled in this course, along with Advanced New Media Skills. If space is available, non-new-media students may try to add the class during the add/drop period.
This class serves as an introduction to the world of online journalism and the changing media landscape. Over a the 10-week period, students will learn about journalistic issues relating to credibility, ethics and standards on the Web, and the struggle to grow audiences. They will learn how to adapt the best traditions of reporting and editing to online journalism. They will discuss how the tough business environment presents challenges as well as opportunities for all journalists. They will learn about, and work with, such technologies as blogging, podcasting, wikis, tagging and Web 2.0. The three writing assignments will be enhanced by the material and skills taught in Advanced New Media Skills, the mandatory Skills course for New Media concentrators.
News Editing
Instructor: Arlene Schneider
Thurs., 7-9 p.m.
A 10 week course explaining how editors try to ensure accuracy, fairness, clarity, precision and completeness while keeping an eye on tone and structure. Will also examine the detail work -- spelling, punctuation, grammar, style -- with an emphasis on how problems in those areas affect meaning and damage credibility. Portions of the course will deal with deciding what is news, and with aspects of presentation (headline writing, photo use). Participants will edit stories with an emphasis on reading critically, raising good questions and dealing with reporters in ways that should elicit positive changes in copy.
Opinion Writing
Instructor: Gwenda Blair and David Hajdu
(Blair) Mon., 6:30-8:30 p.m.; (Hajdu) Thurs 5-7 p.m.
This course will deal with the theory and practice of opinion journalism. We will consider the questions of how opinion journalism is affected by notions of objectivity, fairness, balance, neutrality and accuracy. We will also look at the ways in which a strongly stated point of view can shake up debate on an issue and change the general understanding about what constitutes an objective discussion of a subject. Most of all, we will examine the relationship between opinion writing and intended audience and the difference--or lack thereof--between "opinion" and "context"-at least for journalistic purposes. The course will explore how to shape an opinion on subjects as diverse as politics, cultural trends, foreign policy, and the arts -- and how to express it. Each student will be expected to produce no more than three opinion pieces in different genres for different audiences at varying lengths. We'll read many of opinion writing's "greatest hits," including H.L. Mencken, Edmund Wilson, Walter Lippmann, John Dewey, I. F. Stone, George Orwell and Lester Bangs. We will also read contemporary opinion writers, including some of the work of our occasional guest speakers, of whose work students will be encouraged to offer their own opinionated critiques.
Personal and Professional Style
Instructor: Judith Crist
Wed., 1:30-5:30 p.m.
Thurs., 1:30-5:30 p.m.
The nature and demands of this course make it necessary to limit the class size. It is offered to students who have mastered the basic mechanics and techniques of journalistic prose and are interested in developing and refining a personal literary style within a journalistic framework, appropriate to editorials, columns and reviews. The emphasis is on form, structure and semantics for effective and original approaches to specialized writing in areas too long cliché-ridden. There are basic assignments and free-choice exercises, with concentration on self- and intra-group criticism. Prospective students must submit one sample of their best writing and, in no more than 350 words, a statement of their interest in the course. These are to be delivered directly to Assistant Dean Huff, who must receive them by 10 a.m., Monday, July 10. Sections are offered on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. (This course is repeated, in expanded form, in the Spring.)
Principles of Economics and Financial Reporting
Instructor: Robin Schatz
Thurs., 7-9 p.m.
Once a journalistic backwater, the business beat is now one of the hottest around, as stories about globalization, the misdeeds of Enron and Arthur Andersen and the bursting of the Internet bubble have leapt off the business pages into the public consciousness. This course will introduce the basic tools and terms of business journalism so you can start reporting business stories with confidence--and enhance your non-business reporting, as well. Over ten weeks, we'll get an overview of the different beats business journalists cover, how they develop sources and analyze data, and you'll meet with reporters and editors from the major business press. You'll increase your comfort level using charts, graphs, financial reports and economic indicators and learn how to utilize online resources effectively. There will be a major emphasis on writing lively, well-crafted stories that explain business concepts without relying upon the twin crutches of jargon and cliché. Using New York City as our laboratory, we'll dig into local industries and learn how to ferret out great stories about small businesses.
Science Narratives
Instructor: Jonathan Weiner
Wed., 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The universe is made of stories, not atoms, a poet once said; and the universe always needs more storytellers. This is a course for students who want to write long pieces about science using the tools of narrative journalism. In the first assignment (which can be started before class begins), students arrange permission to hang around an interesting lab or field site in New York. In the course of the semester, students will write a series of short sketches based on their reporting: first a physical portrait of the lab; then an exposition of the science going on there; then a scene the student has heard and noted down as a fly-on-the-wall reporter; and a character sketch of someone in the lab. Finally each student will weave these sketches into one story. The goal is a clear, accurate, evocative, feature-length piece of about 2,000 words. Along the way, for models and inspiration, the class will read some of the finest literature of science, from Lucretius to McPhee.
Social
Impact of Mass Media
Instructor: Todd Gitlin
Tues., 2-4 p.m.
In this course we explore the social consequences of what journalists do and the complex relationships between the press and the public. Through readings, class discussions, and close observations of media past and present, we locate the work of journalism in its social, historical, and theoretical context, focusing on such topics as the media's obligation to society; relationships between the press and the theory and practice of democracy; the media and storytelling; social ramifications of new technologies and new economic structures; and how the media are implicated in our perceptions of time, space, memory, and identity.
Sociology of News
Instructor: Michael Schudson
Thurs., 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
This course reviews leading works of social science that analyze the character and role of the news media in society, particularly but not exclusively in the United States. This will offer the context for considering current controversies about journalism. These are likely to include: does concentration of ownership matter? Is entertainment bad for democracy? Does critical news make citizens cynical and alienated? Does current news coverage reinforce or undermine established power? Is there any consensus on what journalism should strive for in a democracy or what kinds of journalism will best achieve accepted aims?
Techniques of Feature Writing
Instructors: Alexandra Peers, Paula Span
The class aims to acquaint the student with the fundamentals and challenges of feature writing and, beyond that, to serve as an intensely practical, modern look at the current climate for such writing. Students will work on developing a “voice,” will learn sourcing and interviewing strategies and will discuss current publishing industry issues with professionals working at newspapers and magazines. Particular attention will be paid to the specific stylistic elements that distinguish feature writing from news reporting, and to developing the characters, atmosphere and breadth of features.
(Span): Saturday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
Learn to report and write (and rewrite) the kinds of lively, engaging stories found in the better newspapers, magazines and websites. Find compelling subjects; develop your ability to observe and describe; explore the challenges of structure. Streamline your prose or die in the attempt. The course involves extensive reading of fine stories old and new, class discussions, and individual conferences. And it honors the Doctrine of Infinite Perfectability.
Writing With Style
Instructor: Kevin Coyne
Thurs., 7-9 p.m.
All prose, good and bad, has a fingerprint you can usually tell within just a
few lines who wrote it, and whether it s worth reading. So where does a
writer s style come from, and how can you sharpen your own? By taking apart
the work of other writers both fiction and nonfiction you will analyze the
elements of a prose style in this class, and then apply these lessons to your
own work. The idea here is not to learn how to mimic the voices of other
writers, but how to develop your own. Among the writers we will be reading
are George Orwell, Alice Munro, John McPhee, Tracy Kidder, James Joyce, Jane
Kramer, Joan Didion and John Cheever. There will be three writing assignments
of medium length the first an account of a place or an event; the second a
portrait of a person; the third an attempt to combine the two into a narrative.
Skills of the Journalist 1 credit per unit (These are 5-week mini-courses.)
Computer-Assisted Reporting
This course is designed to put student journalists in the driver's seat on the Information Highway. It takes students beyond simple lookups to a realm in which they not only capture information but also manage it to produce compelling daily, in-depth and investigative stories. Students will acquire skills in the staples of computer-assisted reporting - the spreadsheet and a database management program - while learning techniques to convert, merge, "interview" and interpret complex information from original or outside sources, such as the Internet or government CD-ROMs. This course is required for Stabile students.
Writing, Reporting and Mixing for Radio
Students become familiar with radio news writing and reporting. Students
write news reports using audio they gather as reporters in the field and
produce them using the digital audio laboratory. Note: not open to broadcast concentrators, who receive radio skills
training in RWI.
Television News Production
Non-broadcast majors get an introduction to video journalism and explore the
editorial and production processes of TV. The course includes screenings,
discussion sessions and exercises. Note: not open to broadcast concentrators, who receive television skills training
in RWI
Television
News Writing
Students are introduced to the techniques of writing for television news,
public affairs and long-form programs. Note:
required of full-time broadcast concentrators, open to part-time broadcast concentrators, closed to others.
New Media
- Basic New Media Skills: Students learn the basics of new media production,
including software such as Dreamweaver, Photoshop, and Flash. Students
learn to build Web pages and slide shows and learn the basics of photo
editing and graphic design. No prior experience is necessary
Note: not open to New Media concentrators, who receive new media skills training in Advanced New Media Skills and Issues in Online News.
- Advanced New Media Skills: Students learn new media field production, including audio and video production techniques. Students will gather audio and video in the field and edit on Final Cut Pro and Audacity. Students will also learn advance Flash techniques. No prior experience is necessary. Mandatory for New Media concentrators; and available to others during add/drop depending on space.
Photojournalism
Students learn the basics of photography, using Photoshop, scanners and
printers to produce short photo essays on non-fiction topics.
Other Fall Term Courses
These courses are not open to full-time M.S. students
The
Literature of Non-Fiction 6 credit Seminar
Instructor: Helen Benedict
Mon., 6:30-9 p.m.
Syllabus
This 15-week course is designed to expose students to the most influential
and innovative nonfiction writers of the past and present. Starting with
Charles Dickens and Mark Twain and moving up to contemporary writers such as
Susan Orlean and Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, we will examine how nonfiction has
evolved in its approach, subject matter, voice and style. Assignments: Two
short, critical reviews of the reading matter. One long literary essay, of
the type found in The New York Review of Books, that links some of the
readings with original research and thought. The essay should concern a writer
from the past and from the present and discuss the influences on and
evolution of nonfiction. Course not open to new full-time students.
Creating the Modern Critical Essay (offered in conjuction with the School of the Arts) 3 credits
Instructor: Michael Janeway
Wed., 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Syllabus
Modern criticism was shaped, and is still influenced, by writers and artists working as journalists and essayists in the years of cultural earthquake from the Victorian era through World War II. They include Mathew Arnold, George Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Henry Adams, H. L. Mencken, Walter Lippmann, Virginia Woolf, and Edmund Wilson.
Some, such as Arnold, Wilde and Mencken, were poised between a celebration of the classics, and a recognition of the future. Others, such as Twain, Adams and Lippmann, were concerned with distinguishing between fact and myth. Shaw, Woolf and Wilson were more clearly heralds of change. They brought news of artistic, cultural and political shifts to a public unready for therevolutions in the sciences (including the study of the mind), technology, philosophy, governance and war that marked the culture of modernity in the first half of the 20th Century. Those who were themselves poets, playwrights, novelists (Wilde, Shaw, Twain, Woolf, and later Robert Graves, Scott Fitzgerald and James Agee) were experimenting in new forms both as artists, and as critics. Many are read today because their response to contemporary crises -- the shocking impact of mechanized warfare, the frailty of democracy in the face of charismatic totalitarian ideologies – was more insightful than that of historians and political commentators of the time.
Much can be learned in our own cultural context by exploring how these writers sought – and sometimes fought – to interpret modernity in journalistic and essay form. This course examines ways that beginning writers can learn the techniques of the critical arts by studying their origins. Film clips and photos depicting events and artists discussed in the readings (including Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring, D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, World War I trench warfare, the rise of Communism and Fascism, Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway) are offered for background on a Columbia website reserved for students in the course.
Assignments: two 1,000-word exercises, one 1,500-word paper, one 2,000-word paper. The final paper will ask students to undertake independent reporting or research.
Note: Open to part-time students, M.A. students, advanced fellows and students from the School of the Arts. Students who wish to apply for one of the 9 Writing Division places in this 18- student interdepartmental course offered jointly in Journalism and the School of the Arts Writing Division should submit a one-page sample of their critical writing to Professor Janeway at mj153@columbia.edu.
TV
Reporting and Writing 3 credits
Instructor: Melvin McCray and Michelle Genece
Sat., 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Required of students in the part-time program who are concentrating in
Broadcast journalism. This course covers the same materials that
full-time students receive in their "jumbo" RWI sections, and
prepares students for advanced courses in broadcast journalism.
For part-time students only
Columbia News Service 3 credit elective
Instructor: Bruce Porter
Tues., 6-8 p.m.
The Columbia News Service operates as a feature syndicate whose stories are
thought up, reported and written by students under the guidance of faculty
members. They are then distributed by the New York Times News Service for
publication in some 400 daily newspapers throughout the United States and Canada. Topics concern anything of general interest happening in and around New York City. Subject matter can deal with the arts, entertainment, science, technology,
health/fitness, sports, publishing, economics, fashion, ideas, travel,
politics, academia, business, government--anything that would intrigue and
inform a national audience. To see examples of what students produced last
year, take a look at the CNS stories listed under Student Work on the
school's website. Also check the clips posted opposite the elevator and in
the hallway on the 6th floor. Along with receiving instruction and practice
in how to report and write feature stories, students will learn how to
develop ideas, present them to editors in acceptable fashion and deal
professionally with editors as staff writers and freelancers. Students must
turn out four stories of 750 to 1500 words each in the course of the
semester, writing and rewriting them, working one-to-one with their own
instructor, until their pieces reach publishable quality. Please note that
enrollment in this course does not make you ineligible for the Spring 6
credit version of the class.
Advanced
Seminar in Business Journalism 3 credits
Instructor: Terri Thompson
Tue. 4-8:30 p.m., Thurs. 4-5:30 p.m.
For Knight-Bagehot Fellows in Business and Economic Journalism only
Internship
0.5 credit
A student who, with the prior approval of the Assistant Dean of Students
and the Office of Career Services undertakes an internship at a media organization can earn 0.5 credit if the
work consists of serious journalistic enterprise. At the conclusion of the
internship, the student must submit a written description of what he or she
has accomplished and learned, and an official of the media company must send
a separate letter corroborating that and evaluating the student's
performance. You do not request this class via the ballot. Please contact Assistant Dean of Students Melanie Huff or Career Services Director Ernest Sotomayor for details.
Equipment and Facilities
The school provides excellent facilities and equipment, most of which are available to students on a 24/7 basis. Each year, including this one, we make major investments in updating our infrastructure, replacing old models with new ones, installing new software, and purchasing new computers, cameras, editing equipment, printers, scanners, and necessary supplies.
However, the basic purpose of the Graduate School of Journalism remains the same: to concentrate on writing, reporting, research and intellectual preparation. We are not a professional production facility, broadcast station, newspaper or web-design house, and have no desire to compete with them in the complexity of our equipment. Our equipment and facilities are appropriate for our needs, and frankly, our acquisition program is so effective that annually, the graduating students envy their successors.
We are committed to the idea of cross-training, so that every student gets a basic exposure to several different journalism formats and technologies. "Skills of the Journalist," for example, introduces you to new media, computer-assisted reporting, web search software, digital audio and video, and some aspects of photojournalism and associated software packages.
But, like any technology-intensive institution, we must limit access to certain, advanced equipment (for example, digital edit suites and high-end new media facilities) to faculty and students with specific educational priorities, who have been properly trained and certified. It is unrealistic to believe that several hundred students can be properly trained to use every piece of equipment in our inventory during a two-semester program. So, to a large extent, your selection of courses will determine your access to certain technologies.
For the most part, however, we all share the same facilities and equipment, and few of us are operational experts. So, we must depend on each other to treat equipment with care, to follow the instructions and advice of the hard-working and excellent technical staff, and to respect the needs of others.
We will provide you with a basic supply of disposable items such as video and audio tape, and will give you information on the best and least expensive suppliers from whom you can purchase more, as your needs or preferences dictate. We will also make available information on low-cost providers of services such as tape duplication, international format conversion, film processing, virus protection, disc scanning and recovery and high-end, multicolor printing.