JOURNALISM LINKS

Concentrations:

Information:

MASSCOM LINKS

MTSU LINKS

Future Students:

Current Students:

An accredited four-year program

The School of Journalism at Middle Tennessee State University offers an internationally recognized and accredited program designed to equip students with both the professional and technical knowledge necessary to be successful in today’s, and tomorrow’s, work environment.

Courses are taught by academically distinguished and professionally experienced faculty that includes 20 full-time tenured and tenure-track professors. The School emphasizes the fundamentals—writing, reporting and ethics—along with contemporary topics such as social media, integrated marketing communications and entrepreneurship.

The College of Mass Communication, of which the School of Journalism is a part, has launched the Center for Innovation in Media, bringing together the University’s two campus radio stations, WMOT and WMTS, and the school newspaper, Sidelines, along with TV broadcasting facilities. With the center’s opening, the School will further expand its course offerings that emphasize the acquisition of digital multimedia skills.

Areas of Study

There are four concentrations within the school, each with its own core faculty:
• Advertising
• Journalism
• Public Relations
• Visual Communication

These sequences are designed to provide practical skills and experience in laboratory courses, fieldwork and internships while acquainting students with the history, theory, ethics, social responsibility and law of mass communication. Admission to the School requires candidacy in one of the concentrations.

The College of Mass Communication also offers graduate studies leading to a Master of Science degree in Mass Communication.

For new Journalism School students:

By Chloe Polivka

News and features of the Journalism School

Seigenthaler News Service:
Judicial Reporting Project

The Seigenthaler News Service, a project of the MTSU School of Journalism, launched the Federal Judicial System Reporting Project last Fall, a program designed to give MTSU students an opportunity to become immersed in daily reporting on activities in U.S. District Courts and other federal law enforcement operations at the Federal Court House in Nashville.

In the initial class, seven students spent eight hours a day, five days a week reporting and writing stories for publication in The Tennessean and in other Gannett publications. The students operated out of The Tennessean’s newsroom under the supervision of MTSU School of Journalism professor Wendell Rawls, who is also the director of the Seigenthaler Chair in the College of Mass Communication. He has been assisted by Dwight Lewis, former editor of The Tennessean’s editorial page and former beat reporter.

The project will continue this Spring and in the future with plans to include students from other departments such as Political Science, Business Law and Criminal Justice.

Mass Comments

Mass Comments is the online newsletter of the College of Mass Communication of which the School of Journalism is a part. If you’re interested in the College or the School, Mass Comments is a rich source of information about programs and events taking place in both. Most of the content is created by journalism students. Click here to go to the newsletter page.

Professional Advisory Board

The Journalism School has established an advisory board composed of fifteen professionals from print, radio and broadcast journalism, as well as public affairs and education, who have been asked to provide advice, support and developmental leadership to the School of Journalism. The board held its first meeting on Sept. 14 together with the School’s faculty. To learn more about the board, go to the Professional Advisory Board page.

ACEJMC Accreditation

The College of Mass Communication and the School of Journalism are accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, the oldest and largest alliance of journalism and mass communication educators and administrators at the college level. The College successfully completed its most recent re-accreditation process in Fall 2010.

Kappa Tau Alpha Chapter

The College of Mass Communication has received approval for a chapter of Kappa Tau Alpha, a national journalism and mass communication honor society. KTA is the seventh oldest national honor society and is dedicated to the encouragement and recognition of excellence in scholarship. KTA is awarded to students ranking in the top 10 percent of their junior, senior or graduate classes.

12 current and former MTSU Journalism students were inducted this year: 2012 inductees.

MTSU Poll

The MTSU Poll, sponsored by the Office of Communication Research, is a twice-yearly survey of public attitudes toward government, the media, lifestyles, and other topics of importance. It is run by two School of Journalism faculty, Drs. Ken Blake and Jason Reineke, who teach in the Journalism concentration. Results of the poll receive wide publicity in area newspapers and broadcast media. Poll results are used in the classroom to demonstrate polling techniques and interpretation.
Visit the MTSU Poll Website.

Tennessee Congressional Watch

A project covering the nine congressional districts in Tennessee. The website covers all candidates for the 2012 election, financial data such as in-state and out-of-state PAC and individual donations, positions on key issues, and demographics of the districts.
Visit the Tennessee Congresswatch Website.

Covering Islam: Training for journalists

Watch videos of a conference and workshop designed to help professional journalists report on Islam and issues surrounding Muslim communities: Go to CoveringIslam.com.

The School received a $40,000 grant in 2011 from the McCormick Foundation to organize and host a conference and workshop for journalists who report on the topic of Islam in their communities. It took place at the First Amendment Center in Nashville Aug. 21-23. Featured speakers included John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center, Dr. Lawrence Pintak, founding dean of The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University, and Asma Uddin, founder of altmuslimah.com. MTSU professor emeritus Ronald Messier also spoke, and MTSU Journalism assistant professor Jason Reineke presented survey results from the MTSU Poll. Twenty-two journalists, primarily reporters and religion writers from newsrooms across the South, participated. The grant covered their travel, accommodations and tuition for the two-and-a-half day conference.

The online videos cover most of the sessions in full and can be viewed at no charge.