Are you interested in Journalism, want to apply to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (SJMC), and need to fulfill your Comm B requirement? If so, Journalism 201 is the perfect class for you! This 4 credit course, titled “Introduction to Mass Communication,” is a requirement in order to apply to the SJMC. As this is an introduction class for the Journalism major, the course gives students a great idea of what the major is like. It also provides students with the basic knowledge of reporting, journalism, mass communication, and strategic communication strategies and prepares them for a future career in that industry.
Since the class is 4 credits, it entails 3 lectures and one discussion a week. I’ll admit that 3 50 minute lectures and 1 hour and 15 minute discussion a week seems like a lot of class time, but Professor Hernando Rojas’s engaging lecture style makes the large amount of time go by quickly. I never found myself bored in lectures, due to the interesting content and captivating presentation of the information. The workload is not too much and definitely doable. There are 2 media analysis essays, a midterm, and a final. Also, for discussion sections, each student has 3 tasks: discussion leader, prepared speech, and response speech. Personally, the mix of written and oral work helped me become a more well rounded student and thinker. For anyone who has a passion for mass communication and journalism, this class is great for you and still available for the Fall 2020 semester!