Journalism school will teach you how to share expertly gathered, transparently documented truth in a way that attracts, engages and empowers an audience.
Look, for example, at this online, interactive map of structurally deficient bridges in Rutherford County, Tennessee, taken from a recent Data Reporter post:
Structurally deficient bridges in Tennessee
Locations of the 22 Rutherford County bridges judged “structurally deficient” by inspectors, according to the 2015 National Bridge Inventory. Click or tap a marker to learn details about the bridge it represents. Red markers indicate spans with the worst ratings.
The map provides reliable, clearly documented information that could inform a news story, an advertising campaign, or a public relations strategy that could engage just about any Rutherford County resident who drives – and do so in a way that could both motivate and empower people affected by the problem to do something about it.
That’s one of the main things you’ll learn to do in journalism school that you won’t learn in some other major. Journalism school graduates learn how to gather and disseminate the kind of information needed to make democracy and a market economy work.
You’ll also learn to think clearly and carefully about what you’ll be doing as a professional communicator. You’ll take courses in understanding the historical, cultural, political and international contexts of media. You’ll study free expression and the laws that regulate, protect and empower it. And you’ll learn how to use your power as a communicator both effectively and ethically. Our accrediting agency, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, goes into more detail about what the journalism programs it accredits are expected to teach. The School of Journalism strives to produce students who:
• Understand and apply the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press; receive instruction in and understand the range of systems of freedom of expression around the world. (Free expression)
• Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications. (History)
• Demonstrate an understanding of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and, as appropriate, other forms of diversity in domestic society in relation to mass communications. (Diversity)
• Demonstrate an understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures and of the significance and impact of mass communications in a global society. (Globality)
• Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information. (Presentation)
• Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity. (Ethics)
• Think critically, creatively and independently to make connections across multiple contexts and educational experiences. (Reasoning)
• Conduct research and evaluate information by methods appropriate to the communications professions in which they work. (Analysis)
• Write correctly and clearly in forms and styles appropriate for the communications professions, audiences and purposes they serve. (Writing)
• Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness. (Evaluation)
• Apply basic numerical and statistical concepts. (Calculation)
• Apply tools and technologies appropriate for the communications professions in which they work. (Skill)
• Use integrative thinking and reflection to demonstrate the ability to make connections across multiple contexts and educational experiences. (Contextualization)
And because a journalism degree is a college degree, you’ll take the same general-education courses that any college student learns, regardless of his or her major. Here, for example, are MTSU’s general-education requirements.
Next: What you’ll do