The University of Iowa School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Fall 2004
Broadcast curriculum: The sky’s the limit |
The UI’s revamped electronic media curriculum paves the way
|
| According to University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communication Assistant Professor Stacey Cone, the sky is the limit when it comes to ideas for future courses in the UI’s broadcast journalism curriculum. Over the past year, Cone worked with J-MC Director Pam Creedon and Professor John Bennett on revamping the electronic media curriculum. Students interested in broadcast journalism are now immersed in a specialized set of courses. Beginning spring 2004, the Broadcast Journalism Reporting and Writing and the  Broadcast Journalism Workshop courses were linked so that students could concurrently learn to write in broadcast style and produce news packages. In addition, Cliff Brockman, a 30-year veteran of TV and radio news, was hired to teach the Broadcast Reporting and Writing course. “It’s exciting to see the commitment the journalism school is making to broadcast,” Brockman said. Cone envisions future courses to include a class dedi-cated solely to editorial issues in broadcast and television news and a documentary class focusing on in-depth, long-form broadcast journalism. In beginning-level broadcast journalism classes, students must learn everything from TV news writing, to how to use the cameras and editing machines. There is very little time left over for education on performance or editorial-issue discussions. “The [September 2004] CBS scandal got a whole 15 minutes of class time in my Broadcast Journalism Work-shop class,” Cone said. “There is so much time devoted to learning broadcast techniques that other issues like editorial problems are not being covered.” In order to teach students the techniques of proper delivery style, movement on camera and breathing, Cone suggested holding specialized workshops taught by professional broadcast journalists. “Iowa is very print-oriented,” Cone said. “We don’t have [a lot of faculty] dedicated to broadcast news.” Perhaps Cone’s most ambitious idea for the curriculum is the development of a foreign correspondence program in which students would travel overseas and gather information like a news team. The story would then be assembled and, eventually, broadcast on public access or campus television. Cone said she hopes that the recent addition of the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) campus chapter will increase interest in broadcast journalism. The newly-formed group plans to produce a student-run newscast next semester that will be broadcast campus-wide. The group’s long-term goal is to make the student-run newscast a broadcast alternative to The Daily Iowan. Brockman’s ideas for expanding the electronic media curriculum include a course on “story telling” — a method of using video, natural sound and personalization in a story to explain the impact of an issue or a government decision. He also hopes to see more development of the radio curriculum. “I don’t want to overlook radio,” Brockman said. “I’m sure there are advanced courses we could offer in that area as well.” Many of Cone and Brockman’s ideas for the future of the broadcast curriculum depend on funding and the decision to hire faculty who may not be research-oriented. Many current J-MC School faculty members hold PhDs and regularly have research articles published in academic journals. “I’m a big advocate of getting more experienced professionals in to teach,” Cone said. “I don’t think it matters whether or not they have a PhD, as long as they are dedicated teachers.” |
| — Carrie Napolilli |
© 2004/University
of Iowa; All Rights Reserved