In this class, students will develop a variety of skills necessary for undertaking writing feature stories and getting them published. Students will learn to identify strong story ideas, query magazine editors, and turn ideas into finished products ready for submission. Finding the story is a process that unfolds throughout the writing process of gathering information and facts (through observation, research, and interviews), developing a strong lead, selecting and structuring the material, and revising for clarity and interest.

This is an introductory level course for students who wish to acquire a working knowledge of the field of photojournalism and the various tools used in modern image processing for both print and online media. Covered topics will include basic camera and lens techniques, exposure issues, composition and depth of field, digital image processing with Photoshop, news, feature, and sports photography, ethics, and credibility in the age of the digital image. Students are encouraged to own or have access to a digital SLR camera with manual functions for this class.

The idea of a "Third World," a world in which at least 70% of the people of the world now live, was conceived in the West and remains largely a Western concept. The unity and most of the qualities assigned to the Third World have also been largely Western. In this course we will examine the ways in which the Third World is represented by Western media. And using an anthropological and political economy approach we will deconstruct the propaganda used to continue the imbalance in the flow of information between the West and the Third World.

Throughout this course, students will read works from journalists from a variety of genres to gain insight on how they gathered and reported news and information. From the drama of covering the 9/11 terrorist attacks, to covering Hillary Clinton's historic Senate race and the development of an entirely different type of journalism online in the form of blogging, students will examine the techniques and ethical mores utilized by those who gather, write, broadcast and post information.

The Community Journalism Project is an intermediate reporting class that sends students into ghettos, barrios, and poor white and working class communities of Western Massachusetts. Journalists have become increasingly out of touch with the majority of the population. The working class, the poor, minorities are often overlooked in the mainstream media. This course puts students into the homeless shelters, food pantries, health clinics, community centers, public schools, and low-wage job sites in hope of finding solutions and answers from the real experts.

Students build on the skills learned in Journalism 300, while gaining the technical skills to tell stories in online platforms, using digital images and audio podcasts. Students learn how to find and work with online sources, and produce online news packages in areas like the environment, the economy, education and other topics.

This course will introduce students to the traditions and expectations of the Journalism Program, as well as resources and opportunities that will help them as they move through the major. Through workshops and exercises, students will meet faculty, get to know campus media and career services staff, learn about the writing and academic expectations of the program.

This course will introduce students to the traditions and expectations of the Journalism Program, as well as resources and opportunities that will help them as they move through the major. Through workshops and exercises, students will meet faculty, get to know campus media and career services staff, learn about the writing and academic expectations of the program.

The class covers a variety of memoirs; students will write a personal history that combines rigorous emotional honesty with high literary standards. Readings may include the works of Mary McCarthy, Tobias and Geoffrey Wolff, Russell Baker, George Orwell, John Wideman, Mary Karr, Vladimir Nabokov, Harry Crewes, Reeve Morrow Lindbergh, Mary Gordon, David Eggers, Ernest Hemingway, Alice Sebold, Wendy Mnookin and others.

Not long ago a journalist could get by with little more than a notebook, a pen, and his or her wits. Today, working in the media demands that students know an assortment of web design and web building skills. Students will learn basic web design, HTML and CSS skills, and by the end of the semester they will be able to build a basic website, including how to incorporate JavaScript plugins. The course will also cover online ethics, mobile strategy, search engine optimization, and the role of social media in successfully publishing journalism work online.