Schedule of Classes

Basic communication concepts and issues. Overview of mass media history and profession.

Theories and skills of oral communication. Emphasis on basic principles of thought, content, organization, style, delivery, and the interaction of communication and culture.

Tools and aesthetics of media production: word processing and photography. The desktop computer interface. Desktop publishing, presentation software, multimedia documents. Internet navigation and page production. Credit by examination available. Not available for credit to students who have credit in IM 113.

The social, political, economic, historical, and ethical significance of the intersection of sports, media, and society.

Basic writing: selecting, organizing, and structuring information for print and broadcast journalism.

Principles and practice of effective advertising writing. Selecting, organizing, and structuring information for advertising writing.

Overview of electronic media industries: radio, television, cables and related electronic technologies. Local, regional, national, and international networks and programming services. Broadcast and broadband distribution; roles of government, advertisers, agencies, and audiences.

Study and practice in the operation of basic audio production equipment. Production techniques and production criticism.

Research and performance laboratory for students who participate in intercollegiate and community speech activities. Repeatable to a maximum of 6 credit hours.

Practice in news gathering, beat reporting, interviewing, and writing basic news stories.

Nature, practices, ethics, and problems of public relations.

Introduction to the foundations, nature, and practice of advertising; commercial aspects of communications. Ethical, legal and social responsibility aspects of advertising.

Practice in visual storytelling using video, audio, still photography, and other means of conveying information to create a journalistic report in a documentary style for multiple publishing platforms.

The skills of writing and announcing for the electronic media.

A global perspective on sports including a discussion of nationalism and global advertising.

Introduction to organizational communication including perspectives on organizing, the nature of communication within organizations, organizational culture, enhancing communication competence, innovation, technology, and organizational change, and contemporary issues.

Theories and variables of human communication in the interpersonal, group, organizational, intercultural, mediated, and global systems.

Rhetoric is the strategic use of symbols to generate meanings. Studying rhetoric examines how people are coordinated via discourses thereby producing critical interpretations of how, when, and why discourses are effective and persuasive. Organizational rhetoric is the strategic use of symbols to influence the thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of audiences important to the operation of organizations. The course focuses on rhetorical perspectives in five typical and recurring organizational contexts: identity rhetoric, issues rhetoric, risk rhetoric, crisis rhetoric, and rhetoric for internal audiences. We will emphasize the ethical dimensions of organizational communication during the strategic use of discourse.

Writing local news features and special feature stories for Sunday supplements, magazine sections, and magazines.

Television production techniques, theories, and fundamental skills as applied to studio production and COM 335. May be taken concurrently with Com 335 only with consent of instructor.

Communication across diverse cultures. Intercultural communication theory, skills, and concepts. Developing specific communication skills to facilitate effective communication in intercultural settings.

Formulation and techniques of creative strategy. Copywriting for print and electronic media.

Development of media plans and schedules to deliver advertising messages to target markets in media audiences. Advertising media vehicles evaluated in terms of creative requirements, audience characteristics, and cost efficiency.

Application of advertising principles and techniques in the design and preparation of ads for newspapers, posters, magazines, sales brochures, and direct marketing.

Promotional writing for publicity and public relations; practice preparing product, personnel, and organizational news releases. Special needs of various media.

Laws covering all the media; libel, privacy, copyright, and intellectual property; federal and state laws; unique broadcast and Internet regulations; nexus between the legal and the ethical in the practice of journalism.

Use of portable field video production techniques (ENG/EFP) and post-production editing facilities for a variety of assignments in news, feature, and television commercial production. Aesthetics, visualization, and societal impact of the medium. May be taken concurrently with COM 314 only with consent of instructor.

Designed to help students effectively use cutting-edge interactive technologies employed in online journalism and to understand their applications.

Desktop publishing. Lecture, discussion, and preparation of public relations portfolio using various software.

Topics of special interest which may vary each time course is offered. May be repeated under different topics.

Examines theory and research in small group communication in the context of the organization.

Furnishes learners with an understanding of the nature, purpose, and function of conflict and communication rules and strategies for managing and resolving conflict.

The purpose, structure, focus, and techniques employed in effective interviewing. Furnishes knowledge and skills necessary for enhancing effectiveness in several types of interviewing contexts, including employment interviews, journalistic interviews, appraisal interviews, and counseling/medical interviews.

Research procedures commonly used in communications research, including qualitative and quantitative methods. Emphasis on sampling data collection and analysis. Not open to students with credit in COM 440.

For students entering broadcasting. Preparation and development of television programs; emphasis on creative formats and uses of the camera, sound, music, lighting, and graphics. Development of production and critical skills. This course may be taken concurrently with COM 435 only with consent of instructor.

Study of mass media systems throughout the world: their history, development, theories of control, international news agencies, and new technologies.

Analysis and discussion of communication issues, ethics, and perspectives.

The economics, strategies, and techniques involved in media sales.

Intensive practice in multiplatform coverage of urban affairs; introduction to methods of investigative reporting. Focus on the social and political context of the news.

Advanced work in portable video communication systems and electronic editing. Exploration of various media applications and individual style of exposition. Video communication and societal effects. This course may be taken concurrently with COM 414 only with consent of instructor.

Public relations theory and practice in conjunction with cultural, geographic, and historic components of international practice of the profession. International media-public relations exchange and international public relations.

Fundamental principles and practices of digital, non-linear video editing and related postproduction processes and procedures.

Basic principles involved in communicating activities of professional and non-professional sports organizations and institutions to their target audiences. Examination of sports-related corporate social responsibility and community relations initiatives in local, national, and international settings.

The capstone course in the PR sequence. Theory and strategy are stressed through studies of classic PR case programs and development of PR campaigns for actual businesses and organizations. A final campaign requires research, writing, production, application and analysis skills.

The capstone course in the advertising sequence. Basic principles and applications of advertising campaign planning, preparation, and presentation taught in a problem-solving mode.

Individual creative research into various problems and aspects of the mass media. Requires application (available in Department Chair's office). May be repeated for a total of six hours.

Topics of special interest which may vary each time course is offered. May be repeated under different topics.