Course Offerings
The courses below are ones offered through the journalism department. These course descriptions are intended to give students an idea of course content, expectations, assignments, etc.. For the formal course description and prerequisites, see the official UF catalog.
JOU 2040 Writing Mechanics (1)
Description: This course helps students better their grammar and punctuation, especially in areas commonly misused in everyday writing. To do this, students work at their own pace to go through modules comprising video lectures and supplementary materials, take a quiz after each module, and take a final exam that draws from rules covered in all the modules. Though the course is within the journalism department, it would be helpful to any University of Florida student wanting to better her or his writing mechanics.
Typical format: Online
Semester(s) offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
JOU 3101 Reporting (3)
Description: Class consists of two one-period lectures and a three-period writing lab. Students learn how to gather information and write simple news stories using correct grammar, punctuation, spelling and Associated Press style. The lecture is a large class and includes three exams and a series of 12 pop current-event quizzes. The sessions are devoted to the various practices of news gathering and reporting. Topics include news judgment, story ideas, attribution, interviewing, wiring techniques and a brief overview of libel and journalism ethics. Labs are limited to 20 students who do two writing assignments a week, one in class and one outside. The in-class assignments are usually from fact sheets. The outside stories are based on interviews, events and other sources of news. Grades are based on news judgment, thoroughness of reporting, accuracy and consideration of readers’ interest.
The lab classes account for the majority of the final grade—75 percent.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
JOU 3109 Multimedia Writing (3)
Description: This course is designed to help you develop professional writing and communication skills across communication fields and media platforms. This will include learning to write using proper AP style and on tight deadlines. This course will prepare you for upper-level courses in this college through providing instruction and practice in writing styles. It is designed as a skills-survey course for you to get exposure to various kinds of storytelling, such as news writing, feature writing, photojournalism social media, and more.
Typical format: In-person and online
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
JOU 3110: Applied Fact Finding (3)
Description: In Applied Fact Finding, students will learn methods for gathering and analyzing public records used by practicing journalists. They will walk away with an understanding of the importance of public records for backgrounding businesses and people and for uncovering information that can’t be found by interviewing people. They will discover what kinds of records are available to reporters in Florida and beyond. And they will get practical experience finding those records and using them to generate top-notch story ideas. The class meets weekly. To prepare, students will read stories showcasing how some of the nation’s best newspaper journalists use documents to expose official misdeeds. In class, they will dive into each type of record, and apply their knowledge in individual and group exercises. Those exercises, along with a series of short quizzes and final exam, will make up the bulk of their grade.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU3213 Design (3)
Description: Introduction to design concepts, with emphasis on typography, page design and using type and images together. Discussion topics include: design principles, color theory, design for branding, image resolution, vector vs raster artwork, typographic terminology and hierarchy. Students are evaluated by completing design projects and by participation in weekly critiques of their peers’ work. All projects are print (no web design) and typical assignments may include poster design, CD packaging, personal branding, newsletter design, and magazine cover design. We use the Adobe Creative Cloud software, focusing on InDesign and Photoshop, with a basic introduction to Illustrator. Students are expected to learn the software outside of class as the semester progresses; this is not a software course and very little time is spent in class learning how to use it. By the end of the class, students will feel proficient in using InDesign and Photoshop and many have the skills, knowledge and confidence to pursue a design career.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 3305 Data Journalism (3)
Description: Dexterity with data is increasingly an expectation of journalists. This live course enables anyone (we’re looking at you, math-averse person!) to gain sufficient skills to immediately contribute to any job covering any subject from fashion to sports and thus give you an advantage in a job interview. The course also can launch you toward a specialization in the in-demand field of data journalism. The course focuses on the numbers side of the field – how to find data to tell stories and how to find stories in data. You will gain expertise in Excel and SQL database queries. You will learn how to unlock numbers hidden in PDFs and how to liberate tablature data from websites without specialized coding. You also will learn how to “clean” messy data and apply a few simple statistical tests to separate patterns from random noise. The course involves weekly take-at-home quizzes that apply what we learn in class along with two exams that mimic the tasks data journalists do on the job. You also will publish a newsy story you derive from data, such as analyzing whether the football coach deserved to be fired or gender and racial equity. This course is part of our data journalism program, and pairs well with JOU 4930 (Dataviz and Mapping) or any of the web app programming classes.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall
JOU 3346 Multimedia Reporting (3)
Description: This intermediate journalism course marries traditional local news reporting with the multimedia skills required of reporters today. Multimedia is a broad term. For this class, it simply means using more than one kind of storytelling tool to tell a story: text, images, audio, video, data, etc. Your primary goal is to learn to identify, pitch, produce and deliver a local news story to an online audience. We will conduct ourselves as if reporting for a news website, while also considering mediums such as podcasting and email newsletters. Given the community-based story opportunities, this course will help prepare you for not only advance journalism courses, but also an internship and or a job. Course assignments are primarily made up of stories delivered in a variety of platforms.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
JOU 3363 Intro to Web Apps for Communicators (3)
Description: What is a web app? It’s more than a web site. Web apps are interactive. They respond in some way to users who scroll, click or mouse over certain elements. They work on mobile devices and on the desktop. HTML and CSS make pages. JavaScript makes interactivity. No previous knowledge of those languages is expected or necessary. You will learn to code. You will write functional programs that run in a Web browser — not just make Web pages. You’ll build several original projects, and your work will conform to current industry-standard best practices. You’ll use well-known libraries such as Bootstrap, Leaflet and Highcharts. This course pairs well with JOU 3305 Data Journalism, JOU 4930 Dataviz & Mapping, or the follow-on, JOU 4364 Advanced Web Apps for Communicators.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall
JOU 3601 Photographic Journalism (3)
Description: Course is geared toward weekly photo assignments that feature newspaper and magazine style photography. No experience is required. Camera operations and Photoshop are explained. Extra credit is given for published work. A final project picture story is presented as an audio slideshow. Three written tests count for 600 of the 2,200 total points. Canon Rebel T3i cameras with 18-135mm lens are furnished for the whole semester.
Typical format: In-person; two hours of weekly lecture, one two-hour lab
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer B
JOU 3920 Professional Practice (1)
Description: A class designed to help students in their quest for a job. Students will write and/or polish their resumes and cover letters to be critiqued by the class and instructor. There are also sections on job interviews, negotiating salary, networking, maintaining a professional online presence and how to follow up with potential employers without being a pest. Pass/fail.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4004 History of Journalism (3)
Description: This course surveys the development of journalism and communications and the changes in the media as they relate to the larger society, economy, and political sphere, by illustrating that the development of all fields of communication are interrelated. Students will learn about how various groups outside the mainstream contributed to overall press development and understand that the study of media history is also the study of the lives of the audiences and their needs and concerns. This is not designed for students to just the study of names, dates, and places, but of people. The course challenges students to think creatively and analytically about key individuals, as well as great ideas and values such as media accuracy, free expression, ethics, history and diversity. The course typically has multiple exams and a paper as assignments.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4008 Journalism Studies (3)
Description: The course covers many of the elemental issues of the act of journalism through the lens of literary journalism. It explores the discipline’s history up to the present and weighs how form and content work together to create great factual literature. In the process the class attempts to: reach some semblance of an understanding about the notions of objectivity and subjectivity and their relevance to the journalistic act; reveal the intersubjective possibilities of this form of journalism; recognize that the field of journalism has pliable borders and how this genre stretches those borders into other fields. Work during the semester includes (1) a weekly reaction essay of at least three full pages dealing with the readings of the week and (2) a 10- to 15-page non-fiction narrative using the techniques of literary journalism that is meant to reflect students’ knowledge of the elements – and the issues – of literary journalism acquired during the semester.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4111 Advanced Reporting (3)
Description: Students read and analyze good journalism and participate in weekly class discussions. They are required to write three stories during the semester—a personality profile a government-related topic and a topic of their choice. The work is not graded; it’s edited and returned for rewriting. The bulk of the learning process is done in one-on-one editing sessions with the instructor. Students are also required to lead a brief class discussion on a journalism topic. Grades are based on the quality of the students’ finished stories and class participation.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Spring
JOU 4123 Investigative Reporting (3)
Description: Students learn to think like an investigative reporter and to apply the skills reporters use to uncover information. Students learn how to track people down, how to uncover secrets on documents and data and how to get people to talk when they shouldn’t. The semester is built around group reporting projects and how to deal with the challenges all investigative reporters face—overwhelming amounts of information, reluctant sources, ethical challenges, and organizational issues.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Varies
JOU 4201 News Center Practicum (3)
Description: This is a newsroom experience course that produces and edits journalism in the Innovation News Center. The INC is a professional newsroom for WUFT and WRUF/ESPN’s TV and radio stations and associated websites. These are professional news outlets serving 19 counties in North Central Florida. Because this is a real newsroom, your workday will vary. Majority of your time will be spent in the field and in the newsroom producing stories for wuft.org, WUFT-FM 89.1 or WUFT-TV. For this class, you will want to think and act like a professional journalist. It will prepare you for working in a professional workplace by navigating office politics, communicating your ideas, garnering attention and interacting with management, in addition to researching and reporting your story and hitting your deadline. Even if a job in journalism is not your desired destination, you will gain valuable work experience to apply toward your chosen profession.
Typical format: Live labs researching, reporting and producing journalism in the Innovation News Center. Weekly lecture.
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
JOU 4202 Advanced News Center Practicum (3)
Description: JOU 4202 students work on deadline as assistant city editors/news desk editors/news producers/assigning editors. The tasks are meant to reflect the kind of work editors are doing in today’s professional newsrooms. You will work with and coach other students on their stories, ideas, editing and rewriting stories to help hone them into publishable form, writing headlines and cutlines that accurately reflect story content and conform to AP style, collaborating with journalists across platforms — online, radio and TV. During your INC shifts, students will have a variety of responsibilities, including editing, reporting, writing, social media, and other multimedia elements. Students will also produce one community engagement project during the semester, focused on improving coverage of one specific under-covered community in the WUFT audience area.
Typical format: Live class, with lecture meeting one hour per week and five-hour weekly shifts in the INC.
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4214 Advanced Design (3)
Description: Journalism 4412 will introduce students to advanced skills in publication design. Throughout the semester students will produce projects that will help build a professional quality portfolio. The class will also touch on the principles and techniques of picture editing including picture selection, cropping and effective publication display of photography and illustration. The best publication layout showcases the effective use of typographic elements, photography and other art elements. Content-oriented class projects will be produced using Adobe InDesign and Adobe Photoshop software. Other topics covered will include the changing media landscape as it relates to design, management, teambuilding, ethics, idea generation, working within a media organization’s organizational structure, and editing for online media, including tablet and mobile devices.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall
JOU 4308 Magazine and Feature Writing (3)
Description: Feature-style writing is commonly found in magazines, newspapers, newsletters, and various genres of websites. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the art and craft of writing feature stories, which includes developing story ideas and utilizing the key components of feature writing to tell a vivid and compelling story. Throughout this semester, students focus on techniques and skills needed to become competent in producing, editing, and (hopefully) publishing a variety of feature stories for magazines and/or local news outlets. Assignments are multiple stories and revisions throughout the semester.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4311 Advanced Magazine Writing (3)
Description: This course aims to prepare students for narrative-style reporting, writing, and revising. Students assume the role of a professional writer, and class is conducted in a writer’s-group format. In this capstone course, students are expected to produce senior-level, high-quality work with depth and critical thinking. In exchange, students will receive feedback that will improve and strengthen your writing in new and creative ways. You will also work on engagement strategies to improve the reach of your work. Emphasis is on narrative storytelling techniques revolving around both reporting and writing. Assignments center around one long-form story (with multiple pieces), as well as secondary writing exercises.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall
JOU 4313 Sports Reporting (3)
Description: Sports writing is unique because it combines multiple journalistic skills. From straight news to investigative work to features to writing columns that are both serious and off-beat, sports reporting can be both demanding and incredibly entertaining. This class is designed to give students a taste of as much as possible. Assignments revolve around covering a beat as well as a group project.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Spring
JOU 4364 Advanced Web Apps for Communicators (3)
Description: If you’ve taken JOU 3363, you’ve learned the front end. This course focuses on the back end of web applications, which means databases, asynchronous JavaScript, and Python for more sophisticated programming projects, such as scraping web sites to acquire data and using a framework to generate web pages from a database and HTML templates. You will learn how to let your apps collect and save data contributed by users, and how to query a database and display its contents on mobile or desktop screens.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Spring
JOU 4447 Applied Magazines (3)
Description: JOU447 is the ultimate group project and will teach important skills and allow for in-depth learning on how to produce a magazine from scratch. During the semester, the class of JOU4447 will conceptualize, produce and deliver the print edition of the Orange and Blue magazine for the University of Florida. The students will learn how a print magazine is produced while fulfilling the key positions of the magazine staff. They will walk through building a magazine from start to finish, including using skills such as copy editing, feature writing, social media tactics, multi-media skills, graphic design, photography as well as learning what and how and a magazine is built and it’s importance in today’s world. Students will have a firm grasp of what it means to work for a magazine and within a real life team setting. Students will work as a team, learning how to build a magazine from scratch, and fulfill role within a magazine. Skills needed: feature writing, editing, research, interview skills, working knowledge of photography, graphic design.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4603: Specialized Journalistic Photography (3)
Description: JOU4603 takes your photographic knowledge beyond the basics and teaches the use of flash and artificial light for digital photography. Lighting techniques used for feature and magazine photography, such as portraiture, fashion and food photography, are covered.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU4604 Advanced Photojournalism I (3)
Description: Students work toward producing professional quality photographs while completing weekly assignments that mimic those found at daily newspapers. Effort is taken to help students become better self-editors. A semester-long project will aid in bringing students portfolios to where they need to be, in order to compete in this industry. Digital workflow, the business practices of freelancers and the ethics and responsibilities of photojournalists are also topics that are fully covered.
Typical format: In-person with online component
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall
JOU 4605 Advanced Photojournalism II (3)
Description: Journalism 4605 is an advanced seminar on the principles and techniques of photojournalism. The course focuses strongly on portfolio development and advanced narrative storytelling techniques. As you know, rather than just producing photographs to please oneself, photojournalism is about communicating with others by documenting the members of our diverse community–including their joys, emotions, dreams, despair and everyday interactions. The most powerful tool available to the photojournalist is the picture story. A key focus will be on producing in-depth picture stories to convey stories powerfully. The class will include an overview of advanced photojournalism, working in a multimedia environment, best-known practitioners, mediums of communication, and advanced idea generation. Other areas covered will include new singles shooting toward portfolio development, skills in proposal writing and presentation, caption writing, script writing, and visual reporting.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Spring
JOU 4905 Individual Problems (1-3)
Description: Students may sign up to work with an instructor on an independent project (1 to 3 credits). Students must have a faculty sponsor, and expectations of the course should be outlined at the start of the semester. To register, students must fill out a form and obtain proper signatures available in Weimer 2070.
Typical format: Varies
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
JOU 4910 Journalism Undergrad Research (1-3)
Description: Students may sign up to work with a faculty member or PhD students on research (1 to 3 credits). Students must have a faculty or PhD student as a sponsor, and expectations of the research should be outlined at the start of the semester. To register, students must fill out a form and obtain proper signatures available in Weimer 2070.
Typical format: Varies
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
JOU 4940 Journalism Internship (1-3)
Description: Please see details here. Students must fill out a form to register for internship credit (available in Weimer 2070). To be approved, students must be working in a journalism, media, or communications capacity with professional overweight (no student-run media or internal media opportunities within the College of Journalism and Communications). Students fill out progress reports during the semester, and supervisors must fill out an evaluation.
Typical format: Varies
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
JOU 4950 Applied Journalism (3)
Description: This is your signature, or capstone, course of the Journalism curriculum applying all the skills and theories from your previous courses. Working in small groups, you will complete three projects for your portfolio under the guidance of a faculty coach/editor. You’ll be expected to propose, develop and execute high-level journalistic projects using tools and best practices in written, visual, coding and/or audio storytelling in collaboration with journalists with different strengths than your own.
Typical format: Periodic seminars/meetings with independently driven group project work. There are three project due dates during the semester.
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
MMC 2121 Writing Fundamentals for Communicators (3)
Description: Learn to write with clarity while following grammar and punctuation rules in this online course. Quizzes and an exam will test your knowledge about grammar and punctuation. You will also complete four writing assignments: a blog entry, an email to a professor, social media posts and an elevator pitch.
Typical format: Online
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
MMC 2450 Data Literacy for Communicators (1)
Description: Not a fan of math but want to gain more poise with numbers? This course is for you. It is a gentle introduction to numeracy, or how not to get fooled by data. You will learn how to detect misleading statements about numbers, dissect public opinion polls, interpret tables and charts, distinguish between random events and meaningful patterns, simplify big numbers, and make valid comparisons. In the process, you will gain confidence in your ability to calculate and correctly use averages, percentages, and ratios. And you’ll get sufficient exposure to spreadsheets that you can use them to plan your wedding. (Seriously, a former student did just that!). Weekly quiz in class. About half the grade is from those weekly quizzes; the other half is from a midterm and a final. The course is tailored for communicators but is open to any student from any major.
Typical format: Flipped course: you watch instructional videos on your own and come to class to do “homework” problems.
Semester(s) offered: Fall, Spring
MMC 2604 Mass Media and You (3)
Description: In this course you will examine the roles and effects of contemporary mass media on society. Course objectives include increasing media literacy through examination of the history of various mass media. In this course you will consider the rights, responsibilities and ethics of media. You will explore the relationship between governments, audiences and media companies as well as the economic, political and social determinates of media content. Guest speakers will discuss current media industries and opportunities. You will have two tests, both multiple-choice, one in the middle of the semester, the other near the end.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
MMC 3030 Personal Branding for Communicators (1)
Description: In today’s evolving social world, communicating one’s brand effectively and with purpose is essential. In MMC3030, students will learn the basics of communication, how to define and grow their brand, what mistakes to avoid, here from guest speakers and have assignments that take them out into the real world to test their personal branding skills.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
MMC 3254 Media Entrepreneurship (1)
Description: This course is for future media professionals who aspire to control their careers. Rather than be cogs in a corporate machine, people in this class will make a difference by being indispensable because of their ideas, their ability to put those ideas into actions and by finding an audience. By the end of the semester, students should have a basic knowledge of startup businesses and paths to success, as well as work in a team to conceptualize and create a prototype and business pitch for a viable digital media startup.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
MMC 3260 Communications on the Internet (3)
Description: This survey course builds digital skills and explores legal and cultural issues related to the Internet and online media. Students create multimedia projects using various content management systems and learn the basics of building websites for business or personal projects. No coding experience is required. The course can serve as an overview of digital skills or as a foundation course for upper level courses in coding and interactive media.
Typical format: Online
Typical semester(s): Fall, Spring
MMC 3614 Media and Politics (3)
Description: The course provides an understanding of the vital role of the media in the political system. The often-adversarial relationship between media and public officials has increased in importance in the era of fake news and criticism that questions the credibility of news organizations. Topics include televised debates, political advertising, political journalism, Internet and alternative media. The news media, sometimes referred to as “the Fourth Estate.” will also be discussed from an international perspective.
Typical format: In-person and online
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
MMC 3702 Rock ‘n’ Roll and American Society (3)
Description: Do you love music? You will learn so much about where today’s music came from in MMC3702 that you will amaze your friends and family with your knowledge. Did you know Led Zeppelin has been sued 20+ times for plagiarism? Did you know Elvis Presley never wrote a song, or the origin of Kanye West’s “Blood on the Leaves?” This course is a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of work. There are four exams and a project.
Typical format: In-person and online
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
MMC 3703 Sports Media and Society (3)
Description: In this survey course, we will cover the relationships between the sports industry, athletes, media, and audience. We will discuss the evolution of sports media from the early sportswriters to the day when athletes control their own messages via Twitter. We will cover the various mediums— newspapers, magazines, books, radio, TV, online, forums, blogs, and social media—in terms of their history, function, impact, and ethical implications. This course is about developing literacy and critical-thinking skills about the sports industry and its relationship with the media. The course will consist of lectures, discussion, and guest speakers (live and via Skype). Course uses social media actively (#SportsMediaUF), and assignments include exams, reading quizzes, discussion, and a small writing assignment.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall
MMC 4200 Law of Mass Communication (3)
Description: This survey course introduces you to the First Amendment freedoms of speech and press, as well as to common law and statutory law as they affect journalists, the media and, more broadly, all citizens of the United States. The course covers the historical underpinnings of the First Amendment freedoms of speech and press, theories and rationales for protecting speech, and the laws of prior restraint, libel, privacy, trespass, hidden cameras, newsroom searches and other situations that journalists confront. Furthermore, the course addresses a wide-range of topics that affect everyone, including broadcast indecency, obscenity, child pornography, fighting words, hate speech, violent media content, advertising (commercial speech and the Federal Trade Commission’s regulation of advertising), student speech rights, copyright and trademark. Course is usually is in a multiple-exam format.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
MMC 4302 World Communication Systems (3)
Description: Students will gain an understanding of world communication systems by exploring historical foundations of global communication to include early advancements, technology, social, political and economic factors, theoretical paradigms and the mass media itself among other topics. Against a backdrop of the major trends in the field of communication, students will be equipped to evaluate the use of media tools and approaches around the world while also developing their own international and intercultural communication skills and competencies. Students often leave the course with new and different understandings of the global communication marketplace and are able to apply course concepts directly to their own fields of interest. Assignments in this course include weekly lectures, discussion posts, engagement with peers, quizzes, textbook and web-based readings, as well as an end-of-term presentation and self-reflection paper. The instructor promotes engagement through a variety of communication technologies to enhance the student experience to include email, Canvas messaging, a closed Facebook group, one-on-one meetings, and assignment feedback. Students are able to work through the modules on their own time to meet weekly deadlines.
Typical format: Online
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring, Summer
PGY 3610 Survey of Photojournalism (2)
Description: PGY 3610 is an introductory course for non-majors on the principles and techniques of photojournalism. Rather than just producing photographs to please oneself, photojournalism is about communicating with others by documenting the members of our diverse community. Our focus will be on visual reporting to honestly document people — their feelings, emotions, interactions and daily lives. For this class, look for ways to capture your community and avoid the easy solutions of photographing your roommates, parents, children or pets. Discussion topics will include ethics, photojournalism in the social media era, multimedia photojournalism, effective captioning, the photographer / reporter relationship, evolving media roles, and the importance of generating relevant story ideas.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Spring
JOU 4930 Special Topics courses are typically offered every semester; course content changes regularly. Below are samples of courses often offered. You may take multiple 4930s.
JOU 4930 Innovative Storytelling (3)
Description: This course focuses on media product/project design and management. Students will experiment with new ways of telling stories using emerging technologies, remixing platforms and designing for the audience first using the principles of human-centered design (also known as design thinking). So many of your other courses focus on the “what is” of journalism and communications and this course allows you to explore “what could be.” You’ll also learn new methods for “pitching” your ideas and to critique and deconstruct how other media organizations are stretching the bounds of storytelling.
Typical format: A weekly discussion and lab in one three-hour block. Projects range from group work to individual projects, with a final portfolio project at the end of the semester.
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4930 Environmental Journalism (3)
Description: Environmental reporting has taken on a new urgency in this time when human activities have ever-more-serious consequences for climate and natural disasters, oceans and freshwaters, wildlife and wildlands, food systems and public health. But complex science and uncertainty, public apathy and politics, well-funded counter-narratives, zealous stakeholders, and what can (incorrectly) appear a lack of news hook for stories playing out slowly in the decades of a comp plan or two centuries of CO2 emissions make Environmental Journalism one of the most challenging specializations in our craft. This course will introduce you to the dynamic field of environmental journalism; show you how to find the most accurate, credible and timeliest information on science and issues; and ground you in the essentials of environmental reporting – discerning uncompromised expert sources, using human narratives and descriptive storytelling to relate real-world impact, and tapping the databases, records and other tools commonly used by environmental reporters. If you’re drawn to stories about land, water, wildlife and human justice, this course is for you. Instructor approval is required, as is your willingness to join our class field trip into wild Florida. Suggested prerequisite: JOU 3101 Reporting or similar.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall
JOU 4930 Dataviz & Mapping (3)
Description: Learn data-driven storytelling for the cellphone. The live course uses code-free tools so you can focus on the data analysis and presentation. You will learn core design principles and how to spot key characteristics of data so that you can match the visual to the numbers. You will use Tableau to analyze and visualize numbers (a sought-after skill by employers in many fields) and Datawrapper to quickly present effective, responsive charts and graphics online. You also will learn how to visualize information with maps and to conduct geospatial analysis with QGIS to, for example, compare voting results with income data. The core work products in the class are weekly take-at-home quizzes applying what we learn in class and two take-home exams. You will also create a data storytelling project (graded on a cellphone) of sufficient quality to impress a potential employer on any subject you choose, such as an assessment of whether female athletic programs are treated fairly or a visualization of weather patterns. This course is part of our data journalism program, and pairs well with JOU 3305 (Data Journalism) or JOU 3363 (Intro to Comm Web Apps). However, it is open to any student with a communication bent who wants to use data to tell stories in bite-sized chunks for the phone.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Spring
JOU 4930 Special Topics Sports and Social Issues (3)
Description: With the explosion of conversation about social justice in the sports world, there is an increased need for sports journalists to understand key elements of social issues that many have ignored in the past. While some fans and readers clamor for sports pages to stick to sports scores and statistics, there is no ignoring the grip that issues like racism, sexism, homophobia, religious, ableism and other powerful forces have on sports today. In this class we will explore the values of sports and discuss some of the underlying meaning and history of social issues in sports, as well as sports’ power as an agent of change. Key topics will include how to avoid making career-ending mistakes when covering social issues, identifying pertinent sources and beginning conversations with athletes and coaches on complex issues. There will also be an emphasis on improving overall writing and reporting skills. Reading is light and constant, taken entirely from actual sports articles engaging in social issues. There are two small reading-comprehension assignments, in addition to two larger feature-style writing assignments. An emphasis is placed on class participation.
Typical format: Online (common online meeting time for one hour per week)
Semester(s) typically offered: Spring
JOU 4930 Law and Ethics of Social Media (3)
Description: The legal system is playing catch-up to adapt to the novel ways people use technology to share images and ideas, and this course surveys how the law influences every aspect of people’s social-media use — and how disputes about social-media content are resolved. With the legal landscape changing almost daily, the course is taught by reviewing recent court opinions and news articles, with no textbook. Students study and make in-class presentations about court cases that revolve around social-media use, and complete two take-home short-essay writing assignments in place of a traditional exam. The course provides an overview of foundational subjects covered in a law-school education—liability law, intellectual property, contracts, the First Amendment, criminal law—seen through the lens of social media. Students will come away prepared to spot and anticipate legal issues in their own workplaces, whether that’s a newsroom, advertising agency, or dining room.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Spring
JOU/RTV 4930 Sports Play-by-Play/On-Air (3)
Course is taught by James Bates, on-air personality and member of the 1996 UF national championship football team. A three-time Emmy Award winner, Bates has worked as play-by-play announcer, analyst, and studio host for football, basketball, baseball, and more. ‘Batesy’s’ lessons prepare students for a career in broadcasting. While an emphasis is placed on the play-by-play role, there is a large amount of time spent on hosting, analyst work and interviewing. Students learn to be creative and confident on camera and gain a better understanding of the world of television/ on camera sports & entertainment.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4930 Audience Engagement (1)
Description: Spend a weekend getting up to speed on one of the hottest buzzwords in the industry: audience engagement. Who are your messages and your journalism designed to reach, and how can digital tools help you reach them? How can you be strategic enough to know if what you’re doing is successful? How do you build relationships with your audience, using digital tools to have conversations and collaborate? How can you reflect diverse perspectives and effectively invite the participation of your whole community? Spend an immersive weekend diving into those important questions. Here’s what a fall student had to say: “I loved this class! The bootcamp style of learning was incredibly refreshing, and the content was so relevant and different from other classes that it hooked your attention the entire time.”
Typical format: Offered one weekend during the semester (check emails for dates)
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4930 Solutions Journalism (3)
Description: One of the most important roles journalism plays in society is to keep the public informed about any of the seemingly hundreds of problems we face in modern society. Traditionally, in-depth stories about these problems focus on explaining the extent of the problem, who is most affected, what those effects are, and who or what caused the problem. The solutions sections of these stories – if they’re included — often center around who’s supporting and who’s opposing particular solutions or simply report that solutions are being tried, without offering evidence about their effectiveness. Solutions journalism stories, by contrast, offer carefully researched reporting focusing on successful responses to social problems. Solutions journalism requires and explains evidence supporting the effectiveness of a particular solution. Students will learn how to use solutions journalism approaches to increase the impact of your reporting and increase audience engagement with your stories, as well as how to “do” solutions journalism – how to find stories, how to find and evaluate the evidence, and how to structure the stories to make them as compelling as possible.
Typical format: Live class
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall
JOU 4930 Hearst Project Awards (3)
Description: For students and faculty to work together with the goal of producing high quality journalistic work in writing, photography and multimedia that should lead to CJC submissions in the Hearst Intercollegiate Competition this year or next. There is no textbook or firm week-by-week schedule. Material will be presented as needed. Weekly readings and assignments will be given via email and Canvas. Everyone chooses one category to enter and works together on a team multimedia project. Grading is 50% work produced, 50% participation.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4930 Political Reporting (3)
Description: In the wake of the historic and contentious 2016 presidential election cycle and amid heightened and ongoing concerns about the integrity of news gathering and (and sagging public opinion directed at media,) this class will explore what it means to report effectively about politics — from the campaign trail, to polling, to the role of political operatives and propaganda. Students will learn about covering Congress, the federal agencies of government, about the political press nationally, including the White House press corps, and how that reporting cadre works, with a focus on Washington, D.C. and national affairs. The class, which will include frequent guest speakers as well as the production of original content, will also offer a foundation for state and local political issues, including work with public records, legal documents and databases used frequently by political journalists. Civics and history will play a key role — BIGLY.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall
JOU 4930 Entertainment Writing (3)
Description: This course should prepare a student to report and write about celebrity and entertainment news and to produce professional-quality content for specialized publications and websites. Students will learn about the entertainment business — in music, film, television, creative arts, fashion and also the celebrity world’s merge with politics. We will study how this industry gets covered by journalists across platforms. Students will typically read two non-fiction books about celebrity and produce original stories and creative content for their own entertainment-focused websites — aimed at their personal interests. This class is fun — where else can you discuss the latest Kanye and Kim Instagram post? — but focused on reporting and producing entertainment news coverage with integrity, including discussion of ethics and media law.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) typically offered: Spring
JOU 4930 Food Media and Culture (3)
Description: The importance of food is obvious: we eat food to stay alive. Sustenance is far from the only reason we eat, however, as shown in the course lessons—food writing, food in the media, food branding and marketing, food and place, and food entrepreneurship. In Food, Media, & Culture, we explore the purpose of food in our lives. Class readings mix media and cultural studies research with journalism, linguistics, history, literary analysis, gender studies, psychology, and marketing to help us see that foods like meatloaf, fried chicken, and apple pie, are part of who we are. Lectures, discussions, and pieces in a range of forms—magazine articles, academic arguments, book excerpts, videos, podcasts, and images—offer points of discussion and reflection. Not only do the pieces offer a variety of perspectives on food, they also offer a range of models for journalism and communication studies students. This course develops students’ writing skills for a career in food and media. Students practice writing in a variety of food writing genres, including a cookbook review, restaurant review, interview, magazine pitch, food film analysis, essays, and a farmers’ market ethnographic study. Connecting food texts, identity, and writing will lead to the development of each student’s writing voice and sense of self-expression as defined by food.
Typical format: Online
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4930 Video Storytelling (3)
Description: This course is designed to teach advanced video storytelling, shooting and editing techniques for multimedia journalism in multi-platform environments. The course will teach you to recognize and understand the technical and aesthetic aspects of visual storytelling, and how to build successful visual narratives using a combination of still images, HD video, ambient audio, and natural voices. The course is constructed to prepare you for the “real world,” in which you will apply the journalistic standards of truth, fairness and accuracy with the tools and techniques of multimedia journalism to tell compelling narratives in a professional environment. Professional camera gear, audio equipment, including microphones and a recorder, and photo and video editing software such as Photoshop and Final Cut or Premiere are necessary. Use of a tripod for video is mandatory.
Before taking this course you need to have demonstrated a base level of experience and understanding of how to shoot stills and video with a professional HDSLR using manual settings. You must have experience in gathering and editing audio and video using professional editing software such as Final cut or Premiere. This course will apply professional standards and practices to your work with a goal of preparing you for the next step in your careers.
Typical format: In-person
Semester(s) offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4930 Hatch Experience (1-3)
Description: For students who would like to work on a media product/project under the Hatch incubator for credit. This is a variable credit course, 1 to 3 credits, each credit requires at least 4 hours per week of work on the project. Students enrolled will design an individual course of study focused on working on a media project of their choice. At the start of the semester, students will pitch their project to the faculty sponsor and develop deadlines for the different stages of work, following Hatch’s human-centered design process.
Typical format: A largely self-directed course of study, students will have periodic meetings with the faculty sponsor and at least four deliverable due dates during the course of the semester.
Semester(s) typically offered: Fall, Spring
JOU 4930 Viral Rhetoric (2)
Description: Aristotle defined rhetoric as the power to tap the best available means of persuasion; an essential skill since “things that are true and things that are just have a natural tendency to prevail over their opposites.” But how do we tap the power of truth and justice in these distracted times of memes, Facebook rants and Twitter-bots? Three of today’s best available means are op-eds, social-media storytelling and TED Talks. Viral Rhetoric, a special joint course of the College of Journalism and Communications and Bob Graham Center for Public Service, introduces students to these three skills. Guest lecturers include award-winning speechwriters; op-ed editors; social-media mavens; and TED coaches. The primary assignment is development of a short TED talk, which students will work on throughout the semester and give as their final exam.
Typical format: In-person
Typical semester(s) offered: Fall