Journalism course descriptions
To register for journalism classes, students must have an add code. The Advising Office takes add-code requests for two weeks prior to registration. Priority is given to senior journalism majors. Request forms are available in CMU 118.
COM 360 Intro to Multimedia Journalism (5 credits):
Introduction to newswriting and reporting for print media. Focus on defining news, general writing skills, constructing leads, preparing a variety of basic journalism news stories, interviewing techniques, covering beats, and journalistic style.
COM 361 Advanced Multimedia Journalism (4 credits):
Provides training in the development of advanced-level skills needed to gather and present news in multimedia formats. Practice in information gathering, interviewing, photography, videography, and basic Web content production. Prerequisite: COM 360.
Student-produced content: http://depts.washington.edu/uwjourn/
http://www.coveringviolence.org/blog
COM 362 Community Journalism: News Lab (5 credits)
Newswriting-skills course. Students gain real-world experience by producing news and feature stories for client papers in the Puget Sound Region. Involves considerable one-on-one work with the lecturer/editor. Requires writing and reporting skills. Prerequisite: COM 361.
Recent client publications: Capitol Hill Times, Reporter Newspapers, Issaquah Press, West Seattle Blog, MyBallard.com.
COM 363 Entrepreneurial Journalism Practicum (5 credits)
Requires students to identify a target audience in order to determine the kinds of multimedia news and feature content that meet informational needs of that audience; to create and distribute that content; and to encourage and assess audience response. Prerequisite: COM 360; COM 361.
COM 417 Political Deliberation (5 credits)
Exploration of philosophical and empirical writings on political deliberation in small groups, campaigns, and other public settings. Contemporary deliberative theory. Participation in face-to-face discussions on current issues. Recommended: either COM 273 or COM 373. Offered jointly with POL S 455.
COM 440 Mass Media Law (5 credits)
Survey of laws and regulations that affect the print and broadcast media. Includes material on First Amendment, libel, invasion of privacy, freedom of information, copyright, obscenity, advertising and broadcast regulation, and matters relating to press coverage of the judicial system. Offered jointly with POLS 461.
COM 468 Journalism Ethics (5 credits)
Provides a method and substantive context based on ethical theory, media history, and value systems analysis for analyzing and resolving dilemmas raised by journalistic practices.
Journalism skills/competencies courses (8 credits required):
COM 301 Navigating Information Networks for Mass Media (5 credits)
Builds familiarity with computer-mediated information networks. Introduces and compares network search engines, agents, browsing/viewing tools and retrieval/transfer software for use by reporters and other media workers. Instruction and practice with searching/acquiring information, its analysis and interpretation, illustration, and write-up. No prior computer or network experience assumed.
COM 351 Interviewing Principles and Practices (5 credits)
Interviewing principles and practices, with emphasis on information gathering, selection, and persuasive interviews. Purposes and types of interviews, structure of interviews, and influence of communication patterns on interview outcomes.
COM 460 Special Reporting Topics
Recent Special Reporting topics:
Entrepreneurial Multimedia Reporting: iAM Magazine
Arts and Culture News: In:Site
Environmental Journalism: Sound News
COM 461 Computer-Assisted Journalism (5 credits)
Introduction to computer-assisted journalism and other advanced reporting techniques. Includes hands-on electronic data analysis, exploration of on-line investigative tools, and the fashioning of electronically-retrieved information into news stories. Students examine ethical and technical challenges these tools present to media and society. Prerequisite: COM 361.
COM 463 Copy Editing and Design (5 credits)
Focus on editing copy for publications, covering grammar and style, production methods, news criteria, use of wire services, headlines, make-up and design, pagination, and online publication. Prerequisite: COM 361.
COM 464 Opinion Writing (5 credits)
Combines the teaching expertise of a Department of Communication faculty member with the professional expertise of an opinion-writing journalist. Students learn about and practice writing newspaper editorials, columns, and various forms of criticism in order to gain an understanding of the differences between news and opinion content in print journalism. Prerequisite: COM 361.
COM 465 Legislative Reporting (12 credits)
Coverage of Washington legislature for a daily newspaper. Selected students live in Olympia, interview legislative delegations, report on committee and floor sessions, and attend and report on gubernatorial and other press conferences. Read more about this internship >>
COM 466 Digital Journalism (5 credits)
Introduction to digital journalism. Integrates Web design, video, still, and sound to develop an Internet Webcast called DIA (Digital Interactive) News. Students serve as sole initiator of DIA news, utilizing journalistic standard of storytelling, video production, and editing and design. Prerequisite: COM 361.
Student-produced web site: The Future of News: http://news2020.wordpress.com
Student-produced stories: http://uwirc.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/digital-journalism-class-examines-changing-news-industry/
http://www.vuvox.com/collage/detail/0f3d585fe
COM 467 Feature Writing (5 credits)
Focuses on the many types of newspaper and magazine articles that do not fall into the category of hard news, including histories and backgrounders, how-to and explanatory, consumer information, statistical pieces, first-person, and participatory. Includes practice in writing these forms. How to market freelance manuscripts. Prerequisite: COM 361.
COM 491 Publication Design (5 credits)
Provides basic theories of design for newspapers, magazines, and their online counterparts. Introduces a computer layout program. Areas of study include typography, photo editing, print production, and the page design process, stresses journalistic standards of writing, reporting, and ethics. Prerequisite: COM 361.
A full list of degree requirements is listed here >>
