Journalism concentrations
Click on a concentration for more information
- Broadcast
- Magazine
- Newspaper
- Photojournalism
- Public Relations
- Spanish-Language Journalism (Interdisciplinary minor)
- Graduate Degrees in Journalism
Broadcast
KCSN 88.5 FM
The broadcast sequence provides
students with training comparable
to an entry-level professional
position in radio news by allowing
them the opportunity to write,
edit, report, produce, and
anchor news for the campus
based public radio station,
KCSN
(88.5 FM).
Students broadcast five daily
newscasts focusing on local
news with an emphasis on the
San Fernando and Santa Clarita
Valleys and Los Angeles County. Monday
through Friday evenings a 30
minute news program “The Evening
Update”, is broadcast by students
enrolled in journalism classes.
KCSN News has won more than
400 awards in national, state
and regional competitions against
professional broadcasters and
other university students. KCSN
News has received 54 “Golden
Mike” awards in Division B
from the Radio-Television News
Association of Southern California. The
broadcast journalism students
have also won 22 prestigious
“Edward R. Murrow” regional
awards from the Radio Television
News Directors Association. The
students won the “Overall Excellence”
category for three consecutive
years.
KCSN News has won 5 “Mark Twain”
awards for “Best Newscast Over
15 Minutes” from the Associated
Press Television Radio Association. KCSN
News has also received eleven
National, First Place awards
in the Society of Professional
Journalists “Mark of Excellence”
competition. The radio
news department has been honored
by such organizations as the
Los Angeles Press Club, American
Women in Radio and Television,
the Public Radio News Directors
Incorporated, the National
Federation of Community Broadcasters,
the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, and the California
Intercollegiate Press Association.
Valley View TV
Valley View, a student-produced
television news show, is the
only news program dedicated
to covering news and feature
stories about the San Fernando
Valley. The program airs weekly
on cable systems in all areas
of Los Angeles. Television
news students write, edit,
videotape and report the news
stories and produce, direct
and anchor the show.
Broadcast journalism students receive a broad-based education in basic news reporting
and on-air presentation. The practical experience and industry skills gained
through participation in Valley View are comparable to an entry-level professional
position. Since its inception, Valley View has received more than 55 awards from
prestigious organizations such as the Society of Professional Journalists, the
Associated Press, the California Intercollegiate Press Association, American
Women in Radio and Television, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation and the
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Broadcast students also produce “On Point,” a weekly public affairs show. The
most recent addition to the Department’s TV programs is Valley View en Español,
which helps students prepare for careers in the diverse L.A. market.
Magazine
Students seeking careers in freelance, magazine or alternative media have the opportunity to take the Department’s magazine courses and publish its award-winning magazine, SCENE. Students in magazine classes learn article writing, graphics, photojournalism and reporting. These courses prepare students to write, edit, design and publish SCENE.
newspaper
The Department offers a newspaper emphasis designed to give students
practical experience and knowledge to prepare them for newspaper
and wire service careers.
Applying the skills they gain in courses
such as reporting, editing, graphics
and photojournalism, students enroll
in the newspaper practicum and work
for the campus newspaper, the Daily Sundial. The Sundial, which
publishes four times per week, covers campus and community news
and events. Special sections of the campus daily include opinion,
features, entertainment and sports. The Sundial has received general
excellence awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and
the California Intercollegiate Press Association. The newspaper’s
newest area is Daily Sundial Online,
where all the articles and photographs in the printed version are
available daily at http://sundial.csun.edu.
Photojournalism
Photojournalism students use the camera to communicate the events
of the world. Students wishing to pursue careers in photojournalism
are exposed to advanced computer, darkroom and camera techniques.
Photojournalism students work on the Daily Sundial and the non-fiction
magazine, SCENE. They work on independent study projects and use
their skills in internships with newspaper, magazine and public
relations firms or in other capacities where photography is needed.
A valuable research vehicle, the Center
for Photojournalism and Visual History
was added to the Department in 1993. This extensive archive shows
how history has been captured by award-winning photographers. Special
attention has been given to the photographic history of the area’s
minority groups.
Public Relations
The public relations concentration teaches theory, but as importantly,
it asks students to apply what they have learned to actual situations.
Class discussions focus on public relations problems faced by corporations,
government agencies, non-profit organizations and the entertainment
industry. Students evaluate the public relations strategies used
by these entities and discuss whether the campaigns were successful
and how they could have been improved.
Today, public relations specialists
must be versatile and skilled in many
areas. Public relations students learn
editing, graphics and media law. Excellent writing skills are
essential and, along with news reporting, students study article
writing or broadcast reporting.
Students in the advanced-study practicum
create and implement public relations
campaigns for campus and off-campus
clients. The campaigns encompass all aspects of public relations,
from writing proposals for clients to planning and orchestrating
special events, writing press releases, designing and writing publications,
creating press kits and securing media attention.
Brochures and public relations campaigns
designed and implemented by public
relations students have won prestigious
awards from the Public Relations Society of America, the Publicity
Club of Los Angeles and the United Way, North Angeles Region.
Spanish-language journalism (Interdisciplinary minor)
The Interdisciplinary Minor in Spanish-Language Journalism prepares students to report on Spanish-speaking and Latino communities, and to write about those communities for the Spanish-language and English-language news media. The minor helps students to better understand both Spanish-language and Latino media and Spanish-language and Latino communities.
The minor engages the resources of the departments of Journalism and Chicana/o Studies, the Spanish-language program of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures, and the Central American Studies program. The minor is open to all interested students regardless of major.
master of arts Degree
A Master of Arts Degree in Mass Communication is offered by the Department of Journalism. The degree requires 30 units of coursework including a master’s thesis/thesis project or comprehensive exams.
A comprehensive, intensive program in Mass Communication is offered to students who: possess academic or professional backgrounds in journalism and seek to further their professional or personal goals; have little or no background in journalism, but who have developed strong undergraduate records and now seek the skills and insights necessary for careers in the media; or wish to engage in media research, seek admission to doctoral programs or want to enter teaching or academic administration.
The graduate program requires intensive advanced study and applied analytic and research skills.The student has the option of taking comprehensive written examinations or completing a thesis or graduate project of significance. By probing the intellectual, social and technical aspects of mass communication, students study problems they may face as professionals.