Our Mission
The Journalism and Mass Communication Department strives to help students prepare for a future in print, electronic and digital media. Our overall aims are to:- Help students develop critical thinking skills for clear, relevant news writing,
- Serve as an avenue to transfer to four-year college and university programs in communications, mass communications, journalism, advertising, public relations and broadcasting,
- Equip students with the skills and experience needed to seek internships and begin careers in mass media,
- Teach and practice first amendment rights to inform and criticize.
From Consumers of Media to Producers of Communication
To these ends, our set of courses provides a liberal arts foundation in mass media by examining the ethics and principles fundamental to media credibility. Students gain a broad understanding of the rights and responsibilities of media, the influence of media on American institutions and global society, and the impact of media’s visual images. This critical appreciation underpins advanced studies and any professional future in communications media. Moreover, a well-informed footing serves to develop insights to become more savvy users and consumers of media products.
Mass communications comes into our lives every day in the forms of print media (newspapers, magazines and books), electronic media (television, radio, recordings and movies) and digital media (Internet). Journalism, the primary field, gathers, analyzes, photographs and disseminates timely information in all the forms of print, electronic and digital media.
Our courses develop working skills which apply in any discipline of mass media. Students learn to report, write and edit in a newsroom environment, mentored by experienced professional journalists. Media skills courses teach students to document and report hard news, make editorial decisions, develop feature stories, write opinions and columns, take photographs, design graphics and cartoons. These valuable skills are applied in mass media to inform, criticize and give perspective.
Additionally, the department aims to equip students with a basic command of the technology and news production skills necessary for a career in the mass media through work on the college newspaper, La Voz. The news production laboratory is outfitted with state-of-the art computer software, video and Internet support. Students gain on-the-job experience in all aspects of producing a weekly newspaper and editing the newspaper’s Web site.