Business Journalism Curriculum

Every business journalism major must take

  1. The basic journalism core classes: Jour 101, 201, 202, 258, 301, 344, 356 and Pol 203.
  2. Jour 351 or 362.
  3. At least two internship credits from Jour 451, 452 or 453.
  4. Jour 371 and 372.
  5. Acct 100 and Econ 100.

They also take at least six classes in the Williams School, including Introduction to Economics and Introduction to Accounting. Four additional upper level classes must be taken in Accounting, Business Administration or Economics, including at least one with an international focus.

Journalism Core (Journalism 101, 201, 202, 258, 301, 344, 356 and Pol 203)

JOURNALISM 101 (3)-Introduction to News Media
Prerequisite: first-year or sophomore class standing. This course serves as a gateway for both majors and non-majors to examine the role that the mass media play in society. The course examines the pervasiveness of mass media in our lives, and the history and roles of different media and their societal functions, processes, and effects. Students learn to tell the difference between fact and opinion and examine the links among theory, research and professional experience, while analyzing the ethics, methods, and motivations of the media and the expectations of their audiences. We discuss how media cover diversity issues and evaluate the policies and freedoms that guide and shape the mass media and the news media in the United States. Students complete the course as better informed consumers and interpreters of mass media and their messages. Staff.
Fall, Winter

JOURNALISM 201 (3)-Introduction to Reporting
Prerequisite: JOUR 101. Students are taught the principles and techniques of information gathering and news writing, with emphasis on fulfilling the role of the news media in a democratic society. Extensive laboratory work enables students to prepare assignments for online and other digital media, while stressing accuracy, clarity and skepticism in reporting and writing. Coddington, Locy or Walters.
Fall, Winter

JOURNALISM 202 (3)-Introduction to Digital Journalism
Prerequisite: JOUR 201. Concepts and practices of news gathering and presentation in a multimedia, interactive environment. Combines classroom instruction with a converged news media lab in which students contribute to a website, television newscast, and newspaper. The laboratory requirement is limited to three sessions during the term, as arranged with the instructor. Staff.
Fall, Winter

POLITICS 203 (3)-State and Local Government
Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. Corequisite: Journalism 190 or Politics 190. An introduction to the structures and functions of United States subnational governments, with particular emphasis on the policy-making process and on the relationships between policy-makers and the public. Computer-assisted analysis of survey-research data is included. Finch.
Fall, Winter

JOURNALISM 258 (6-EXP)-Beat Reporting
Laboratory course. Additional fee required. Prerequisite: JOUR 202. Using the community as the laboratory, students develop competence in the principles and techniques of reporting and writing news for online, broadcast and social media in a democratic society. Working on assigned beats, students learn source development, news judgment, information gathering, news presentation and time management. Work is published and aired on the Rockbridge Report website and newscast. Locy, Swasy or Walters.
Fall, Winter

JOURNALISM 301 (3)-Law and Communications
Prerequisite: Junior standing. An examination of the development of First Amendment jurisprudence, the law of defamation, privacy, access, free press-fair trial, journalists' privilege, obscenity and pornography. The case study approach is used, but the emphasis is on the principles that underlie the landmark cases. This course can serve as an introduction to and preparation for further studies in communications law and/or the legal system in general. Abah.
Fall, Winter

JOURNALISM 344 (3)- Ethics of Journalism
Prerequisite: Junior standing. A study of the moral issues arising from the practice of modern journalism and communications. Includes examination of philosophical and theoretical foundations of ethics, the place and role of journalism in the larger society, and moral choices in the newsroom. Topics include: First Amendment freedoms, privacy, confidentiality of sources, conflicts of interest, cooperation with law enforcement, free press/fair trial, photojournalism, and issues of accountability. Appropriate for non-majors. Staff.
Fall

JOURNALISM 351 (3)-Editing for Print and Online Media
Prerequisite: JOUR 201. The principles and techniques of editing copy for digital and print media, with emphasis on clarity of thought, legal and moral responsibilities, and effective communication. Classroom work and assignments includes production of publications for both journalism and strategic communication majors, using InDesign, among other applications and software. Locy and Swasy.
Winter

JOURNALISM 356 (4)-Investigative Reporting
Prerequisite: JOUR 258 and either JOUR 351 or JOUR 362. The principles and techniques of developing and creating enterprising, heavily researched journalistic work for the mass media. Students produce in-depth work that they showcase on a website. Extensive group work is required. Staff.
Spring

JOURNALISM 362 (4)-Producing for Broadcast and Online Media
Laboratory course. Prerequisite: JOUR 258. Preparation for leadership roles in electronic media. Extensive work in decision-making and management in the newsroom through television news producing and Internet content construction. Finch.
Fall, Winter

Business Journalism Sequence

Students take all the Journalism core classes listed above. In addition, they take:

  1. Jour 371 and 372.
  2. Acct 100 and Econ 100.
  3. At least six classes in the Williams School, including Econ 100 (Introduction to Economics) and Acct 100 (Introduction to Accounting.) Four additional upper level classes must be taken in Accounting, Business Administration or Economics, including at least one with an international focus.

JOURNALISM 371 (3)-Financial News
Prerequisite: at least junior class standing. Required for the business journalism sequence and appropriate as an elective for journalism, strategic communication, and business administration majors. Reporting and writing techniques for journalists who cover Wall Street and publicly-traded companies. Students learn reporting fundamentals of financial statements, researching corporate documents, and data analysis using the Bloomberg terminal, and how to write industry analysis and narratives. Swasy.
Fall

JOURNALISM 372 (3)-Reporting on the Economy
Required for the business journalism sequence and appropriate as an elective for journalism, strategic communication, and business administration majors. Prerequisite: at least junior class standing. Reporting and writing techniques used by journalists who cover global economics. Students learn basics of the reporting and analysis of Federal Reserve reports, economic indicators, and data via the Bloomberg terminal and other resources. Writing emphasizes storytelling about people behind the numbers of the wealth and wage gaps, consumer trends, and worker issues in the global supply chain. Swasy.
Winter

ACCOUNTING 100 (3)-Introduction to Accounting
An introduction to accounting for both internal and external purposes. Students cover the fundamental principles of financial accounting (external) and an introduction to how companies process financial information in order to disclose it to the public. The course also investigates how managers prepare information for internal purposes (managerial accounting). Financial accounting is guided by external requirements, while managerial accounting generally is not. Staff.
Fall, Winter

ECONOMICS 100 (3)- Introduction to Economics
Economics is the study of how a society (individuals, firms, and governments) allocates scarce resources. The course includes a survey of the fundamental principles used to approach microeconomic questions of consumer behavior, firm behavior, market outcomes, market structure, and microeconomic policy, and macroeconomic questions of performance of the aggregate economy, including unemployment, inflation, growth, and monetary and fiscal policies. Open only to students who have not taken ECON 101 and/or ECON 102. No retakes allowed.Staff.
Fall, Winter

Questions and comments: Alecia Swasy