Skills Courses for Undergraduates

Skill-focused courses: Courses focus on professional skills in the fields of journalism or strategic communication. All include a heavy practical element allowing students to apply their skills in a professional context.

202, Mass Communication Practices
Pre-requisite: Admission to School of Journalism.
Web Site
Instructor(s): Culver
I, II; 6 cr. (E) Communication as a process involving sender and receiver, message and medium. J202 goals are threefold: 1) to lay a foundation of basic communication skills, including writing, editing, conducting research using traditional and online resources, numeracy, and elements of design and story presentation, 2) to help students develop an appreciation of how different media influence the nature of information presented, 3) to introduce students to technical skills that will be used in advanced professional classes --page layout, HTML authoring, digital audio and video editing.

335, Intermediate Reporting
Pre-requisite: Journalism 202
Web Site (Drechsel section only)
Instructor(s): Drechsel, Mitchell, Vaughn, Walters
I, II; 4 cr. (I) Basic reporting for print and electronic media. This is a transitional course designed to develop the technical skills introduced in J202 such as digital audio, Web use and composition, and to explore the concepts necessary for advanced reporting courses. Students bring together technical and conceptual skills by creating a variety of print, audio and web-based news stories that revolve around a current public issue of significance to the community.

345, Principles of Strategic Communication
Pre-requisite: Journalism 202
Instructor(s): McLeod, D.Shah
I, II; 4 cr. (I) Introduction to strategic communication for students interested in advertising, public relations, health communications and political campaigns. Course focuses on: 1) strategic communication industry, including advertising and public relations firms, 2) ethics and regulation of strategic communications, 3) role of strategic communications in the process of marketing products, ideas and people, 4) components of strategic communication campaigns, 5) professional specialties within the field of strategic communications.

401, In-Depth Reporting
Pre-requisite: Journalism 335
Instructor(s): Blum, Drechsel, Dunwoody, Friedland, H. Shah, Walters
I or II; 4 cr. (A) Advanced reporting with emphasis on critical evaluation of evidence and on recognizing the complex effects of government actions. Students develop investigative skills, study online and computer-assisted reporting techniques, learn how to follow the trail of a story and track the impact of decisions made by policymakers. Students also discuss journalistic ethics and the impact reporter's actions and decisions have on this process.

404, Interpretation of Contemporary Affairs
Pre-requisite: Journalism 335
Instructor(s): Baughman, Fair
I or II; 4 cr. (A) Preparing and writing editorials, columns and news analyses. Functioning in the role of opinion leaders, students analyze and comment on the news.

405, Creative Nonfiction
Pre-requisite: Journalism 335
Instructor(s): Blum, Walters
I or II; 4 cr. (A) Journalistic storytelling now defines some of the most successful and popular non-fiction of our time. Many journalists move directly from newspapers into serious non-fiction. Creative nonfiction is a class for journalism students who want to build a broad-based portfolio of writing skills, ones that foster good storytelling on multiple levels for print and electronic publications, for daily newspapers, weekly and monthly magazines, and even some skills fundamental to book writing.

411, Multimedia Graphics
Pre-requisite: Journalism 335 OR 345
Web Site
Instructor(s): Culver
II; 4 cr. (A) Explores how the principles of visual communication influence communities that use new media. The revolution in digital media has fragmented traditional communities and it is no longer sufficient to think of an audience as a print reader, a television viewer or a demographic group. This class examines how communities of special interests, including ethnic groups, use multimedia and its graphic design to give voice and vision to members. Students learn the theoretical aspects of multimedia and community as they learn to analyze and think critically about content-driven design, typography, photography and digital technology.

415, Science and Environmental Journalism
Pre-requisite: Journalism 335 or consent of instructor for non-majors
Instructor(s): Blum, Dunwoody
I or II; 4 cr. (A) Instruction and practice in strategies for communicating science to the public. Emphases include: 1) how to explain difficult concepts and processes; 2) skills for telling interesting and artful stories, and 3) strategies for making reasonable judgments about scientific evidence. Students will focus on producing products useful for mass media channels, from newspapers to the World Wide Web. The skills acquired in this course are relevant to practitioners in journalism, public relations and informal education settings such as science museums.

417, Magazines and Magazine Editing
Pre-requisite: Journalism 335 OR 345
Web Site
Instructor(s): Culver
I; 4 cr. (A) Students study the modern magazine industry as they produce professional quality magazine articles for the class Internet magazine, Online Wisconsin. The class draws on a broad range of communication skills--critical thinking, writing, editing, interpersonal and managerial skills, design and computer layout, and HTML.

419, Electronic News for Web and Broadcast
Pre-requisite: Journalism 335 OR 345
Instructor(s): Hastings
I, II; 4 cr. (A) Students develop professional skills essential for competence in electronic news writing, editing and production for the World Wide Web and for broadcast. They study issues and problems in electronic news, learn interviewing, use of electronic equipment and presentation, and combine their knowledge of concepts and skills to produce professional quality webcasts. During the course students work in a variety of roles -- reporter, editor, producer and Web site manager.

445, Developing Creative Messages for Media
Pre-requisite: Journalism 345
Instructor(s): Nelson, Brossard
I, II; 4 cr. (A) Introduction to the creative aspects of message development for advertising, public relations and other strategic communication. Course focuses on: 1) basics of "concepting" -- the strategic thinking that underlies developing creative messages, 2) creative writing techniques and general development of writing ability, 3) visualization methods and their application to message creation, 4) integration of copy and visual elements into fully realized creative messages, 5) application of class concepts in manual and computer-assisted message design.

447, Strategic Media Planning
Pre-requisite: Journalism 345
Instructor(s): D.Shah
I, II; 4 cr. (A) Introduction to media planning for students interested in careers in advertising, public relations, or other forms of strategic communication. Course focuses on: 1) challenges facing strategic communicators, especially media specialists, in an "era of choice," 2) basic concepts involved in buying, planning and placing stories in traditional and "new" media, 3) data sources used in the process of strategic media analysis, 4) basic elements of a strategic media plan involving advertising and public relations, 5) tactical and strategic concerns in devising a media plan, 6) use of media planning software to aid in development of strategic media plans.

449, Strategic Communication Campaigns
Pre-requisite: Journalism 345
Instructor(s): McLeod, Nelson, Brossard
I, II; 4 cr. (A) Process of planning, implementing and analyzing strategic communication campaigns. The course will: 1) instill an understanding of strategic communication campaigns, and 2) promote internalization of the campaign process, thus enabling students to intelligently assess campaigns and develop a campaign proposal for a local organization.

475, Special Topics in Advanced Concepts and Skills
Pre-requisite: Consent of Instructor
I or II; 4 cr. (A) Exploration of a particular set of concepts and skills in more depth. A special topics course may choose to focus on a particular issue, for example, a current public affairs topic or critical thinking strategies, or on an applied communication problem, such as designing a competitive strategic information campaign or producing a journalistic product. Subject varies.