“Town Hall” Meetings on the New JCM Curriculum
- January 23rd, 2017
- in Uncategorized
From JCM Department Chair, Cory Armstrong:
All JCM majors are invited to two Town Hall meetings to learn more about our JCM curriculum changes:
JCM Town Hall meetings:
- Jan. 26, 3:30 p.m. in 118 Graves Hall
- Feb. 8, 6:30 p.m. in 216 Phifer Hall
As many of you know, the Departments of Journalism and Telecommunication & Film have merged into a new Department of Journalism & Creative Media. As of Fall 2017, we will have new and revised courses, all under the new JCM prefix.
While some of the names, numbers, and content of our traditional courses have been revised, all of the active courses under the former departments are still available to ensure you can graduate on time. More than 12 new courses are being offered in areas such as: global media systems, sports communication, and film and media theory. All courses in the department will transition from “JN” and “TCF” to “JCM” in Fall 2017.
You can choose to stay in your current major or transition to one of the modified majors, described below. Advisors will work with you to make these decisions and ensure your continued progress. We recommend that those who have already taken JN 311, TCF 286 or TCF 201 not switch to the revised majors.
The creative media major looks at the film and television industry, examining how to write, produce, edit and critique fictional and non-fictional material. Students will learn to shoot and edit video, produce films, write scripts and examine storytelling and how it influences culture and society.
The news media major focuses on gathering, analyzing and communicating meaningful information. Students will focus their storytelling studies on news and informational media studies through various media platforms. They will learn writing, broadcasting and web design and will conduct in-depth investigations.
These majors better reflect the digital technologies and concepts that have become the norm of our media landscape. While students in both majors will be able to select electives that match their areas of interest across the entire department, students in the creative media major will be able to apply for a concentration in production (with limited admission) and students in the news media major can elect to complete a concentration in sports media (open to all interested).
A brief overview of the JCM courses and proposed pathways for those interested in various career paths can be found here: https://jcm.ua.edu/jcm-degree-programs/. Please note that all course titles are tentative pending official university approval. Course equivalency documents will be available soon.
If you are interested in learning more about our curriculum and course changes, please plan to attend one of our JCM Town Hall meetings.
This is a thrilling time for us in JCM and we’re looking forward to this new endeavor.