Journalism (BA)

Webster University

Journalism jobs exist today that didn’t exist even five years ago. And opportunities in the news industry will emerge in the next decade that can’t be imagined today. The journalism major is designed to prepare students to not only seize opportunities, but also for them to create opportunities in an evolving field.

The major takes an immersive approach to helping students attain their career aspirations. From their first semester, journalism majors will be enrolled in the News Collaboratory, where they will be working with and learning from students three and four years into their journalism program. From the first semester, students in News Collaboratory will write news stories on campus issues and events, help produce podcasts and newscasts and will assist juniors and seniors with in-depth reporting projects.

Learning Outcomes

Successful graduates of this program will be able to:

Identify and evaluate potential news stories that will impact, inform and engage a defined audience.
Construct the most compelling and effective ways to tell a story based upon an analysis of purpose, audience and available media. This includes taking advantage of multimedia to tell stories in a global context in more complete and meaningful ways.
Gather and evaluate the validity and reliability of information as well as to evaluate the veracity of the sources from which information comes through:

• The process of interviewing.
• Research and public records search.
• Database-driven, computer-assisted reporting.

Evaluate and comprehend the ethical and legal implications of one’s journalistic publication decisions.
Apply entrepreneurial and relationship-building skills in order to compete effectively for professional employment opportunities.