Journalism and the Writing Professions
The journalism major includes specializations in Journalism and Creative Writing, and Business Journalism. Students learn traditional fundamentals, as well as all the tools of modern journalism, including Web work, video, audio, photography, blogging and the use of social networking such as Facebook and Twitter for both reporting and presentation of their work. Whether you’re interested in a career in journalism, communications, management, entertainment, business, public service or law, the journalism major will help advance your career. You will improve your writing ability while learning to find and evaluate information and data. You will develop interviewing skills. And you will learn to communicate effectively and publish accurate and responsible material, whether online, in print, or over the air waves.
Both specializations provide students with an understanding of journalism’s critical role in democratic society. The department also offers two minors, one in journalism and one in business writing, that enable students in other majors to improve dramatically their writing and research abilities.
David Gonzalez of The New York Times is the Spring 2021 Ratner Distinguished Visiting Business Journalist
- Distinguish between credible and less credible news and information sources, including challenges and opportunities presented by AI.
- Report on societal issues using reliable and varied sources, including publicly available data.
- Locate and interview human sources and incorporate into their news articles/multimedia projects the anecdotes and quotations that they have gathered through these interviews.
- Write clear and well-organized prose, demonstrating knowledge of varied styles, conventions and forms, and fairness, accuracy and balance.
- Explain how to avoid legal risks and ethical problems related to news reporting and publication.
- Describe the foundational role of independent journalism in any free society.
Important Registration Information
Journalism courses are listed under the JRN designation. A full list and course descriptions is available at the department office. Contact Andrea Gabor, 646-312-3970, with any questions, or visit the journalism office located at NVC 7-260B.