There’s a lot going on in the JMC department. A revised curriculum, new hires, new technology
and a new media advisor to name a few.
In the last JMC Journal, I was happy to report that our ACEJMC reaccreditation is secured. We
were found compliant on all standards. So, “if it ain’t broke, why fix it,” might come to mind
when I tell you that we are in the midst of updating our curriculum. Actually, we’ve been
updating course content, as needed, along the way. In some cases, course names and
objectives are being updated to correspond to what we have already been doing. And what we
have been doing garnered our reaccreditation, along with plans for our new curriculum.
For the last few accrediting cycles, our majors have been Journalism, Television Production,
Advertising, Public Relations and Graphic Communications. Those majors made sense when our
industry consisted of what now is described as “legacy media.” Newspaper, TV, Radio,
magazines, advertising and public relations now happen on both traditional and online
platforms. If you are an alumnus from the 1990s, you may remember lectures about the future
of media being “convergence.” Convergence happened, and here we are.
Our new majors are: Multimedia Journalism, Strategic Communications and Visual Communications.
Journalism students will be trained in multimedia journalism (“MMJ”) as their writing is
accompanied by photography, video and sound. Podcasting is already a course in high demand.
Students in Strategic Communications will be able to emphasize Advertising or Public Relations.
Students in Visual Communications will be able to emphasize Photography, Media Production,
or Graphic Communications. All majors include a core of JMC theory courses and skills-based
coursework in visual storytelling. These changes are respondent to feedback from our alumni,
their employers, and industry demand.
When speaking with employers, we always ask what they are looking for in new hires. And
when we speak with alumni, we ask how we could have better prepared them for their careers.
And we scoured many industry hiring ads. We correspondingly updated our curriculum to
prepare the next generation of media pros. It is our plan to have the new curriculum in place for the Fall ’24 semester.
JMC has two full-time hires. Maranda Goke and Ed Rode have both been working as
“emergency-hires.” We know that they are top-notch instructors, and we are glad that we get
to keep them!
Leigh Wright has transitioned to the role of media advisor. And she hit the ground running. The
Murray State News is now “digital first” with timely web updates, and advertiser-supported print
issues continue. An app is in development. The News is increasingly bringing
home awards.
For those who have clicked the “I support the news” donate button on TheNews.org, thank
you! Your contributions paid the entry fees and travel expenses for our students to compete in
contests of the Kentucky Press Association, and travel to the convention. Check out an
accompanying story in JMC Journal to read about their wins. Those photography wins were
accomplished using new Sony mirrorless cameras with some sweet lenses. With an updated
curriculum we need current technology. And our students are already demonstrating that they
are competitive.
And with all these changes, it’s important to remember what hasn’t changed. JMC has an
important legacy that continues with our commitment to the ethics and principles that have
always been at the heart of our mission.
