Posts tagged citizens
CU: Out with the old, in with the “new” journalism
Jan 11th
SHOULD BE COMPETENT IN THE DISCIPLINES THEY REPORT ON, ACCORDING TO PLAN
As a new year and the spring semester begin, the University of Colorado Boulder is welcoming the first class of journalism students entering under a new undergraduate degree structure called “Journalism Plus” that CU officials say will create better journalists, better news content and, over time, a more informed society.Currently, more than 45 new students are expected to enroll for spring semester under the new Journalism Plus requirements. Journalism Plus stipulates that students supplement their journalism degree requirements with an additional field of study in a specific arts and sciences discipline, an approach that Journalism Director Chris Braider says will make better journalists and communication professionals, better university students and better citizens.
“Journalism Plus ensures that the journalists and communicators CU produces will not only possess the updated skills they need to create and deliver messages, but will also possess the analytical abilities, research tools and knowledge of a subject to communicate something of value in those messages,” Braider said.
Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward–the
“old” journalism?
“Our students will understand, with depth and context, the content they will create as journalists. We think this will set them apart from other journalism programs across the nation.”
Journalism and Mass Communication will continue to grant the Bachelor of Science degree in one of five sequences: advertising, broadcast news, broadcast production, media studies and news-editorial. Under the new requirements, students also will enroll in a 30- to 33-credit-hour additional field of study, the equivalent of work in a major in a discipline of their choice — anything from English, physics and history to political science, environmental studies or film studies.
Students admitted prior to spring 2012 have until May of 2016 to earn a degree under the former requirements, or they can elect to complete the Journalism Plus degree requirements.
The changes, say CU-Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore, were deliberate and in line with CU’s larger goals for its students.
“We want CU-Boulder students to be both knowledgeable and engaged in the world they live in,” said Moore. “So the goal for us was never to make journalism go away, but to pair it with a discipline that would add the depth of knowledge of a liberal arts degree to the skills developed in a journalism curriculum.
Lyndsay Lohan is news? Who decides?
I think this is going to answer a call we’ve heard from media professionals — don’t just send us skilled graduates, send us graduates who can interpret and understand the information they gather with some depth and context.”
At a practical level, Braider says, this will mean better, more contextual reporting to inform and shape our democratic society.
“In this model, science writers will possess first-hand knowledge of the sciences they report on,” Braider said. “Reporters covering government or business will bring an in-depth knowledge of political science and economics to the events they chronicle. Advertisers and graphic designers will explore the full range of expressive arts on which their professions rely.”
As Journalism Plus is implemented, more students will be admitted directly to Journalism and Mass Communication as freshmen.
The university is continuing on a path to creating a new interdisciplinary college or school of information, communications, journalism, media and technology, which will one day house journalism and companion disciplines in an environment of sharing, innovation and scholarship.
Journalism and Mass Communication continues to be accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education for Journalism and Mass Communications. In two years, the accrediting council will make a determination on accreditation for the following four years.
See what it’s like to be poor in Boulder County
Dec 2nd
Boulder County, Colo. – The Boulder County Circles Campaign will host a poverty simulation on Dec. 15 in Longmont to allow residents, members of the business community and representatives of local nonprofit agencies to understand the realities of poverty.
What: Poverty Simulation
When: Thursday, Dec. 15, 6-8 p.m.
Where: Longmont YMCA, 950 Lashley St.
During the simulation, participants role-play the lives of low-income families. Some are Temporary Assistance for Needy Families recipients, some are disabled, and some are senior citizens on Social Security. They have the stressful task of providing for basic necessities and shelter on a limited budget during the course of four 15-minute “weeks.” They interact with human service agencies, grocers, pawnbrokers, bill collectors, job interviewers, police officers and others..
The simulation enables participants to look at poverty from a variety of angles and then to recognize and discuss the potential for change within their local communities. The simulation was designed to sensitize those who frequently work with low-income families, as well as to create a broader awareness of the realities of poverty among policymakers, community leaders and others.
Please contact Kara Edin at 303-441-3977 or kedin@bouldercounty.org or Eliberto Mendoza at 303-441-1503 or emendoza@bouldercounty.org for additional information and to register.
The Circles Campaign is part of Boulder County’s continued effort to help move individuals and families out of poverty and into a life of sustained self-sufficiency. The campaign provides a stable structure for people working their way out of poverty to receive guidance and support from mentors to help them develop skills and access resources needed to move toward economic stability
Party switch-hitters get ready
Dec 2nd
Boulder County, Colo. – Deadlines are already approaching for voters who want to switch party affiliation before caucuses are held during the 2012 election cycle.
Registered voters who want to participate in the Republican Party caucus, to be held Feb. 7, must affiliate with the GOP no later than Wednesday, Dec. 7. They can do so by updating their voter information at www.BoulderCountyVotes.org or calling the Boulder County Elections Division at 303-413-7740.
Registered Republican voters who’ve moved recently must update their voter information by Monday, Jan. 9, to participate in the GOP caucus. First-time voters, such as naturalized citizens or those who turn 18 before Feb. 7, must register no later than Jan. 9 if they want to participate in the Republican caucus.
Registered voters who want to affiliate with the Democratic Party or American Constitution Party, both of which will hold caucuses on March 6, have until Friday, Jan. 6, to affiliate.
First-time voters and members of those parties who’ve moved recently must update their voter information by Monday, Feb. 6, to participate in the Democratic or American Constitution caucuses on March 6.
Each political party organizes and conducts its own caucus. For more information about a party’s caucus, contact local party leaders.
For more election information, visit www.BoulderCountyVotes.org.