Department Philosophy
Rich Cameron
Issue date: 5/15/02 Section: Journalism Prgrm
The mission of the Cerritos College Journalism Program is to instill an appreciation for the mass media and First Amendment speech/press freedoms, to train journalists for tomorrow and to provide the campus with student news outlets.
The Journalism Program goals are to introduce students to the major mass media, both as consumers and as potential practitioners. Students will be introduced to the communication tools of the media and trained in objective, accurate communication.
An appreciation for First Amendment rights and responsibilities -legalities and ethics-and varied cultural perspectives will be emphasized in all journalism courses.
Students at large will benefit from the program by gaining a greater insight and historical perspective of how the media currently operate and affect our lives.
Reporting students will be taught to gather information from a variety of sources, synthesize that information and prepare it for dissemination in a variety of media formats. The emphasis will be on written and visual communication.
Multimedia journalism, the melding of print, broadcast, visual and online journalism, is becoming increasing important in the field. As such, all journalism classes should contain multimedia or online journalism elements/modules.
Journalism majors will have the opportunity to fulfill lower division major requirements for preparation of transfer to a four-year university program and should be guided into successfully completing general education requirements for transfer.
Recognizing that some students will seek merely to improve skills for immediate employment or re-employment, journalism students will be given the opportunity to hone writing, photography, multimedia, and production skills for entry-level work in the mass media. SCANS (Secretary's Commission on Acquiring Necessary Skills) should be incorporated in all journalism classes. The journalism certificate is designed to give these students a well-rounded exposure to a variety of media in preparation for possible employment in the communication industry.
Work submitted in journalism classes is expected to be the students' own and should represent their abilities. Plagiarism, fabrication of information and quotes, work done by others, cheating, etc. will not be tolerated and may incur penalties, including an automatic F in the class or other institutional discipline. Collaboration and study groups are encouraged as long as final work represents individual effort.
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An appreciation for First Amendment rights and responsibilities -legalities and ethics-and varied cultural perspectives will be emphasized in all journalism courses.
Students at large will benefit from the program by gaining a greater insight and historical perspective of how the media currently operate and affect our lives.
Reporting students will be taught to gather information from a variety of sources, synthesize that information and prepare it for dissemination in a variety of media formats. The emphasis will be on written and visual communication.
Multimedia journalism, the melding of print, broadcast, visual and online journalism, is becoming increasing important in the field. As such, all journalism classes should contain multimedia or online journalism elements/modules.
Journalism majors will have the opportunity to fulfill lower division major requirements for preparation of transfer to a four-year university program and should be guided into successfully completing general education requirements for transfer.
Recognizing that some students will seek merely to improve skills for immediate employment or re-employment, journalism students will be given the opportunity to hone writing, photography, multimedia, and production skills for entry-level work in the mass media. SCANS (Secretary's Commission on Acquiring Necessary Skills) should be incorporated in all journalism classes. The journalism certificate is designed to give these students a well-rounded exposure to a variety of media in preparation for possible employment in the communication industry.
Work submitted in journalism classes is expected to be the students' own and should represent their abilities. Plagiarism, fabrication of information and quotes, work done by others, cheating, etc. will not be tolerated and may incur penalties, including an automatic F in the class or other institutional discipline. Collaboration and study groups are encouraged as long as final work represents individual effort.
