Journalism
About the Department
As the only accredited journalism department in a small, highly selective, nationally ranked liberal arts college, we are committed not only to broadening minds, but also to inculcating habits of honor, careful analysis, reasoned discourse and excellent writing in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic culture. Through our signature Knight Program in Media Ethics, we ensure that students understand the ethical dimensions of the decisions they will make.
The department’s demanding professional courses are taught by faculty with extensive academic and professional experience and achievement in newsrooms and public relations.
Reid Hall, which houses the department, provides students with an up-to-date technological environment that prepares them for working in multimedia communications. The heart and soul of the building is its third floor, home to a newsroom, TV studio and control room. There, students in several classes work together to produce The Rockbridge Report, a newscast and website that are regularly recognized for excellence by professional journalism organizations.
Since 1985, The Rockbridge Report newscast has showcased the work of journalism students who report, write and produce stories about the people who live and work in Lexington, nearby Buena Vista and Rockbridge County.
Why Study at W&L?
To make sure students are well grounded in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, they must take more courses outside the department than within. We offer two professionally oriented majors, Journalism and Strategic Communication, and a minor in Mass Communications.
The Journalism major prepares students to work as reporters, editors and producers of content in multimedia news organizations. Students may specialize their studies in the Business Journalism program, which prepares them to report and write about financial news and the economy.
The Strategic Communication major prepares students to craft messages for corporations, nonprofit organizations or governmental agencies.
The Mass Communications minor provides students in other disciplines with the opportunity to learn about professional values, theory and the practice of media, while honing their information-gathering, analytical and writing skills.
Opportunities for Students
Both Journalism and Strategic Communication majors are required to complete summer internships, opportunities that have taken students from Austin and Boston to Seattle and Shanghai.
Our graduates work as business journalists at Bloomberg News, the Boston Business Journal and The Street.com. They report the news for outlets ranging from The Mercury News in San Jose, Calif., to U.S. News & World Report in Washington, D.C.
They also are running PR and marketing campaigns for clients at the Grey Group, Edelman and Ruder Finn in New York. They devise communications strategies for nonprofit organizations such as a philanthropic foundation in Oklahoma and the Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. And they serve as top executives at firms from coast to coast, from Zillow in Seattle to FleishmanHillard in New York.
They produce TV newscasts for local stations in such cities as Waco, Texas, and in-depth stories for “60 Minutes” in New York. And they anchor local newscasts and national business reports on two of the biggest stages in journalism, in Chicago and New York.
Sample Courses
Beat Reporting
Using the community as the laboratory, students develop competence in the principles and techniques of reporting and writing news for online, broadcast and social media in a democratic society. Working on assigned beats, students learn source development, news judgment, information gathering, news presentation and time management. Work is published and aired on the Rockbridge Report website and newscast.
Intro to Digital Journalism
Concepts and practices of news gathering and presentation in a multimedia, interactive environment. Combines classroom instruction with a converged news media lab in which students contribute to a website, television newscast, and newspaper.
Beyond Google & Wikipedia
An introduction to information sources that academic researchers, journalists, public relations and advertising professionals rely on increasingly in the digital age to conduct scholarly research, report and write news stories, and to find, analyze and present research on trends in mass communications. Students learn how to evaluate sources of information for credibility and quality, while they strengthen their basic research skills to go beyond Google and dig below the surface of today's high-tech world.
Social Media Principles & Practice
In this course, students dive deep into social media, learning how to use it as thoughtful and ethical professionals, and examining its growing roles in society, politics, identity and relationships. Students get hands-on experience in producing news for social media by running a multi-platform social news service. They also learn how to plan a strategic social media campaign, how to use metrics to analyze social media effectiveness, and how to use social media in reporting.
Reporting on the Economy
Reporting and writing techniques used by journalists who cover global economics. Students learn basics of the reporting and analysis of Federal Reserve reports, economic indicators, and data via the Bloomberg terminal and other resources. Writing emphasizes storytelling about people behind the numbers of the wealth and wage gaps, consumer trends, and worker issues in the global supply chain.
Ethics of Journalism
A study of the moral issues arising from the practice of modern journalism and communications. Includes examination of philosophical and theoretical foundations of ethics, the place and role of journalism in the larger society, and moral choices in the newsroom. Topics include: First Amendment freedoms, privacy, confidentiality of sources, conflicts of interest, cooperation with law enforcement, free press/fair trial, photojournalism, and issues of accountability.
Meet the Faculty
At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
