Journalism

"The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.” Thomas Jefferson, 1787

The Founding Fathers of the United States knew the new democracy depended on an informed citizenry to make educated decisions about how their government operated. For more than 200 years, it has been the responsibility of journalists to deliver that information to the people. As technology presents Americans with access to more information than the founders likely imagined, it is essential that journalists continue to provide timely and accurate accounts of important events and to promote civil and intelligent debates of the issues of the day.

While I do not expect my students to pursue careers as professional journalists, it is my hope they come to understand the vital role journalists have in our democracy in addition to recognizing how the traits and skills of journalists (curiosity, healthy skepticism, interviewing, verifying information, analytical thinking, writing, and editing) may assist them in whatever career path they choose.

This course will cover how journalists gather information through interviews, writing objectively informative articles, editing skils, and basic design principles and software.