Our program’s roots are in community journalism. Community news media outlets, whether they are found in rural or metropolitan areas, have one thing in common — they help strengthen communities by intensely covering local issues and showing citizens they have a voice in our democratic society. Working as a community journalist, one must be ready to cover any issue from local elections, city council, school events to fires and car accidents, as well as report those issues for print and digital platforms. The Community Journalism area of emphasis provides students with a solid grounding in journalism basics, expertise in covering a community, ability to research and report breaking news and in-depth feature stories and hands-on experience using the latest multimedia tools. Through non-journalism electives, students will learn about state and local government, how communities organize and develop, the legislative process, criminal justice, and the history of social issues and social welfare.