Media and Journalism students working in the media studio

Media and Journalism

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Lights, camera, action - it’s time to tell your story with the Media & Journalism program at Commonwealth University.

Degrees & Offerings
  • B.A.
Location
  • Bloomsburg
  • Lock Haven
  • Mansfield
Department
College
Program Contact
Chair of the Department of Media and Journalism, Associate Professor
Illustration of Mountain

Why Study Media & Journalism?

Our lives are saturated with media: computers, the Internet, cell phones, apps, social media, and more. However, just because media is now immediate and easily accessible doesn’t mean it’s handled effectively.

Learn media literacy and practical skills to connect with digital audiences and create not just entertaining, but valuable content. Learn to adapt to an ever-changing and evolving media environment, one that’s now driven by breaking news and social media influencers. Develop the communication, marketing, and journalistic skills necessary to effectively use media to reach desired audiences, whether in your personal life or your future profession.

The Media & Journalism program offers concentrations in Emergent Media, Journalism, Media Production, Public Relations/Strategic Communications along with a certificate in Media and Journalism Emergent Media. Media & Journalism also offers minors in Emergent Media, Public Relations Strategic Communication, and Sports Information.

Course Delivery Format

  Bloomsburg

  Face-to-Face
  Online
  Hybrid

  Lock Haven

  Face-to-Face
  Online
  Hybrid

  Mansfield

  Face-to-Face
  Online
  Hybrid

  Clearfield

  Face-to-Face
  Online
  Hybrid

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Courses and Curriculum

Degree Requirements Degree Works

Note: Degree requirements effective for enrolled students beginning Fall 2023. All enrolled students, including matriculating students prior to Fall 2023, can review their degree program requirements and track progress to degree completion with our degree audit and advisement tool, Degree Works.

Minors

Degree Requirements - Emergent Media Degree Requirements - Public Relations Strategic Communications Degree Requirements - Sports Information Degree Works

Note: Degree requirements effective for enrolled students beginning Fall 2023. All enrolled students, including matriculating students prior to Fall 2023, can review their degree program requirements and track progress to degree completion with our degree audit and advisement tool, Degree Works.

Across Media and Journalism

  • Narrative Skills - Students will apply knowledge of storytelling skills to produce effective stories and strategic communication in multiple forms and contexts specific to their chosen area of concentration in mass media/communication.
  • Communication – Students will develop the communication skills necessary to organize and deliver mediated messages via a broad spectrum of technologies.  
  • Creativity – Students will develop capacities to design, assess, document, and/or facilitate the realization of creative projects.  

Unique to Emergent Media

  • Media Literacy – Students will access, analyze, evaluate, create, and participate with media in a variety of forms.  

Unique to Journalism

  • Civic Engagement – Students will demonstrate knowledge and application of journalism’s role in a democracy as well as in an increasingly diverse and globalized society.  

Unique to Media Production

  • Technology – Students will develop the technological skills necessary to create visual and audio media, which includes both technical and aesthetic elements.

Unique to Public Relations/Strategic Communications

  • Strategic Analysis – Students will utilize critical thinking skills in the development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of strategic communication programs.  
Commonwealth University Media and Journalism

Tailored Education

Illustration of Mountain

The Commonwealth University Media & Journalism program will enable you to work in the ever-growing media industry with four concentrations allowing you to specialize in Emergent Media, Media Production, Public Relations/Strategic Communication, or Journalism. With each track specialization and our core curriculum, you will become a well-rounded storyteller by taking classes in digital storytelling, video editing, social media, and journalism with professional technology, equipment, and software. 

This concentration prepares you to produce eye-catching content designed for the web and other new audio-visual outlets. Courses will help you master writing and design for emergent forms of media, focusing on how to communicate effective visuals for an ever-growing audience. Truly focused on interactive content, Emergent Media students will become digital wizards at all types of new media that develop in our field. 

This concentration will unleash your creativity through producing memorable audio and video narratives for online outlets, television, film, and radio. Courses will help you master your production technology, writing, editing, and on-air performance skills. Whether you want to be the next influencer or filmmaker, this concentration will teach you professional production techniques and tactics in a variety of outlets such as short-form narrative, entertainment, news, sports, and comedy sketches. 

This concentration enables you to develop brands and persuade others with public relations, advertising, and strategic communication content. Courses will help you master relevant persuasive skills in copywriting, designing, public relations writing, and more. Skills taught include developing ad and PR campaigns, creative writing, design skills, and market research methods. Whether you want to help design captivating messages for other companies or start your own business, this is the concentration for you. 

This concentration trains you for a career as an ethical, truth-seeking journalist for traditional media and new media outlets. If your dreams are to become a reporter, editor, publisher, copy writer, or non-fiction writer, this concentration will help you realize them. Journalism students will gain a strong foundation in factual writing in preparation to take on the world one story at a time. You’ll hone your news judgement skills, learn numerous writing styles, and acquire copy editing and media design skills with strong involvement of our student journalism media. 

Our TV studio is fully digitized with industry-standard equipment that enables students to tell professional stories and captivate audiences. Here, you will learn hands-on production skills in small classroom settings, crafting projects with our three Blackmagic 4K studio cameras and TriCaster video switcher. This technology will give you the background needed to create a variety of content for broadcast and news media outlets. Students may use this studio outside of the classroom to produce their own projects and shows!

Our cozy digital radio station features a 5-microphone setup in two spacious rooms with movable mic arms and headsets. Here, students are able to play music directly from their computers or phones and host their own shows or podcasts. These shows broadcast directly to the Internet, and students can even take calls live and put them on the air.

With our production kits, all Media & Journalism students can use a variety of technology to shoot projects outside of the classroom. Each kit is equipped with a camera, boom microphone, LED 3-panel light kit, and all necessary accessories. Also available in our equipment room is a MAVIC 2 Pro drone, three axis gimbal mobile journalism kits, and more.

Media & Journalism has access to three computer labs on campus, one for journalistic writing and audio editing, one for high-powered video editing, and one reserved for our campus newspaper The Eagle Eye.

  • William A. Acierno Scholarship
  • Press Enterprise Scholarship
  • Jeffrey M. Smith Memorial Scholarship 

All students in the program receive free software in the entire Adobe Creative Suite from day one of enrolling until they graduate. Students will have access to the following industry-standard production software such as:

  • Premiere Pro
  • Photoshop
  • AfterEffects
  • Audition

And more! 

Illustration of Mountain

Practical Learning

Internships

Industry experience gives our Media & Journalism students a leg-up on their future competition in the job market. Though not required to graduate, we help our students locate internships that best suit their needs as a full 3-credit class replacement that often get our interns job offers before their semester is even over. Recent students have interned with: 

  • The Discovery Channel
  • BET Network
  • XM Satellite Radio
  • The Pittsburgh Pirates
  • The Philadelphia Sixers
  • The American Red Cross
  • Sherman Advertising Associates
  • Glass Entertainment
  • NBC
  • MTV
  • GreenLightGo
  • Athletics Department
  • Strategic Communications & Marketing

Clubs and Organizations

CU-Bloomsburg

  • The Voice, the nationally-recognized weekly student newspaper
  • BUSN, student-produced television programming
  • BUNow, student-run, online news portal
  • WHSK-FM, student-managed radio station with call-in and music programs

Other opportunities are available through active chapters of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), and the National Broadcasting Society-Alpha Epsilon Rho (NBS-AERho).

CU-Lock Haven

CU-Mansfield

  • The Flashlight, student newspaper
  • WNTE, campus radio station
  • PRSSA chapter

Associated Social Media Accounts

Careers

Here are just a few places our recent graduates have found success in their careers:

  • Video Editor – WTAJ (Altoona)
  • Senior Video Producer—Center City Film & Video
  • Digital Graphics Producer — WPVI (Philadelphia)
  • Senior Editorial Director — I-5 Publishing
  • Director of Federal Government Affairs — KPMG LLP
  • Vice President, Customer and Market Strategy – Highmark Incorporated
  • Media & Journalism Dept. Technology 

Internships

Among recent internships for majors have been with Disney, ESPN, MTV, Glass Entertainment, and NBC. 

90%
Placement Rate
over the past 5 years (Bloomsburg)

Careers

As a hands-on and engaging major, you will interact with other storytellers to prepare for a variety of exciting careers!

Potential Job Opportunities

  • Video Producer / Filmmaker
  • Online content creator
  • Social media strategist
  • Podcaster
  • Influencer
  • Journalist
  • Sportscaster

Continue to Explore

Rosie Langello presenting as a broadcaster at a basketball court.

I run my own sports department in Montgomery, AL where my teammate and I cover seven colleges which include Auburn, Alabama, Troy, and Alabama State. We also cover high school sports and air "The Friday Night Football Fever" during football season. In March, I got to cover two local college basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament. Luckily, Alabama and Auburn played in the first two rounds in Birmingham, AL.

Rosie Langello '16
Media and Journalism
Enrique Josephs in a mic booth, smiling at the camera.

As a senior I attended the first Confer Radio Institute held on campus. I met Pat Garrett, one of the top voice-over guys. I never knew doing that kind of work could be a career. Pat let us use his equipment to record demos and also told us to keep working and not give up. It was great advice that I never forgot.

Enrique Josephs '14
Media and Journalism
Deanna Lupia '19 in ROTC uniform.

When I was looking into schools, I was searching for great journalism and mass communications programs, as well as schools who had an ROTC program. My mom went to Bloom and really enjoyed her time here, so when I looked into the university they luckily had both programs I was looking for. Then when I visited the campus for the first time, I felt like I was at home. I knew it was the perfect fit for me!

Deanna Lupia '19
Media and Journalism
Matt Mastrogiovanni ’17 standing in football field stadium, smiling.

My friends and everyone I met in the major were amazing. The comradery between us made working together so much easier and also lots of fun. Through my time with BUNow is when I think I learned my most valuable lesson. If you put in the work, stay hungry and get involved, you’ll earn your place in whatever it is you’re pursuing.

Matt Mastrogiovanni ’17
Media and Journalism
Enrique Josephs in a mic booth, smiling at the camera.
Deanna Lupia '19 in ROTC uniform.
Matt Mastrogiovanni ’17 standing in football field stadium, smiling.
Rosie Langello presenting as a broadcaster at a basketball court.

Program Contacts

Jason

Jason Genovese

  • Chair of the Department of Media and Journalism, Associate Professor
  • Bloomsburg
Magolis

David Magolis

  • Professor and Advisor-WHSK Student Ratio
  • Bloomsburg

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