Journalism
College of Liberal & Creative Arts
Dean: Dr. Andrew Harris
Department of Journalism
Humanities Building, Room 305
Phone: (415) 338-1689
Email: jour@sfsu.edu
Website: hjournalism.sfsu.edu
Chair: Dr. Cristina Azocar
Mission Statement
To educate students and provide leadership in an evolving media landscape by promoting integrity, creativity, innovation and social responsibility in accurately telling the stories of a multicultural world.
Program Scope
The Bachelor of Arts in Journalism prepares students for careers in journalism. This is accomplished by providing instruction that requires students to demonstrate a working knowledge of the skills, laws, ethics, power, and responsibilities of the news media. A strong liberal arts education also is required.
The main goals of the program's skills courses are to help students become accurate and thorough researchers; incisive thinkers who can gauge the quality of information; precise, clear and graceful writers; technically, aesthetically fine photojournalists; and competent digital technologists. Many students choose the major because these skills provide excellent preparation for numerous occupations, not only for journalism.
Students in the Print/Online concentration are required to take introductory courses in research, reporting, writing, digital skills, and editing. Photojournalism concentration students are required to take introductory courses in writing, digital skills, and reporting as well as courses in basic photography and news photography. All students are required to take courses in multimedia journalism. Specialized courses for Print/Online students reflect different areas of expertise–feature writing, public journalism, opinion writing, investigative reporting, magazine writing, design courses and visual journalism for writers and editors. Photojournalism students gain expertise in lighting and telling stories through photographs. To understand the role of journalism in society, students also are required to take courses in mass media, journalism ethics and law, and cultural diversity. Students are strongly urged to develop speaking, writing, and listening competency in a second language.
Minor in Non-Journalism Discipline
Because the practice of journalism requires an understanding of larger social, political and cultural issues in society, the program requires students to complete a minor in a liberal arts or science discipline. The list of approved minors can be found on the Journalism department website at http://journalism.sfsu.edu/pages/list-approved-minors. Students should consult with an academic advisor in journalism to determine the best minor for their interests and professional goals.
Capstone
To give students pre-professional experience, the program requires students to work on a laboratory publication with a worldwide online and broad print circulation. These publications are produced by classes and are taken for credit. Consistent with the department's commitment to protect students' First Amendment rights, students have editorial control of the publications. Students must complete one semester of publication. In their second semester, they can choose between working on the student publication, completing an approved internship, completing a senior seminar project or working in the department’s News Bureau for professional publications. Students should consult with an advisor to choose the option that works best for them.
Internships
Students may earn up to three units for approved journalism internships and if the internship is rigorous, they may receive credit toward capstone requirements. Students should consult the department office about how to arrange credit for internships. Participating in internships is strongly encouraged. Students who succeed in finding journalism jobs upon graduation are generally those who have two or more internship experiences before they graduate. (http://journalism.sfsu.edu/pages/internship-information)
Advising
To help students stay on top of the challenges they face, the department strongly encourages all majors and minors to receive academic advising with a journalism faculty advisor every semester. The department office makes appointments via email. Students are asked to provide advisors with ongoing records of their complete academic record for the department advising folders. Upper division students will have mandatory advising every year and will have a hold placed on their registration until it's completed. The department will send an email notifying upper division students about mandatory advising.
CIIJ
Services are available to all journalism students at the department's Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism. CIIJ was established in 1990 to create programs that increase retention rates and job/internship placement of journalism students and to increase ethnic minority enrollment and graduation rates. It conducts special programs for high school and community college students and high school journalism advisors. Department faculty and students have engaged in research about the coverage on ethnic minority people and issues that has had a national and international impact.
The Department and Faculty
The Journalism Department is accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). It is a member of the California Newspaper Publishers Association and sponsors a student chapter of the National Press Photographers Association.
The faculty includes nine full-time members and a fluctuating number of part-time instructors, most of them active journalists. Faculty encourage and assist students in finding jobs and internships.
Career Outlook
The writing, editing, photography, and online news courses combined with and emphasis on critical thinking, ethics, and clear expression, prepare students for entry-level jobs in a wide variety of print, online and broadcast news organizations and magazines, and in many fields outside journalism. The department’s national reputation for excellence and diversity has drawn the attention of news organizations around the country, making it a key place for job and internship recruitment.
Journalism Learning Outcomes
- News Judgment: Work demonstrates news judgment that identifies and develops story ideas through observation, reading and paying attention to their environment.
- Critical and Independent Thinking: Work demonstrates an ability to synthesize information and think independently and work through problems using inference and logic.
- Cultural Competence: Work demonstrates an understanding of a variety of cultures and how those cultures influence perspectives, attitudes and personal interaction with the world.
- Writing: Work demonstrates concise, clear, and accurate writing that engages the audience with compelling storytelling.
- Analytical Competence: Work demonstrates an ability to discern and weigh the quality of information they gather, as well as know how to analyze and interpret it.
- Research and Reporting: Work demonstrates an ability to methodically find information through personal interviews, public documents, and the Internet.
- Media Literacy: Work demonstrates an ability to competently navigate through a rapidly changing media world, understanding media’s influence on society, community and the democratic process, and that students also understand the power of visual storytelling in shaping society’s understanding of the world.
- Ethics, Integrity and the Law: Work demonstrates knowledge and practice of ethical standards and constitutional laws that guide journalism excellence.
- Critical Evaluation: Work demonstrates critical evaluation of their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness.
- Data and Numbers: Work demonstrates an ability to apply basic numerical and statistical concepts.
- Technology: Work demonstrates an ability to know when and how to apply technology in their professional work.
- Visual Competence: Work demonstrates a technically competent ability to research, find, and capture a concise and compelling story that reflects the gamut of human experience in a variety of formats.
Professor
JON FUNABIKI (2006), Professor of Journalism; B.A. (1972), San Francisco State University.
RACHELE KANIGEL (2004), Professor of Journalism; B.A. (1983), San Francisco State University; M.S. (2002), Columbia University, Graduate School of Journalism.
VENISE WAGNER (2001), Professor of Journalism; B.S. (1985), University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana; M.A. (1987), Monterey Institute of International Studies.
Associate Professor
CRISTINA L. AZOCAR (2007), Associate Professor of Journalism; B.A. (1993), San Francisco State University; M.A. (1996), San Francisco State University; Ph.D. (2001), University of Michigan.
YUMI WILSON (2004), Associate Professor of Journalism; B.A. (1990), University of Southern California; M.F.A. (2007), University of San Francisco.
Assistant Professor
LOURDES CÁRDENAS (2018), Assistant Professor of Journalism; B.A. (1984), Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana; M.A. (1996), University of Southern California; M.F.A. (2011), University of Texas at El Paso.
SACHI CUNNINGHAM (2012), Assistant Professor of Journalism; B.A. (1994), Brown University; M.J. (2005), University of California, Berkeley.
JESSE D. GARNIER (2013), Assistant Professor of Journalism; B.A. (2010), San Francisco State University.
KIM KOMENICH (2015), Assistant Professor of Journalism; B.A. (1979), San Jose State University; M.A. (2007), University of Missouri.
LAURA MOORHEAD (2015), Assistant Professor of Journalism; B.S. (1991), Ball State University; M.A. (2010), Ph.D. (2015), Stanford University.
Lecturer
HARRIET CHIANG (1999), Lecturer in Journalism; B.A. (1979), University of California, Berkeley; J.D. (1984), U.C. Hastings, College of Law.
ROLAND DE WOLK (1993), Lecturer in Journalism; A.B. (1975), University of California, Berkeley.
SIBYLLA HERBRICH (1999), Lecturer in Journalism; A.A. (1982), Maximilian's Junior College (Germany).
DON MENN (1999), Lecturer in Journalism; B.A. (1971), Stanford University; M.A. (2010), San Francisco State University.
JAMES WAGSTAFFE (1986), Lecturer in Journalism; B.A. (1977), Stanford University; J.D. (1980), Hasting College of Law.
Majors
- Bachelor of Arts in Journalism: Concentration in Print and Online Journalism
- Bachelor of Arts in Journalism: Concentration in Photojournalism
Minor
JOUR 205 Social Impact of Journalism (Units: 3)
History, organization, social role and function of journalism. A grade of C or better required for Journalism majors and minors.
Course Attributes:
- C2: Humanities
JOUR 221 Newswriting (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: ENG 214 or equivalent with a grade of C or better; typing speed of 25 wpm or better.
JOUR 222 Newswriting Lab (Unit: 1)
Prerequisite: ENG 214 or equivalent with a grade of C or better.
JOUR 223 Newswriting for Spanish-Language Media (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Written and verbal fluency in Spanish.
JOUR 226 Digital News Gathering (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 205* and JOUR 221* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 235 Photojournalism I (Units: 3)
Photojournalistic style and content. Taking pictures of people, telling stories, conveying information. Must have interchangeable lens digital camera. A grade of C or better required for Journalism majors and minors. Activity. Extra fee required. (Plus-minus letter grade only)
Course Attributes:
- C1: Arts
JOUR 300GW Reporting - GWAR (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; ENG 214, JOUR 205*, and JOUR 221*; or equivalents with grades of C or better.
Course Attributes:
- Graduation Writing Assessment
JOUR 307 News Media Law (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Restricted to upper-division standing.
JOUR 320 Investigative Reporting (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 300GW* with a grade of C or better.
JOUR 321 Feature Writing (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 300GW* with a grade of C or better; or consent of instructor.
JOUR 328 Anthropology and Photography (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: Restricted to upper-division standing or consent of the instructor.
(This course is offered as ANTH 328 and JOUR 328. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
JOUR 330 Editing (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 205*, JOUR 221*, and JOUR 222* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 333 Reporting for Spanish-Language Media (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: JOUR 223* or equivalent with a grade of C or better.
JOUR 335 Photojournalism II (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 235* with a grade of C or better.
JOUR 395 Online Journalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 226* and JOUR 300GW* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 400 Multimedia Journalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 226* and JOUR 300GW* with grades of C or better.
JOUR 409 Directed Study in Journalism (Units: 1-3)
Prerequisite: Consent of the instructor or the department.
JOUR 410 Building Chinese Media Literacy (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: CHIN 401 or consent of instructor.
(This course is offered as CHIN 410 and JOUR 410, and is taught in Chinese. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
JOUR 411 Media Chinese (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: CHIN 401 or consent of instructor.
(This course is offered as CHIN 411, I R 413, and JOUR 411. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- Global Perspectives
JOUR 426 Data Journalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 226*, JOUR 300GW*, and JOUR 395* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 435 Photojournalism III (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 221*, JOUR 300GW*, and JOUR 335* with grades of C or better; or consent of the instructor.
JOUR 450 Publication Design and Graphics (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: JOUR 221* or equivalent with a grade of C or better or consent of the instructor.
JOUR 452 International Media Politics (Units: 4)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; ENG 214 or equivalent.
(This course is offered as I R 452 and JOUR 452. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
Course Attributes:
- Social Justice
JOUR 454 Israeli Media Landscape: Journalism, Communications, and Society (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: ENG 114 or equivalent.
(This course is offered as JS 468, JOUR 454, and BECA 468. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
JOUR 469 Media on Media: Media Scandals and Journalism Ethics in Israel, the US, and UK (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: GE Area A2.
(This course is offered as JS 469, BECA 469, and JOUR 469. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
JOUR 495 Profiles (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 226* and JOUR 300GW* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 500 Contemporary Magazines (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; or consent of instructor.
JOUR 535 Photojournalism IV (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 335* or equivalent with a grade of C or better.
JOUR 536 Latina/o Journalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: LTNS 530.
(This course is offered as LTNS 536 and JOUR 536. Students may not repeat the course under an alternate prefix.)
JOUR 570 Opinion Writing (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 221* and JOUR 300GW* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 575 Community Media (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: JOUR 221* and JOUR 300GW* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 580 Environmental Journalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors and Environmental Studies majors; JOUR 300GW* or ENVS 450GW* or equivalents.
JOUR 582 Social Media Journalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 221* and JOUR 300GW* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 595 Magazine Writing (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 221* and JOUR 300GW* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 605 Magazine Publication Lab (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 221* and JOUR 300GW* or equivalents with grades of C or better; JOUR 321* or JOUR 595* or equivalent with a grade of C or better.
JOUR 607 Publication Lab for Photojournalism Students (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors. JOUR 205*, JOUR 221*, and JOUR 335* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 609 Publication Laboratory (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 205*, JOUR 221*, and JOUR 300GW* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 610 Cultural Diversity and News Media (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; ENG 214 or equivalent.
Course Attributes:
- Am. Ethnic & Racial Minorities
- Social Justice
JOUR 617 Journalism Internship (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 300GW* with a grade of C or better; approved internship proposal required prior to registration deadline. JOUR 605* and JOUR 609* cannot be taken concurrently.
JOUR 645 Journalism in China (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Chinese Flagship majors or consent of the instructor.
JOUR 650 Seminar: Contemporary News (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 226* and JOUR 300GW* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 667 Seminar: Topics in Journalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 300GW* or equivalent with a grade of C or better; or consent of the department.
JOUR 670 Research Methods on Journalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to upper-division standing; JOUR 300GW* or equivalent with a grade of C or better.
JOUR 675 News Entrepreneurship (Units: 3)
Prerequisite: JOUR 300GW* or equivalent with a grade of C or better.
JOUR 680 Advanced Multimedia Journalism (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 226* and JOUR 395* or equivalents with grades of C or better.
JOUR 685 Projects in the Teaching of Journalism (Units: 1-3)
Prerequisite: A grade of C or better in the course in which student will be aide and consent of the instructor.
JOUR 695 Senior Seminar (Units: 3)
Prerequisites: Restricted to Journalism majors and minors; JOUR 609* or equivalent with a grade of C or better.
JOUR 699 Independent Study (Units: 1-3)
Prerequisite: Restricted to upper-division standing or consent of the instructor.