Graduate Study: Trips
Faculty at the School of Journalism encourage learning beyond the classrooms at Ernie Pyle Hall, even far beyond campus itself. Students have conducted reporting projects as far away as the Gulf Coast and Washington, D.C., and as nearby as small southern Indiana communities challenged by change.
This “learning by doing” refines students’ interviewing and newsgathering skills and shapes their news decision-making abilities, all while generating great stories and visuals. Professors say such projects also help students learn to collaborate with peers in developing comprehensive projects.
This “learning by doing” refines students’ interviewing and newsgathering skills and shapes their news decision-making abilities, all while generating great stories and visuals. Professors say such projects also help students learn to collaborate with peers in developing comprehensive projects.
Here is a sampling of some recent trips:
Beyond the devastation:
Stories from the Gulf Coast
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| Photo by Suzannah Evans |
| Professor Carol Polsgrove and Randy Ponder, publisher of the Sea Coast Echo, walk through downtown Bay Saint Louis, Miss. |
In Fall 2005, students in professor Carol Polsgrove’s J501 Public Affairs Reporting class were riveted by the reporting from the Gulf Coast area after two hurricanes devastated the region. The talk in class turned to discussions of what was missing from the reporting, what stories were not told.
Soon, the students galvanized, forming a team of reporters determined to find those stories. By the time the project ended, 11 stories with photos were posted on the school Web site and some were published in print publications. The students appeared on radio and television programs describing the project, and the local public broadcast station produced a video of their work.
Read more about this trip.
Read more about this trip.
Beyond the textbooks:
A front-row seat at national events
AASE conference
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| Photo by Susan Linville |
| Graduate student Sandra Arao Ameny and other students immersed themselves in reporting during the AAAS conference. |
Professor Holly Stocking’s J554 Science Writing class traveled to San Francisco to observe scientists and the reporters who cover them in action at the American Association for the Advancement of Science conference. The students also reported on events themselves, with several seeing those articles published in several newspapers.
Read more about this trip.
Read more about this trip.
Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
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| Courtesy photo |
| Assistant professor Tony Fargo’s class traveled to the nation’s capital to hear Supreme Court oral arguments on a variety of cases. |
Assistant professor Tony Fargo’s J551 Reporting the Law class discusses legal ramifications of laws that affect journalists and public access.
To get a first-hand view of this decision-making process, the class traveled to Washington, D.C., to hear the Supreme Court’s oral arguments.
The students reported on the justices’ analysis and attorneys’ arguments for cases on issues ranging from the First Amendment to patent law. They also visited with alumni working in the nation’s capital.
Read more about this trip.
To get a first-hand view of this decision-making process, the class traveled to Washington, D.C., to hear the Supreme Court’s oral arguments.
The students reported on the justices’ analysis and attorneys’ arguments for cases on issues ranging from the First Amendment to patent law. They also visited with alumni working in the nation’s capital.
Read more about this trip.
Beyond the headlines:
Change in Orange County
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| Courtesy photo |
| Students in J501 Public Affairs Reporting looked at social and economic changes a new casino may bring to southern Indiana. |
Inspired by the previous year’s Gulf Coast experience, students in this year’s J501 Public Affairs Reporting class are taking on the changes in southern Indiana’s small towns.
Orange County, one of the poorest in the state, recently welcomed renovated five-star hotels and casino gambling in an effort to improve local economics. Polsgrove’s students wondered what the costs of these changes would be, and if indeed they would improve conditions for residents.
They started their work with a blog reporting on fall elections, and their finished projects will be available to media for publication and will be added to this Web site in December.
Read more about this project.
Orange County, one of the poorest in the state, recently welcomed renovated five-star hotels and casino gambling in an effort to improve local economics. Polsgrove’s students wondered what the costs of these changes would be, and if indeed they would improve conditions for residents.
They started their work with a blog reporting on fall elections, and their finished projects will be available to media for publication and will be added to this Web site in December.
Read more about this project.
More…
Read “Hitting the Road,” a story about School of Journalism students’ learning experiences beyond the classroom. This PDF format story appeared in the Summer 2006 issue of Newswire, the School of Journalism alumni magazine. Both Newswire and “Hitting the Road” require Adobe Acrobat Reader or Mac OSX to view.
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