Bulletin - John Jay College Of Criminal Justice - CUNY

Certificates, Programs and Minors
Students will:
• Develop an understanding of how the media functions in society
historically, theoretically and practically.
• Learn how newspapers and online content delivery systems are
structured, and how news value, medium, audience, bias and
other factors shape stories.
• Practice and master the rules specific to journalistic writing,
including journalistic attribution, AP style and grammar, the aim
for objectivity, nut graphs, leads and copy editing.
• Hone research methods in a journalism-specific manner by
learning to access public records, conduct background research,
identify legitimate sources, adopt sound interviewing
techniques, work with sources fairly and ethically, and
understand the basics of libel law.
• Work as news gatherers, editors and page designers in order to
get a sense of real-world deadlines, production and
collaboration, resulting in published student work in The John
Jay Sentinel, while also learning the basic skills of creating and
editing video, digital audio, slideshows, blogging and other
forms of online media.
Rationale. Students of all disciplines can benefit by learning about
the power of a free press and by learning the most responsible,
effective ways to wield such power. Such education is more – not
less – important given the changes buffeting the journalism industry
today. As technology democratizes media access and multiplies
public voices exponentially, students need the information literacy
and critical thinking skills to navigate among the chaos as consumers
and cultivate their own public voices as producers.
Credits: 18
Minor coordinators. Professors Devin Harner
(dharner@jjay.cuny.edu, 646.557.4604) and
Alexa Capeloto (acapeloto@jjay.cuny.edu, 646.557.4546),
Department of English
Credits
PART ONE. Required Courses Subtotal: 15
English 2XX Journalism in the 21st Century
English 233 Journalism
English 3XX Intermediate Reporting
English 3YY Online Reporting
PART TWO. Electives Subtotal: 3
Option One. General Elective
Select one
Law 213/Speech 213 The Impact of the Mass Media on the
Administration of Justice
Literature 284 Film and Society (when offered as documentary film)
Sociology 201 Urban Sociology: The Study of City Life
Sociology 222 Sociology of Mass Communication
Speech 240 Contemporary Media Forms in Everyday Life
Interdisciplinary Studies - There are possibilities for interdisciplinary
collaboration depending on what’s offered semester to semester.
Option Two. Crime Reporting
Under the advisement of the minor coordinator, students may choose
a semester of journalistic work focused on criminal justice in lieu of
an elective.
English 3ZZ Crime Reporting Capstone
On an independent study basis, students read and analyze examples
of criminal justice reporting, and produce a piece of long-form
criminal justice journalism. Their general topic and schedule must be
approved by the program director and English Department chair.
Total: 18
LATIN AMERICAN AND LATINA/O STUDIES MINOR
The multi-disciplinary Department of Latin American and Latina/o Studies
offers a minor and program (see above) that includes courses in the areas of
history, culture, law, psychology, sociology, politics and literature relating
to the experience of Puerto Rican/Latinas/os in the United States and of
Latin Americans in the Caribbean and Latin America. history, culture, law,
psychology, sociology, politics and literature relating to the experience of
Puerto Rican/Latinas/os in the United States and of Latin Americans in the
Caribbean and Latin America.
194