Courses

Sissel McCarthy and broadcast journalism student

All analytical courses have the prefix MEDIA. All production courses have the prefix MEDPL, for production courses that can also be applied to the liberal arts credit requirement. Writing intensive courses are marked with a W following the course title.


MEDIA 180 | Introduction to Media Studies
3 hours, 3 credits
This course exams the social, political and economic factors that determine and shape the products of media organizations.

MEDP 150 | Media and Film in a Digital Age Part 1
Pre-requisite: MEDIA 180
4 hours, 3 credits
This course is an introduction to the theoretical and practical fundamentals of visual design and 2-D digital imaging and production in a lecture/lab format.

FILMP 160 | Media and Film in a Digital Age Part 2
Pre-requisite:MEDIA 180
4 hours, 3 credits
This course introduces students to the theoretical and practical fundamentals of film and video production in a lecture/lab format. It is strongly suggested, but not required, that students take MEDP 150 before this class.

MEDPL 201 | Reporting and Writing 1 (W)
Pre-requisite: MEDP 180
3 hours, 3 credits
This introductory course introduces students to the fundamentals of reporting and journalistic writing through seminars, visits with guests, writing drills and real reporting assignments. Students will build their own digital domains to showcase their work, as well as grapple with ethical and technical issues facing contemporary journalism.

MEDPL 202 | Reporting and Writing 2 (W)
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 201
3 hours, 3 credits
Building on the foundation set in Reporting and Writing 1, this course will introduce students to longer form print stories that include some type of data and data visualization, multimedia-style writing, NPR-style audio stories, visual storytelling using only a smartphone, and non-linear audio and video editing.

MEDIA 211 | News Literacy in a Digital Age (W)
Satisfies CUNY Common Core English Composition 2
Pre-requisite: ENGL 12000
3 hours, 3 credits
In this writing-intensive course, students will learn to assess the reliability and credibility of news reports through a close analysis of print, TV, radio, web and social media stories. The class will also study the First Amendment, the underpinnings of an independent press and the consequences of censorship.

MEDPL 239 | Entertainment Journalism (W)
Pre-requisite: MEDP 201
3 hours, 3 credits
This class will cover the practical, theoretical and rhetorical skills for writing reviews and feature stories about entertainment and the arts.

MEDPL 283 | News Video Reporting
Pre-requisite: FILM 160 and MEDPL 202
3 hours, 3 credits
This course teaches students how to report and produce several types of news video stories including hard news, features, formal interviews, and live shots. Students will research and pitch story ideas, considering from the outset how to tell the story with pictures and sound. They will shoot, write and edit their stories using Adobe Premiere Pro and then post them on our class YouTube site, Hunter College Journalism, and their own domain.

MEDPL 284 | Radio Reporting and Podcasting
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 202
3 hours, 3 credits
This course teaches students how to report and write a variety of audio news stories and podcasts for a live radio newscast. Students will examine the state of radio broadcasting today and learn how to research, report and write hard news stories, feature stories and opinion pieces for radio. In addition, they will develop interviewing skills and audio-gathering techniques, learn how to edit and mix sound elements, and develop a broadcast voice and on-air style for podcasts and live radio broadcasts. Student teams will also produce a one-hour newscast to showcase their work and will present it live on WHCS. In addition, there will be several guest lectures by radio journalists as well as a field trip to WNYC.

MEDPL 294 | Magazine Writing (W)
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 201
3 hours, 3 credits
This course prepares students for publishing articles in magazines, feature sections of newspapers and online publications by developing writing portfolios and studying the workings of the publishing industry.

MEDPL 295 | Online Journalism (W) (sample syllabus)
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 201
3 hours, 3 credits
Through this course, you will learn how to better understand the increasingly digital newsroom and succeed within it as digital producers with the key online journalism skills that allow you to create multimedia stories with data visualizations, using mobile technology, social media and live publishing tools to reach online audiences.

MEDPL 296 | Feature Writing (W) (sample syllabus)
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 201
3 hours, 3 credits
This course teaches students how to write a variety of feature stories including profiles, reviews, how-to stories, human interest and humor stories.

MEDPL 297 | Data Journalism: Telling Stories With Numbers (W)(sample syllabus)
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 201
3 hours, 3 credits
This course covers the fundamentals of data journalism reporting and visual storytelling using emerging techniques and tools. Students will learn to work with data and basic design to uncover and illustrate news trends and tell interactive data-driven news stories. Students will be producing editorial content using data journalism reporting and visualization tools and techniques, and will complete eight homework assignments and three major journalistic projects. The projects will be published on students’ personal websites and a class website, and shared via social media platforms, where applicable.

MEDPL 372 | Investigative Reporting (W) (sample syllabus)
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 201
3 hours, 3 credits
This course helps students understand and practice journalism that explores significant social issues and injustices, using diverse sources developed through the enterprise of the reporter.

MEDPL 377 | Neighborhood News (W)
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 201 or permission of instructor
3 hours, 3 credits
Students in this advanced reporting and writing class produce the Athenian, a school-focused website. Students are expected to report, write and produce photos and videos, all on a real deadline schedule. The class may be repeated once for credit.

MEDPL 387 | Mobile Journalism
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 202
3 hours, 3 credits
This course covers the fundamentals of reporting and visual storytelling on current and emerging mobile platforms. The class will focus on how to create quality journalism content for the web, social media and mobile platforms using best practices for writing and reporting on deadline. Students will shoot photos and video and collect audio, editing on-site and publishing via social media all using a mobile device.

MEDPL 388 | Studio News Production
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 283
3 hours, 3 credits
This course builds on the multimedia reporting and writing courses offered in the journalism concentration by teaching students how to produce a live newscast from the planning stage to the actual broadcast. In addition to learning how to set up a rundown and line produce a live show, students will also produce editorial content and rotate through multiple newsroom positions, providing invaluable experience directly relevant to internships and jobs in broadcast journalism. The newscast produced by this course will also serve the Hunter College community by concentrating on news, issues and events of interest to a Hunter College audience.

MEDP 399 | Environment, Urban & Health Journalism (W) (sample syllabus)
Pre-requisite: MEDPL 201, MEDPL 202 or permission of instructor
3 hours, 3 credits
This course teaches student journalists how to report on the intersection between the urban environmental, public health and equity, race and risk, while leveraging engagement tools and techniques through publication of a class-wide news project on a digital platform. Students will be producing multimedia assignments about urban environment and health issues in three major assignments (a story memo, an issue backgrounder and a developed news feature), as well as in a team project with live event coverage. All stories will be published on a class-wide web site and social media platforms. NOTE: This experimental course qualifies a production course.