A new journalism elective is available for the Spring 2014 semester — “Future of Global Journalism,” taught by Lea Hellmueller, Ph.D., assistant professor of journalism and electronic media, who is from Switzerland.
This will be a Monday-Wednesday-Friday class from 2:00-2:50 p.m. There are no prerequisites for the class, but Hellmueller encourages junior and senior students to register.
“I think it’s better for juniors and seniors to take the class,” Hellmueller said. “They already have an idea of what they want to do later on in life.”
Hellmueller said that students can expect to research different countries and compare journalistic practices and professional norms around the world. Hellmueller has worked as a reporter in Switzerland and South Africa.
“It’s actually really interesting because you see a lot of differences, especially in the political systems,” Hellmueller said.
She said that she thinks it is going to be a really informative class because she wants to look at all the different media systems around the world and interview journalists of different countries via Skype. She said she is also interested in looking at reporting in developing countries.
Hellmueller said she thinks that if students are interested in a career in international reporting, then this will be a good class to take. It is important that students learn about different countries and the culture, values, and norms associated with each country, she said.
Hellmueller also thinks it is important for students to be familiar with the different reporting styles across countries, cultures and political systems.
“I know many journalists in different countries, so I want to connect students with different journalists via Skype,” Hellmueller said.
She also has hopes that this class will one day be in the core curriculum for journalism students.
“I hope we can make it a required class,” Hellmueller said. “I think it is really important for journalists in a globalized world to be familiar with international news.”
For students in the College of Media and Communication, it is not too late to sign up for JOUR 4301, “Future of Global Journalism,” in the spring.
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