Enrollment in JOMC is up this year, with 390 students enrolled in the various journalism specializations and 416 in advertising & public relations. Of the journalism students, 150 are news-editorial majors, 92 are broadcasting, and 148 are in visual communication, which includes multimedia, graphics and photo. Public relations students total 238 and advertising 178.

As we begin a new curriculum in the fall of 2009, the old sequence designations will go away. All Journalism students will be required to take media ethics, media law, newswriting, reporting, and audio-video information gathering. They also choose a specialization in editing/design, reporting, multimedia, photojournalism or electronic. Each student also is required to take two courses in an “immersion” cluster, introducing them to media research in areas such as diversity, global communication, and political communication.

Advertising and public relations majors will be required to take media ethics, media law, newswriting, introduction to advertising and public relations, and advertising/pr research. Students will choose to specialize in advertising, public relations or strategic communication. Strategic communication combines the two areas of advertising and public relations. These students also will take an immersion cluster.

These changes reflect conversations I have had with more than 50 alumni during the last two years and an analysis of the needs of the industry. We think the curriculum changes will preserve our traditional core values and create opportunity for innovation.

One of the expressed missions of UNC-Chapel Hill and of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication is to serve the state.  In a time of turmoil in media industries, we at the school take this mission seriously.  We work with the North Carolina Press Association and the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters to make sure we’re educating journalists with the skills, tools and critical thinking they need.

But journalism schools need to go beyond educating a workforce.  We hope that our research mission can blend with our service mission to offer help.  School faculty include skilled producers of multimedia and experts in the business of journalism.   Jock Lauterer, director of our Community Journalism Initiative, works with staffs of community newspapers to help them improve their skill sets.  Knight Professor Penny Abernathy is launching a project with a major daily in the state to create a case study that analyzes incorporating the web into the newspaper operation.

That’s why we appreciate Johnny Whitifield’s column in the Eastern Wake News.  Take a look at this community paper on the web.  It reflects the new world of journalism and serves its area well with good stories, photos and video.

Congratulations to the Daily Tar Heel Staff for winning second for a daily broadsheet in the Associated Collegiate Press competition.  The only paper to top the DTH was Penn State’s The Daily Pennsylvanian.  For the complete story and list of winners, see the ACP’s story.  Congrats to Editor Allison Nichols and her staff.