<p>Hi, I'm a Duke student who wants to major in communications and pursue a career in broadcast journalism/television. One problem: Duke is not very good in journalism/communications. Now, I know that Program II is an option, and that I can create my own communications major at Duke, but I'm afraid that a communications degree from Duke is just going to be a waste of time and money when I can just go to UNC to get a legit communications degree. I feel like job recruiters would value a UNC communications degree much more than a Duke one.</p>
<p>I also realize that many people who become broadcast journalists major in other areas like political science, history, english, etc...but I don't think that I'm interested in anything except for communications.</p>
<p>I'm a bit flustered because I love Duke, and to me it's such a better school than UNC, but UNC's communications program just seems so much better (and it seems like I'd have much more opportunities). Any thoughts?</p>
<p>Charlie Rose. Judy Woodruff. Dan Abrams. Jay Bilas. John Harwood. Sean McManus. John Feinstein. Clay Felker.</p>
<p>That’s all you really need to know. I could list more if you want…Going to Duke will NOT hurt you in your foray into journalism/communications. In fact, Duke graduates have had great success in this industry. Now if there’s truly no other possible subject you could enjoy in college and solely want to take courses in communications (which I find hard to believe, but is certainly possible), then perhaps Duke isn’t the best choice simply because of the course offerings. There *is *plenty, but there’s probably even more at universities that have a communications department. But if you concern is that going to Duke will not give you the opportunities to attain your dreams as a journalist, then those concerns are unfounded. Transferring to UNC for the reasons you stated don’t seem to make sense to me. Now if you hated Duke and UNC cost you $40,000 less or something, then that’d be something to consider. But you won’t be sacrificing anything at Duke even with your desired path, except for perhaps a bit smaller course selection. Good luck!</p>
<p>Also note that as a Duke student you can take 1 class per semester at UNC…so you could take advantage of some of their communications classes and note that on your resume when applying to jobs. I would say, wanting to major in communications is such the wrong attitude. Try to LEARN communications, not major in it. You can do that just fine at Duke.</p>
<p>I think you should major in Public Policy and get the Journalism Certificate. This will prepare you VERY WELL for a career in broadcast journalism/television.</p>
<p>okay thanks everyone that was very helpful! </p>
<p>i guess i might try to do the major in public policy and get the journalism certificate. my only concern is that i’m not really that interested in government/politics/law stuff, which public policy seems to have a lot of.</p>
<p>I would definitely stick with Duke. With that line-up of journalists who knows what kind of connection you may make when you’re there. :)</p>
<p>Also, if you want to pursue journalism, being a communications major solely is the last thing you would want to do. I thought about being a journalist for a while and all the people I talked to at local stations and some major publications (not the big leagues) said that if they were in our shoes now, then they would absolutely NOT go to journalism/communications schools and one actually went to Yale. </p>
<p>It’s just not practical. Instead, what matters more than ever is experience, working at local stations in Raleigh, at Duke’s journalism things (like The Chronicle) and a knowing how to use new technology, like something as simple as Flipcams. It’s kind of like business in that being business means little compared to being able to bring something new to the table, as is possible with Duke’s liberal arts bent. So that means that you can major in ANYTHING that interests you and just make sure to pursue all the opportunities available for you at Duke. </p>
<p>Anyways, just something to chew on. You made a great choice!</p>
<p>314159, my ultimate goal is to have a talk show like oprah, who talks about subjects like “living your best life” and not public policy. I don’t want to be a writer, but a communicator through television. The only reason I bring up broadcast journalism is that a lot of people who make it big on television started out as anchors at their local television station. I feel like starting out as a television anchor is where most talk show hosts are discovered. For example, oprah majored in communications and then became a television anchor, where she was offered to do a local talk show. And she never really talks about public policy, more like everyday issues and topics in empowering women or living powerfully, which is the kind of stuff i’m interested in talking about.</p>
<p>This is probably south anecdotal, but I know of a recent Duke grad who went to work for his local fox station. He started out as a weatherman then started doing some anchoring and one of those daily morning show things. I believe he was a polsci major who did broadcasting classes at UNC.</p>
<p>Well why should people listen to someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about? Do you think we should listen to you by virtue of the fact that you want us to? I would suggest you learn about the things you want to talk about so that you actually have a message to convey and don’t just blabber the whole time (like Oprah). If you want to talk about living you best life then major in Philosophy, specialize in ethics, and get an Ethics Certificate. (I’m kind of biased because that’s what I’m doing, but oh well…haha.) Moral philosophy (i.e., ethics) is the study of living your best life.</p>
<p>why then do so many people listen to oprah, if all she knows how to do is “blabber”?</p>
<p>what matters most is knowing how to report/communicate effectively. Oprah doesn’t need a philosophy or ethics degree to know how to talk about issues in everyday life.</p>
<p>ugh, was looking over my previous post…idk why I said “south anecdotal,” meant to say “somewhat anecdotal.” An unfortunate Freudian slip I guess.</p>
<p>But just because one might be able to draw attention doesn’t mean they necessarily deserve it. Think about what you imply when you say that it doesn’t matter what kinds of things you say so long as you say them effectively. (think Hitler :P). Then, think about what you imply when you say you don’t need a philosophy/ethics degree to know how to talk about issues in everyday life–as if the disciplines were removed from life. Just because something is ordinary doesn’t mean you can’t have a better understanding of it if you study it. You’re right to say that one doesn’t need to have a philosophy degree to be a philosopher, just the same way as you can be a great journalist without a journalism degree. But, if you make the assumptions that you’re going to a university and you want to know more about issues in ethics, it just seems to make sense that you would pursue a philosophy/ethics degree.</p>
I wouldn’t count on that, as the Program II folks tend to hate pre-professional suggestions. It is true, however, that somewhat related topics have been done in the past.</p>
A quick search in the alumni directory reveals no fewer than 570 Duke alumni working in the field of communications with backgrounds in a variety of areas.</p>
<p>One of them graduated in 1990 with a degree in history and is working for CBS News/60 Minutes. Another graduated in 2005 with a degree in literature and is working for MSNBC. Still another graduated in 2008 with a degree in English and is working for NBC. Yet another graduated in 2006 with a degree in public policy and is working for ABC.</p>
<p>warblers, you’ve correctly identified that Duke is, in fact, not community college (or a university pretending to be a community college). I’m sure she would be able to pass something related, though. If you put “History of…” in front of anything then that works, haha, not exactly ideal, though.</p>
<p>frenchhorngirl, also keep in mind, you are going to have a lot of changes in the next four years of your life. I know that even though I want to be a managing director for Goldman Sachs right now, that life brings so many different changes and loops. You may find something totally new and you’ll sorely limit yourself with a communications degree. Yes, Oprah did it, but Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard. For ever successful communications major in broadcast, there just as many English, History, etc. majors who can bring something new to the table and MANY unsuccessful communications major. </p>
<p>So as I mentioned, just go into Duke with an idea that you want to go into broadcast journalism, but just take classes that fit into your distribution requirements and see what you end up liking.</p>
