<p>I am an aspiring sportswriter and I was wondering what schools are best for journalism, so I can reach my goal of becoming a sports journalist. I live in the Midwest, and I've heard the Mizzou is really good and I could probably get in there, but who else?</p>
<p>Northwestern, Wisconsin are a couple.</p>
<p>The University of Missouri. The first and still the best.</p>
<p>Northwestern, Syracuse, UNC, USC, UT-Austin, George Washington, NYU are prty good</p>
<p>Northwestern has a great reputation, and supposedly a lot of opportunities for undergrads.</p>
<p>Penn State has a specific sports journalism concentration.</p>
<p>Univ. of Florida is a highly regarded program...and having the current national champions in <em>both</em> basketball and football certainly can't hurt with your desire to be a sportswriter!</p>
<p>Ready.....Set.......Go! ;)</p>
<p>An aspiring journalist should have better research skills. Dozens of threads have addressed this topic. </p>
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<p>What's the difference between majoring in journalism or majoring in communications? It depends on the school. Sometimes, there can be very little difference. Generally, however, a major in communication tends to focus more on the theories behind how people and societies communicate, rather than on "hands on" skills such as writing, interviewing, and editing. It is important to take a close look at the classes offered and the focus of the program when looking at a commmunications major. Some communications programs are focused more on preparing students to do graduate level work in communications theory than they are on preparing students to find jobs as journalists. Finally, keep in mind that it is not absolutely necessary to major in either journalism or communicatons if you want to work in journalism. Other majors - when combined with work in campus media or journalism-related internships - can also be a foundation for a career in journalism.</p>
<p>When looking at any journalism or communications program, there are a few important questions to ask to help you evaluate the program's quality and how well it will prepare you to find a job after graduation:</p>
<p>[ul][<em>]Is the curriculum emphasis on actual "real world" journalism skills or on communications theory (i.e., "mass communications") [</em>]What percentage of the faculty has "real world" experience, i.e., they've actually been journalists or in communications? (You want a program where a higher percentage have experience and working knowledge, not just theoretical knowledge) [<em>]What opportunities are there to work in on campus media? (At some schools, getting a reporter or editor position at the student newspaper or radio station can be very competitive) [</em>]How up to date is the equipment in the program? (Esp. important if you are interested in broadcast journalism) Are the facilities adequate for the number of majors? (If you never get into use the facilities because they're tied up for grad students, they won't help you) [<em>]How many opportunities are there for internships? How many students actually do internships? Is it realistic to combine an internship with the level of academic effort required? How do you get internships? [</em>]What size are the classes? How much writing and editing do you actually do in the classes? How good are the professors at giving you feedback about your writing and editing? [li]What is the career placement office like? Does the journalism program have its own career placement/advising program or do you go through the school's "general" career office? Where did last year's graduates end up working immediately after graduation? Where do alumni work?[/ul]</p>[/li] <p>So, how do you track down good schools for journalism? Start by looking over the 140 colleges and universities that have programs accredited by The</a> Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications. </p>
<p>I promised a list of what I consider the best undergraduate journalism programs in the country. Here it is, in no particular order: University of Missouri-Columbia, Syracuse University, Northwestern University, University of Southern California, Boston University, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, New York University, University of Oregon, Indiana University, U of Maryland-College Park, Ithaca College, Emerson College, Washington and Lee University, U of Wisconsin-Madison, Pepperdine University, the University of South Dakota, the University of Georgia, the University of Florida, and the University of Texas-Austin. Other excellent journalism and communications programs include: Susquehanna University, Muhlenberg College, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara University, Loyola University (Maryland), Simmons College, San Diego State University, Temple, American University, the University of Pennsylvania, Creighton University, Marquette University, Villanova University, and Ohio University.
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As a former journalist and editor who hired reporters, I want to echo something Carolyn wrote deep into her story. You don't have to major in journalism to be a good reporter. In fact, I thought it sometimes was a detriment. I'll explain below.</p>
<p>A journalism minor or part-time work on a campus paper, radio or TV station while majoring in something else such as business, urban planning, government, etc. may provide a much better preparation to be a working journalist. I hired j-school grads who had the story formula down pat, but they had no perspective. They wrote formula stories that lacked depth. Over time I came to prefer people who had work experience in another field but also had a talent for writing. In my experience, they generally were better reporters. </p>
<p>So my advice differs slightly. I think you may be better off finding a school where you can minor in journalism while getting an education in another field that prepares you to know and understand how business, government, politics, etc. actually works. That way you'll know what is real news and not just pablum.
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<p>Regarding the 2nd quote above, J-students at Northwestern are all required to take 73% of their courses (33 out of 45) in areas outside journalism. Many J-grads therefore finish with two majors (one in j-school and another in arts & sci).</p>
<p>Wilbon -- Northwestern</p>
<p>Kornheiser -- Binghamton</p>
<p>Ditto for Mizzou what Sam Lee said for NW J-school students; two years of a balanced "core curriculum" are required before admission -- while in J-School outside courses are also required, especially in the social sciences, making it about 75% non-journalism courses over the 4 years.</p>
<p>CaveMan:</p>
<p>If you can go to a top journalism school, then do that by all means. But, according to my wife who went to school on a Hearst Scholarship, sports journalism isn't quite the same as other news reporting. Sports journalists need to know something about the sports they're covering. News journalists need to be much more widely read and educated in order to pick up on story elements they might miss without that education. Also, regular news journalists need to know more about research, interview technique, uses of the Freedom of Information Act, and the like than sports journalists.</p>
<p>Her point is that all that is required to become a good sports journalist is to understand the sport well enough to write about it, and write well enough in journalistic style to keep from annoying an editor. That doesn't necessarily require a top school, but it doesn't hurt, of course.</p>
<p>She also told me that the best sports writer she ever read actually had a degree in English and some branch of phys. ed.</p>
<p>^^^ My S is also interested in sports journalism, and heard many of the same comments Tarhunt makes from his sportwriter/professor during a summer sportswriting program at UMd-College Park.</p>
<p>Doesn't Vanderbilt also have a sports journalism focus? I know there's a scholarship earmarked for sports journalism.</p>
<p>Any info on Denison? Isn't the president of ESPN a grad?</p>
<p>There is something to be said about NOT studying journalism as an undergraduate and focusing, instead, on something else, such as political science, history, sociology, etc. I came out of a college as an English major (yes, I know ... useless, they told me!) in 1981 and got a job on a large metro daily right off the bat, even though I was competing with people coming from some of the top journalism schools. One reason is that I spent a lot of time in college reading the best writers in the English language and the other is that I spent time learning to really write, as in essays and narratives. I also made sure to work on my college newspaper and to locate -- and get -- good internships in the summers, so that by the time I came out of college, I had some decent clips and good connections with local newspeople. I have discussed this issue with editors and other reporters and there are a number of people who think that aspiring reporters (at least print reporters) would do better to get an undergrad degree in something other than journalism and then, if they want, attend a school such as Columbia and get a master's degree in reporting. Just my two cents that no one asked for!</p>
<p>^^^ This two cents, from someone with actual experience, is worth its weight in gold. Thanks.</p>
<p>But there are programs that recognize the value and need of strong liberal arts education and they require students to take as much as 3/4 of their classes outside the journalism school. For example, most Medill students have second major in liberal arts. I think it's possible to get the best of both worlds if you know where to look.</p>
<p>Syracuse is probably THE best school for sports journalism...lots of guys (And gals) go right into ESPN after Syracuse.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, if you recall the interview last year where Terrell Owens trashed McNabb that got TO kicked from the eagles, the person interviewing TO was actually a freshman at Syracuse, majoring in sports journalism! He had previously interviewed Adam Sandler and Muhammed Ali, and it was only his first year at the school.</p>
<p>With regard to sports journalism - Medill has a lot of reconizable faces/names (along with Syracuse - I don't if you can call either school THE school for sports journalism).</p>
<p>Here are some notable Medill grads in sports journalism -</p>
<p>JA Adande (LA Times and ESPN)</p>
<p>Kevin Blackistone (Dallas Morning News)</p>
<p>Christine Brennan (USA Today)</p>
<p>Rich Eisen (NFL Network Anchor)</p>
<p>Mike Greenberg (ESPN anchor and ESPN Radio "Mike & Mike")</p>
<p>Brent Musburger (all-around sportscaster)</p>
<p>Rachel Nichols (Wash Post and ESPN)</p>
<p>Michael Wilbon (Wash Post and ESPN/Pardon the Interruption)</p>
<p>Other NU grads (not sure if Medill grads)</p>
<p>Dave Revsine - (ESPN anchor)</p>
<p>Rick Telander (Chicago Sun-Times, SI)</p>
<p>Darren Rovell (CNBC Sports Business)</p>
<p>Indiana University has an excellent program. I would say that Mizzou, Indiana, and Wisconsin-Madison are your three best bets if you're looking to do J-school in the Midwest.</p>
<p>If you don't mind venturing a little further, the Cronkite J-School at Arizona State is excellent, too, along with the Annenberg School at USC.</p>
<p>As for the East Coast, Columbia is the cream of the crop, but it only has a grad program in journalism, you cannot major in journalism as an undergrad there. Syracuse is another excellent choice.</p>