Ticker

Issue date: 9/2/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Special to the Ticker Professor Roslyn Bernstein

Media Credit: Alex Skuratovsky Chair-elect Geanne Rosenberg.

Journalism students, take out a pen and paper; this is on the record. Thirty years since its inception, the journalism discipline at Baruch has finally gained departmental status, officially becoming the Department of Journalism and the Writing Professions.

The decision, which was made official on July 1 by the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences, marks a milestone at Baruch. The new department is the 13th department of the Weissman School.

"I think everyone in the journalism faculty is very excited. We see the potential," said Roslyn Bernstein, founder of Baruch's journalism and business journalism programs. "It's a chance to blossom, a chance to grow, a chance to be taken seriously by our colleagues outside Baruch, by other journalism programs and really within CUNY."

Professor Geanne Rosenberg, who will head the new department, is excited about the opportunities it will provide its students like bringing more credibility to the program due to its new independence.

"I think the biggest improvements will be in the curriculum and in a stronger multimedia element," said Rosenberg.

"I think also, as a separate department, it will be a much more visible presence within Baruch and outside Baruch so that, for journalism majors, will be a good thing.We will have more of a role in the college community."

Before, when it was simply a program within the department of English, the journalism program had limitations on what it could teach and how it could expand. For this reason, Bernstein, who has been at Baruch for more than three decades, appreciated this transformation and remembers a time when the journalism discipline was much different.

"In 1974, there were just a few courses and few members of the faculty. It was a small program in the English department, but as we grew, we added courses, we added students, we added faculty and basically journalism changed, too," Bernstein reflected.

"All of these factors slowly but surely made us realize that we were sort of growing and that it might be ultimately worth considering to be independent. It's certainly an auspicious moment," added Bernstein.

An example of this can be seen in the process of changing the curriculum. In the past, when a journalism course needed to be approved, faculty first had to decide on it among themselves before sending the request to the English department curriculum committee.

Approval from the English department was needed before finally submitting the course for approval to the Weissman School curriculum committee.

Now, the process is streamlined with the journalism faculty curriculum committee going to the journalism faculty before directly going to Weissman School curriculum committee.

As for the new curriculum, Rosenberg is optimistic that all Baruch students, especially journalism majors, will be satisfied with the new breakdown.

"I think by having this department of journalism and the writing professions we can give students a strong foundation in journalism, but we can also accommodate students who are interested in exploring different writing forms," said Rosenberg.

Students will be able to take classes in business journalism, urban reporting, media, law and ethics, documentary film, creative writing, environmental reporting, broadcast journalism, business and professional writing, investigative reporting and arts and culture reporting.

Rosenberg said the department wants to focus on online journalism as well, possibly giving students the opportunity to publish online.

Another positive change for students that results from the new major, and not so much from the new department, is that it wasn't permissible for a student to major in journalism and minor in English literature, or vice versa, because you couldn't major and minor in the same department. Now, that is completely allowed.

"When we grow this program, our students will be better prepared and more competitive for the job market," said Bernstein.

"I think the students that come out of Baruch's program now will be able to get the entry level jobs that they would have not gotten before."

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