Journalism - Print and Online Journalism Major

In today’s rapidly evolving media landscape, social media has become an indispensable tool for journalists to disseminate news, engage with audiences, and cultivate a digital presence. This comprehensive course on Social Media Management in Journalism is designed to equip aspiring and practicing journalists with the essential skills and strategies needed to navigate the dynamic intersection of journalism and social media.

Building on the basics in Writing for Journalism, students will develop news and feature stories from different settings, and on different topics. The theory and practice of long-form feature writing will also be introduced.

Pre-requisites:

• WRIT 230

This foundation course will examine the tools used to tell journalistic stories online. The focus will be on contemporary content management technology used by newspapers to present photos, written stories, video, and rich content to a global audience.

Corequsites:

• PUBL 261

Equivalents:

• JOUR 219

Journalists are required to make decisions regularly about whom to talk to and use as sources, what information is appropriate to publish and what is not, and how to balance the competing demands of public versus private interests. Challenges related to the public sense of biases in news content, including AI-generated content, is an ongoing concern. The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the practice of ethical decision-making in journalism.

Topics that will be introduced include sourcing practices and issues of personal privacy, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #86, manipulation by, and of, the media, censorship and self-censorship, artificial intelligence, coverage of libel and slander laws in Canada and the right to be forgotten.

Building on the introduction they received in first year to straight news and feature writing, students in this course will work on more complex assignments, including long-form news features and specialized types of news stories.

Pre-requisites:

• JOUR 251

This introductory level course explores the technical fundamentals of digital photography as it relates to print and online news media. Learners will develop competency in proper camera handling, image acquisition, and computer workflow techniques.

Building further on the technical concepts previously introduced in the program, this course focuses on the use of the photographic medium in journalistic storytelling. Through the use of still images and text, learners will discover the importance of visual communication in today’s multiplatform media industry.

Pre-requisites:

• PHOT 216

An introductory course in which students become familiar with relevant computer systems and the SAIT network. The student will then be introduced to numerous industry relevant software programs vital to their future success in journalism.

The basic concepts in creation of graphic elements will be the main topic of this course. The design, production and editing of info graphics for print page layouts and online will be covered. The course will also introduce learners to the planning and organization of print publications such as magazines and newspapers.

Corequsites:

• JOUR 254

News stories must be researched before they can be written. In this course, students will learn how to develop information for stories, with an emphasis on interviewing and online information gathering. Specific research sources, including governments and experts, also will be covered.

WRIT 230, Writing for Journalism, is an introduction to writing in news style for beginning journalists. In addition to learning to present information for print and online readers, essential writing skills such as grammar, punctuation, capitalization and spelling will be emphasized. Identification of newsworthy information, basic news story elements and structure, writing techniques and self-coaching methods are also covered.

Marketing Essentials is an introductory course offering you a solid foundation in marketing principles. Working individually and in teams, you will research and discover how marketing decisions are made and identify the components of sustainable marketing programs. Your research, content application and teamwork skills will be developed and reinforced as you progress through the course.

Equivalents:

• MKTG 1060

In this course students will develop their online skills by researching, gathering, and publishing journalistic content for online delivery. Students will learn to identify the best (or most appropriate) platform by which to distribute the content.

Pre-requisites:

• JOUR 254
• PHOT 256

This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and practical skills required to navigate the dynamic field of daily news reporting and the production cycle. Participants will gain hands-on experience in news gathering, writing, editing, and producing news content within the constraints of tight deadlines. The course will cover traditional and digital news production methods, emphasizing the importance of accuracy, ethics, and adaptability in a rapidly evolving media landscape.

Specialized types of news writing form the basis of this second-year Journalism course. News blogging, editorial writing, opinion writing and column writing are covered, along with editing practice for opinion-based content. Sports, entertainment and business writing also will be introduced. The evolving role of opinion articles in journalism will be explored, along with research for opinion writing, critical thinking and the basics of structuring an argument. Sports, entertainment and business writing will also be introduced.

Pre-requisites:

• JOUR 302

Under faculty and industry supervision, learners are assigned to actual journalistic responsibilities.

Pre-requisites:

• MKTG 260
• JOUR 302
• PHOT 336

Advanced concepts in the creation of public relations material is the focus of the PR Writing and Design course. The writing and the design of PR materials is covered. A PR practitioner should not only know how to write in a PR style but should know how to design these materials using industry standard software.

Pre-requisites:

• MKTG 260

Journalism Projects is the final capstone course in the Journalism program. It brings together elements from all of the basic skill areas taught in the program, and asks students to apply those in a setting that closely simulates a working newsroom environment. Students will hone their skills in all areas of newspaper publishing while allowing the student to explore their particular areas of interest in the journalism industry.

Pre-requisites:

• PROJ 318

Business Law outlines the Canadian legal system in the context of a business environment and empowers students to apply the law and make informed decisions concerning their legal affairs. Emphasis is placed on the construction of the judicial system, the resolution of disputes, tort law, contract law, business structures, and employment law. These legal principles are applied to personal and business scenarios. Upon completion, students will have an understanding of when to seek legal advice.

Equivalents:

• BLAW 2030

Perhaps no component of marketing has undergone the degree of change as advertising. And yet, despite the abrupt and sweeping conversion from analog mediums (print, broadcast and out of home) to digital mediums (social media, websites, mobile and more) the main goal of advertising remains the same as it was nearly 400 years ago. To attract attention. Once a privilege enjoyed by the elite or enormously wealthy brands, the onset of digital communication has made effective advertising, for pennies on the dollar, accessible to everyone from an individual for a fortune 500 company. This course will introduce core concepts in advertising, such as objectives, strategies, on both, the creative and media buy sides of the industry. Advertising theory will be applied using case studies and a term project that will assemble a media buy plan as well as a creative brief. Additionally, learners in this course will be required to earn certification in two Meta online courses: Digital Marketing Associate & Creative Strategy Professional.

Pre-requisites:

• MKTG 260

Equivalents:

• MKTG 4040

In this course, you will develop a practical approach to using digital, social and mobile platforms that achieve business goals. Current applications and tools, community management practices and legal/privacy issues related to digital marketing tactics will be examined. Teams will develop a digital plan that specifies the use of email, websites, SEO, social media and mobile marketing, all with the goal of targeting and delivering effective communication to digital media-savvy audiences. An emphasis is placed on the return on digital marketing investment and on building relationships that lead to a culture of trust.

Equivalents:

• MKTG 1265

Building and Managing Brands explores the intangibles, such as corporate culture, as well as the tangibles, such as product differentiation, which help attain and maintain brand equity in the market. Rapidly emerging business trends, such as corporate social responsibility, are also featured, which help shed light on what companies are doing to separate their brand from competitors. Students will produce a brand book and plan to manage a brand.

Pre-requisites:

• MKTG 260

Equivalents:

• MKTG 2306

Business Development is defined as the creation of long-term value for an organization from customers, markets, and relationships. This course will look at the relationship between traditional transactional sales, relationship selling and the evolution of the Business Development function. Market scanning and analysis, and the identification of potential growth markets, and key customers will be examined. Relationship, customer-centred selling techniques will be developed including relationship building, needs analysis, along with after sales customer care. Managing a sales force is explored including the effective organization of a sales department, forecasting and analyzing sales, recruiting and training a sales force, evaluating performance, and legal and ethical issues within the sales profession.

Equivalents:

• MKTG 2366

Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) represents the “Promotions” P of the marketing mix. An IMC Proposal includes campaign messages and their translation into each of the elements of the marketing communications mix along with a proposed budget and evaluations for success. In our fast paced marketplace, messages need to be on target and on brand. Integration in business is imperative. Working in teams, each student will experience the planning process for IMC. This course offers the students case analysis, creative development structure, and facilitated problem solving, to develop a unified IMC proposal.

Pre-requisites:

One of:

• MKTG 260
• MKTG 265

Equivalents:

• MKTG 2375

The purpose of this course is to introduce you to fundamental skills in critical thinking. You will develop skills in identifying fallacies, evaluating formal arguments, and diagnosing the appropriate form of argumentation in a variety of areas, including science and morality. Your skills in argumentation will be honed both in evaluating others’ arguments and in making your own.

Equivalents:

• PHIL 1011

The emphasis of this course is for the learner to develop the business skills required to successfully freelance in the editorial, advertising and corporate marketplaces and to develop several portfolios of their work in multiple platforms which will showcase their talents and be used as tools to gain freelance employment.

This cooperative work term course provides the opportunity to apply your classroom learning in a practical workplace setting, as well as gain valuable industry experience. This course is optional.

Pre-requisites:

One of the following sets of pre-requisites, as applicable to your program of study:

Information Technology Services

• CPNT 224, CPRG 217, CPSY 204, CPSY 206, and PHIL 241

Software Development

• CPRG 211, CPRG 250, CPSY 200, CPSY 202, and PHIL 241

Information Systems Security

• ITSC 204, ITSC 205, ITSC 206, ITSC 302, and LAWG 200

New Media Production & Design

• MMDA 225, MMDA 237, MMDA 243, MMDA 244, and MMDA 247

Film and Video Production

• FVDO 250, FVDO 252, FVDO 254, FVDO 256, and FVDO 258

Journalism

• JOUR 251, JOUR 254, JOUR 258, PHOT 256, and PUBL 261

Interactive Design

• CPRG 218, DSGN 221, DSGN 227, MMDA 203, and PMGT 200

Integrated Artificial Intelligence

• ARTI 407, ARTI 408, ARTI 409, DATA 480, and PROJ 407