LULA BURKE, News Editor—From cave drawings to cuneiform to cable news, the ability to effectively communicate stories has been essential to the development of society. Now, as spreading ideas across political and ideological boundaries becomes increasingly important, students can declare journalism as their major or minor in addition to the narrative journalism concentration.
Associate Professor of English and Chair of Journalism Jack Shuler worked with English Professor Margot Singer on the narrative journalism concentration, which has been offered to students for over six years. Since then, the two have been working alongside their colleagues to create a more expansive, in-depth option for interested students.
“We had a big group, but Laura Russell and James Weaver were intimately involved in drafting the proposal. After it was drafted it had to be approved by the college’s Academic Affairs Committee before it was voted on by the entire faculty. After it was passed, the program had to be approved by the college’s accrediting organizations,” he said.
“It’s a long, long process, but it exists to make sure that we’re creating a program that will deliver what we say it will. We [owe] a lot to the Mellon “Writing in Place” grant which allowed us to try some things out and find folks on campus who were interested in supporting Journalism.”
Though in the works for years, the calamitous events of 2020—COVID-19, the U.S. presidential election, worldwide Black Lives Matter protests—catapulted student interest in the media. Similarly, the professional journalists of Denison saw a need for an outlet for students interested in public discourse, whether through the means of audio, video, or written narration.
Shuler explained that professors felt a desire “to help students become strong journalists or public writers or storytellers in a world that needs more,” meaning that the major comprises many mediums, though it focuses on “storytelling.”
“The major is officially called “Journalism,” but because many of us teaching in it practice narrative journalism (Mike Croley, Doug Swift, Maggie Messitt, and others), I think narrative, long form storytelling will remain our strength,” he said. “Alan Miller, the editor of the Columbus Dispatch, is also a part of the major so we are also grounded in daily news.”
For example, students interested in National Geographic could take Associate Professor of Geosciences & Environmental Studies Erik Klemetti’s “Science Writing for Everyone” class, whereas students interested in news stations like ESPN could take Assistant Professor of English Mike Croley’s “Sportswriting” class. Overall, those interested in majoring should expect to take 5 core classes, 5 electives and 1 hands-on experience. The minor requires 4 core classes and 2 electives.
The interdisciplinary nature of storytelling means a myriad of opportunities are also open to students. For example, The Reporting Project is a website where the work of students and faculty is showcased, often in partnership with local news outlets like the Newark Advocate.
“For the spring, we’re running our first “Get Off the Hill” classes,” Schuler said. “Students will have the opportunity to work with students from WVU and with editors from 100 Days in Appalachia on a project to document the land that is currently home to The Wilds in Muskingum County.”
In the end, Shuler said he wanted students to know that having a background in journalism is beneficial to all fields of work, and is important in the foundations of democracy.
“I want folks to know that local journalism is cool, actually. It’s how we maintain democratic institutions and lift up issues (the good and the bad) where we live. I want more people to document and tell the stories that are happening in their communities—so many issues and places and communities go under-reported,” he said. “We think that Denison can be a part of supporting some of the important changes that are happening in the world of journalism.”
Interested students can contact Jack Shuler at
[email protected] or any of the Journalism professors found at https://denison.edu/academics/journalism/faculty-staff