Overview
Jack Rosenberry, Chair
Douglas Bicket,* Mary Loporcaro, Miri Pardo, Kyle F. Reinson, Jeremy Sarachan, Todd Sodano, Lauren A. Vicker
*On leave, Fall 2013
St. John Fisher College’s Department of Media and Communication (formerly Communication/Journalism) features a hands-on curriculum focused on convergent media that educates students to become communication professionals in a rapidly changing world.
The program combines communication theory with practical experience as students develop an understanding of how media influences society and history, while learning to create professional communications that inform, persuade, and entertain. Students learn how to research and write effectively across various media platforms, how to produce messages using multimedia, and how to prepare and deliver effective oral presentations as preparation for a wide variety of careers.
The department offers two degrees — a bachelor of science in Media Management and a bachelor of arts in Communication/Journalism — and is closely affiliated with the interdisciplinary Digital Cultures and Technologies program.
The Media Management degree program emphasizes traditional and emerging communication skills (writing, online presentation, social media) along with business insights (an understanding of how businesses operate, and the ability to manage and direct projects within an organization). In doing so, it seeks to blend business acumen with a conceptual understanding of media messages and skills necessary to produce those messages, to prepare students for careers that involve media project oversight, direction and management.
This merger of disciplines is underway in public relations, advertising, and marketing. Basic media production skills and a strong understanding of how to use them well are finding ever greater application outside of the traditional genres of media work such as journalism and broadcasting into emerging venues such as corporate communication and integrated marketing communication.
Outside of the classroom, Media and Communication students build their skills with a wide range of extracurricular and co-curricular activities including the Cardinal Courier, our campus newspaper and online news site; Cardinal Television, an on-campus closed-circuit broadcast station that also produces work for Time Warner Educational Access Channel 4; the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA); PRIMA Connections, a student-run marketing communications firm; and Lambda Pi Eta, a national speech communication honor society.
Transfer students are welcome to the department and the program.
The Washington Experience: Fisher Semester in Washington
Media and Communication majors may take advantage of The Washington Experience, a semester in Washington, D.C. Please refer to The Washington Experience for details.