Through this class students will work as reporters, photographers, editors, and advertising representatives to publish the Altoona Collegiate Review newspaper online, and for circulation throughout campus. Reporters are assigned beats as with a regular newspaper, and are responsible for finding leads and generating stories. Photographers handle both photo assignments from writers and enterprise assignments that they develop on their own. Editors copy-edit stories and design pages. Ad representatives sell advertising to community businesses and/or organizations to support the cost of the publication. This is modeled after working newspapers, and there is a strong emphasis on teamwork. Note: Students are urged to either have already taken COMM 260W or to be enrolled concurrently with this course.
(GH; GS; US; Interdomain)
Mass Media and Society is an overview of the interaction between mass media, society and culture, with particular attention paid to the social influences that shape media messages. The aim of this course is to help students understand the role of mass media in our society. During theThis class has the dual purpose of preparing students for the Communications job market and of providing them with the opportunity to critically examine and articulate their understandings of the effects of media on society. In addition students are challenged to examine the ethical responsibilities they have as media practitioners. Besides readings, papers, and discussions, students work on portfolios and resumes to prepare for the job market and/or do research projects and plan for entrance into graduate school for further study in Communications. Prerequisites: Seventh- or eighth-semester standing and 3 credits of COMM 470. semester, we cover a wide range of topics, including the historical development of the media industries, media technologies, media research, audience reception, economies of mass communication, textual analysis, media and politics, and media and law. Since mass media plays such a crucial role in our society, it is important to understand its influence, how it is produced, and who controls its production, distribution and exhibition in order to improve one’s media literacy skills. By the end of the semester you will have a better understanding of the forces that affect what you read, see and hear everyday. By better understanding the ways in which media work, the hope is that by the end of this semester you are more informed and critical media producers and consumers.
(GA; GH; Interdomain)
The primary goal of this course is to help students gain an understanding of film as a medium, an art form, a business, and a key part of popular culture. Main topics include: learning the formal elements and techniques of film making; the emergence of cinema as an institution and business; the global dominance of Hollywood cinema; the history and development of American film as a business and an art form; analysis of film genres; the study of important forms of world cinema; the study and application of basic theories of film; the introduction of film aesthetics; and alternative approaches to film making. Class activities will focus on readings, film showings, short film clips, short lectures and discussions. The core purpose of the course is to make film viewing a conscious, critical and analytic activity.
(GS)
The course is an introduction to the digital interactive media industries. Students will learn about industry structures, basic economics, business models, work flow, types of enterprises, job descriptions, and opportunities. It examines both the national and global markets. The course will build on the students' personal and social experiences of these media, but it is not a course about playing or designing games or mastering individual applications. No special knowledge or experience in playing video games, using "serious games," or experiencing virtual worlds is required.
Learn basic video production using digital cameras and nonlinear editing software. This course includes camera and lighting basics, shooting techniques, and editing principles. Prerequisite: COMM 150.
This course helps beginning journalists learn how to write a news story, from determining what is news, to figuring out who the sources are, to formulating questions to ask, to putting it all together in a cohesive, understandable fashion aimed at the reader or listener. Students learn proper techniques for print, broadcast and online new outlets and learn the differences between news and feature writing. There is a strong emphasis on spelling, grammar, and Associated Press style (the industry standard). Class discussions and critique sessions of fellow students’ work help students hone their own skills throughout the term. Prerequisite: ENGL 15 or 30 (also COMM 160 for Bellisario/UP pre-majors only).
This course explores the theory and practice of multimedia communications through personal portfolio and multimedia projects. Students will use web authoring and image editing software to create personal web pages as virtual galleries of their written and/or visual work. This course will emphasize the principles of effective multimedia communication and will help students develop professional multimedia skills working as team members on a project for a client. Note: It is strongly recommended that students have a basic knowledge of Macintosh-based systems and a working knowledge of one of the following areas: writing, video, graphic arts production, print production or still photography. We’ll be using several software packages, including Photoshop, Premiere, and Dreamweaver.
This survey course provides students with a foundation for understanding the role and function of public relations and public opinion in American society, business and industry. Students learn how individuals, interest groups, organizations, corporations and politicians monitor and analyze public attitudes, opinions and issues that impact individual citizens, groups, organizations, institutions, and society. Students examine public relations from a historical perspective and study important social campaigns that have laid the groundwork for public relations in the modern era. The course helps students develop an understanding of the history, structure, and functions of public relations, the tools used to carry out public relations, ethics in public relations, and legal framework adhered to by public relations practitioners. Students are also shown why individual as well as institutional credibility is critical to public relations practice. Prerequisite: Third-semester standing.
Studio techniques for the production of audio essays, musical portraits, news, and on-air editorials and radio drama are explored through various writing and control room exercises. Students learn how to make interesting, marketable audio material suitable for both broadcast and non-broadcast markets. This course also covers the aesthetic limitations of each format and the marketing potential in the current broadcast and narrowcast markets. The cultural genesis and brief history of each medium and format provides the context for the producer, as will readings covering the ethical and legal constraints particular to each production medium. Prerequisite: COMM 100.
This course is designed to help students more critically view the role of sport media in American culture. The influence of/relationship between sport media and issues such as race, gender, sexuality (homophobia), nationalism, capitalism/consumerism, violence and civic life will be examined. Issues in relation to journalism ethics and the production of sport media also will be examined. Coursework based around examinations, research papers, and in-class case studies. This course counts for 400-level Theory credit in the COMAL major.
This course is designed to provide students with an overview of the intellectual and practical skills involved with the development of advertising creative work. Students are introduced to research and strategies that lead to creative ideas and are provided with computer software to facilitate the execution of advertising based on their ideas. The course requires students to complete creative projects. Before developing advertising, students will be expected to research the product, service or idea that constitutes the creative project. They will gain an understanding of the kinds of information most valuable to creative professionals and be provided with an overview of research strategies leading to the discovery of such information. By semester's end, each student will be expected to submit a final portfolio that demonstrates proficiency in the subject matter covered by the course. Prerequisite: COMM 320. This course counts for 400-level Application credit in the COMAL major.
This course is unique to Penn State Altoona's Communications program, and is intended for COMAL students who have completed the majority of their other major coursework. COMM 470B is a practicum class, emphasizing television news package production for periodic campus news programs and for additional media formats. Students will work primarily in video production, but will also reformat some of their work in a secondary media format, either the campus newspaper or the LiveWire online magazine. This course gives students experience in crossing between media forms, an important skill in our convergent media world. It also provides publication opportunities for portfolio and a chance to participate in a cutting-edge media service. Prerequisite: COMM 260W and COMM 242 and at least one 400-level Application course in the COMAL major.
This class has the dual purpose of preparing students for the Communications job market and of providing them with the opportunity to critically examine and articulate their understandings of the effects of media on society. In addition students are challenged to examine the ethical responsibilities they have as media practitioners. Besides readings, papers, and discussions, students work on portfolios and resumes to prepare for the job market and/or do research projects and plan for entrance into graduate school for further study in Communications. Prerequisites: Seventh- or eighth-semester standing and 3 credits of COMM 470.
