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    Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social justice

    Founded in collaboration with Spike Lee ’79, the Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social Justice Program empowers students to use all platforms to deliver a clear and compelling story.

    The Program at a glance

    Your search for truth can uplift all of humanity.

    Department

    The program focuses on innovative storytelling using visual journalism, audience development, arts and entertainment, and data applicable to sports, arts and entertainment, and social justice.

    Learn More
    Earn the Major

    Every journalism major must complete nine courses with a C or better, plus a pass/fail journalism or sports-related internship. There are six mandatory core courses.

    Learn more
    Earn the Minor

    Every Morehouse student can benefit from the journalism minor, regardless of his major. The minor provides a broad foundation in multimedia journalism.

    Learn More

     

    Illuminated by Morehouse:

    Olympic legends Edwin Moses ’78 and John Carlos (who shook the world by raising a fist on the victory podium) discuss their history making influence as well as Simone Biles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Simone Manuel, and the state of sports today, including athletic advocacy and rights, mental health, and diversity. Hosted by associate professor Ron Thomas, director of the new Journalism in Sports, Culture, & Social Justice major. Welcome to Illuminated by Morehouse Ep2 : The Olympics: A Look Back & The Path Forward.

    About Journalism, Sports, Culture, and Social Justice

    • Overview

      Overview

      FOCUS ON INNOVATIVE STORYTELLING USING VISUAL JOURNALISM, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, AND DATA APPLICABLE TO SPORTS, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE.
      Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ’48 once said, “education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”

      While defining the importance of education, Dr. King also could have been writing journalism’s mission statement. Those principles have not changed. However, in the 15 years of Morehouse’s journalism program, the discipline has become a rapidly evolving multimedia environment that has chopped down the past’s print, broadcast, and photographic silos. 

      Founded by famed filmmaker Spike Lee ’79 and the late ESPN sports columnist Ralph Wiley, the Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social Justice addresses the needs of student journalists who are mastering media and technological literacy using creativity and innovation.

    • Outcomes

      left-tabber-default-image

      OUTCOMES

      The following are the learning outcomes of the journalism program:

      • Writing will become clearer, more concise, and better organized
      • Critical thinking, interviewing, and news analysis skills will improve
      • Skilled usage of photography, video, and audio as storytelling tools
      • Real-world exposure to professional journalists through internships, conferences, and covering events
      • Comfort in using social media as reporting tools and contact platforms
      • Awareness of historic and contemporary racial dimensions of sports
      Career Options

      As a minor, the journalism program produced more than 90 students working in media, sports, or related industries. They have taken jobs with newspapers, websites, magazines, television stations, advertising firms, corporate marketing and public relations, and sports journalists and media relations professionals.

      More than 40 of our students have obtained master’s degrees in journalism. Others used their journalism background as a springboard to law school and graduate study in psychology, sports management, fine arts, film study, political science, theology, and other fields.

      Historic Impact

      Journalism’s positive contributions to Black people date back to at least 1827 when Freedom’s Journal was printed as the first Black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States. Journalism’s influence took on new heights during the post-World War II civil rights movement.

      “If it hadn’t been for the media – the print media and television – the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings, a choir without a song,” civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis said in the closing words of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism classic “The Race Beat” by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff.

    • Earn the Major

      Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social Justice

      CURRICULUM

      General Education (Core)
      33-48 hours

      Refer to the general education requirements for more information.

      Journalism Major
      30 hours

      Every journalism major must complete nine courses with a C or better, plus a pass/fail journalism or sports-related internship. There are six mandatory core courses:

      • HJOU 258— Intro to Multimedia Journalism
      • HJOU 368— Advanced News Writing
      • HJOU 388— Multimedia and Visual Storytelling
      • HJOU 410— Internship
      • HCOM 457— Mass Media Law
      • HJOU 490— Journalism Innovation

      To complete the curriculum, each major must take four courses in one of these tracks:

      • Sports Journalism (HJOU 378— Sports Reporting is required plus three electives)
      • Arts and Culture (HJOU 380— Movies, Music and Celebrity Journalism is required plus three electives)
      • Social Justice Journalism (HJOU 350— Social Justice Journalism plus three electives)

      Among the electives, these three apply to all tracks: HJOU 389—Drone Storytelling; HJOU 488—Advanced Multimedia and Visual Storytelling; PHI 202 or 302— Critical Thinking or Philosophical Ethics.

    • Earn the Minor

      Minor in Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social Justice

      CURRICULUM

      Every Morehouse student can benefit from the journalism minor, regardless of his major. The minor provides a broad foundation in multimedia journalism. Even if a student doesn’t want to become a journalist, his writing will become clearer, more concise, and better organized. Those are valuable assets in the professional world, whether writing a legal brief, an enlightening sermon, a compelling marketing brochure, a dramatic ending to an NBA Finals game, or a critical grant proposal for STEM research.

      Outcomes

      Through our courses, the student will benefit in the following ways:

      • Learn to write with fewer words that make a bigger impact on readers
      • Critical thinking, grammar, and punctuation skills will improve
      • Introduction to multimedia platforms and technology
      • Improved communications skills applicable to any profession

      The five core courses focus on reporting, interviewing, journalism ethics, online writing, and social media, and using photography and videography as storytelling tools.

      CORE REQUIREMENTS
      15 HOURS

      Every journalism minor must complete five courses with a C or better, plus a pass/fail journalism or sports-related internship. There are five mandatory core courses:

      • HJOU 258— Intro to Multimedia Journalism
      • HJOU 368— Advanced News Writing
      • HJOU 388— Multimedia and Visual Storytelling
      • HJOU 410— Internship
      • PHI 202 or 302— Critical Thinking or Philosophical Ethics
      APPROVED ELECTIVES
      THREE HOURS

      Choose one course from the list below:

      • HJOU 378— Sports Reporting
      • HJOU 478— The Power of Black Activist Athletes
      • HCTM 258— Survey African American Cinema
      • PSY 340— Black Men, Black Boys, and Psychology of Modern Media
      • HCOM 457— Mass Media Law
      • KSP 464— Special Topics in Kinesiology: Sports Analytics

    Overview

    FOCUS ON INNOVATIVE STORYTELLING USING VISUAL JOURNALISM, AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, AND DATA APPLICABLE TO SPORTS, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE.
    Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ’48 once said, “education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.”

    While defining the importance of education, Dr. King also could have been writing journalism’s mission statement. Those principles have not changed. However, in the 15 years of Morehouse’s journalism program, the discipline has become a rapidly evolving multimedia environment that has chopped down the past’s print, broadcast, and photographic silos. 

    Founded by famed filmmaker Spike Lee ’79 and the late ESPN sports columnist Ralph Wiley, the Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social Justice addresses the needs of student journalists who are mastering media and technological literacy using creativity and innovation.

    left-tabber-default-image

    OUTCOMES

    The following are the learning outcomes of the journalism program:

    • Writing will become clearer, more concise, and better organized
    • Critical thinking, interviewing, and news analysis skills will improve
    • Skilled usage of photography, video, and audio as storytelling tools
    • Real-world exposure to professional journalists through internships, conferences, and covering events
    • Comfort in using social media as reporting tools and contact platforms
    • Awareness of historic and contemporary racial dimensions of sports
    Career Options

    As a minor, the journalism program produced more than 90 students working in media, sports, or related industries. They have taken jobs with newspapers, websites, magazines, television stations, advertising firms, corporate marketing and public relations, and sports journalists and media relations professionals.

    More than 40 of our students have obtained master’s degrees in journalism. Others used their journalism background as a springboard to law school and graduate study in psychology, sports management, fine arts, film study, political science, theology, and other fields.

    Historic Impact

    Journalism’s positive contributions to Black people date back to at least 1827 when Freedom’s Journal was printed as the first Black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States. Journalism’s influence took on new heights during the post-World War II civil rights movement.

    “If it hadn’t been for the media – the print media and television – the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings, a choir without a song,” civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis said in the closing words of the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism classic “The Race Beat” by Gene Roberts and Hank Klibanoff.

    Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social Justice

    CURRICULUM

    General Education (Core)
    33-48 hours

    Refer to the general education requirements for more information.

    Journalism Major
    30 hours

    Every journalism major must complete nine courses with a C or better, plus a pass/fail journalism or sports-related internship. There are six mandatory core courses:

    • HJOU 258— Intro to Multimedia Journalism
    • HJOU 368— Advanced News Writing
    • HJOU 388— Multimedia and Visual Storytelling
    • HJOU 410— Internship
    • HCOM 457— Mass Media Law
    • HJOU 490— Journalism Innovation

    To complete the curriculum, each major must take four courses in one of these tracks:

    • Sports Journalism (HJOU 378— Sports Reporting is required plus three electives)
    • Arts and Culture (HJOU 380— Movies, Music and Celebrity Journalism is required plus three electives)
    • Social Justice Journalism (HJOU 350— Social Justice Journalism plus three electives)

    Among the electives, these three apply to all tracks: HJOU 389—Drone Storytelling; HJOU 488—Advanced Multimedia and Visual Storytelling; PHI 202 or 302— Critical Thinking or Philosophical Ethics.

    Minor in Journalism in Sports, Culture, and Social Justice

    CURRICULUM

    Every Morehouse student can benefit from the journalism minor, regardless of his major. The minor provides a broad foundation in multimedia journalism. Even if a student doesn’t want to become a journalist, his writing will become clearer, more concise, and better organized. Those are valuable assets in the professional world, whether writing a legal brief, an enlightening sermon, a compelling marketing brochure, a dramatic ending to an NBA Finals game, or a critical grant proposal for STEM research.

    Outcomes

    Through our courses, the student will benefit in the following ways:

    • Learn to write with fewer words that make a bigger impact on readers
    • Critical thinking, grammar, and punctuation skills will improve
    • Introduction to multimedia platforms and technology
    • Improved communications skills applicable to any profession

    The five core courses focus on reporting, interviewing, journalism ethics, online writing, and social media, and using photography and videography as storytelling tools.

    CORE REQUIREMENTS
    15 HOURS

    Every journalism minor must complete five courses with a C or better, plus a pass/fail journalism or sports-related internship. There are five mandatory core courses:

    • HJOU 258— Intro to Multimedia Journalism
    • HJOU 368— Advanced News Writing
    • HJOU 388— Multimedia and Visual Storytelling
    • HJOU 410— Internship
    • PHI 202 or 302— Critical Thinking or Philosophical Ethics
    APPROVED ELECTIVES
    THREE HOURS

    Choose one course from the list below:

    • HJOU 378— Sports Reporting
    • HJOU 478— The Power of Black Activist Athletes
    • HCTM 258— Survey African American Cinema
    • PSY 340— Black Men, Black Boys, and Psychology of Modern Media
    • HCOM 457— Mass Media Law
    • KSP 464— Special Topics in Kinesiology: Sports Analytics

    Featured Video

     

    On Topic: CRT Curriculum Battles and HBCU Bomb Threats Are Discussed by Nicole F. Carr, Adjunct Professor of Social Justice Journalism

    As we navigate the ongoing era of misinformation, adjunct professor of Social Justice Journalism, Nicole Carr speaks about current CRT curriculum battles and HBCU bomb threats to emphasize the ...

     

    Illuminated by Morehouse: Critical Race Theory Is Debunked in a Discussion with Trustee Eddie Glaude, Jr. Dr. Nina Gilbert, Adjunct Professor and Nicole Carr

    Princeton University’s Dr. Eddie Glaude ’89 and Morehouse’s Dr. Nina Gilbert discuss the truth, impact, and recent criticism of critical race theory as well as how we define truth in a media- and ...

     

    Ron Thomas: On Topic – The Great Replacement Theory

    In light of the recent Buffalo shooting tragedy, Buffalo native and director of Morehouse’s Journalism, Sports, Culture and Social Justice Program, Ron Thomas joins On Topic to discuss “The Great ...

    Meet Our Faculty and Staff

    Dr. Ron Thomas, Department Chair
    Craig Brown, Department Coordinator

    Headshot of Mikki K. Harris
    Mikki K. Harris Associate Professor
    Headshot of Ronald
    Ronald "Ron" Thomas Associate Professor NTT