We believe students learn by doing. That's why so many of our courses offer the opportunity to imagine, develop, and disseminate major reporting projects.
Projects
Session 11: Coverage of the 2011 Montana Legislative Session
Two students are in Helena covering the Legislature for community radio stations and newspapers. A broadcast student produces daily radio reports for about 50 community stations, thanks to funding from the Greater Montana Foundation, while the J-School, in collaboration with the Montana Newspaper Association, also sponsors a graduate student to cover the session. Those stories run in about 40 small daily and weekly newspapers.
Native News
This spring semester honors course for seniors and graduate students has won national accolades for its yearly "tab" newspaper section. Teams of print and photojournalism students work together, focusing on a Native American issue such as education, sovereignty, race or health. The resulting section runs in Montana newspapers, and the multimedia reports are on the internet. The 2011 report to Montana residents was called Native Lands, Natural Resources.
Montana Journalism Review
Students who work on the annual Montana Journalism Review learn how to edit and publish a magazine, from the idea stage to the print run. MJR is the nation's first journalism review. Our MJR class is offered every spring semester.
The Footbridge Forum
Students working on The Footbridge Forum produce a series of live, call-in radio shows to deliberate on a problem affecting the university and the greater community. Students research, report, host and direct the program which features a panel of citizens working through the issue. Over the course of three programs the panel is charged with defining the problem, exploring the current landscape surrounding the issue and finally suggesting avenues of change. The topic for spring 2012 is sexual assault in the series called "Without Consent."