Jul 10
18
The Pitch to UNH – #506de
*This posting is for an assignment for ICM 506de.*
Electronic News Degree Program at the University of New Hampshire:
One Sentence Pitch: – To UNH
If you’re ready to revitalize your journalism department and prepare students for the ever-evolving world of news and media, then it’s time for UNH to take the next step and begin the “Electronic News” degree program.
Elevator Pitch: -To UNH
Looking to revitalize your journalism program?
Want to attract more of today’s tech-savvy students?
Interested in competing with other major universities on a higher level?
Then it’s time for UNH to start an “Electronic News” degree program. This program will dovetail perfectly with UNH’s established Journalism program, but give students a better grasp of broadcasting and new media. With more than a decade of broadcast news experience and a Master’s degree in Interactive Communications, I have the experience and knowledge UNH needs to enter a new era of mass communication.
Promotional Letter
TELEVISION PRODUCER PROPOSES NEW “ELECTRONIC NEWS” DEGREE FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE.
In an exciting new proposal for the University of New Hampshire, news producer and photographer Brett Whitmarsh is laying out plans for a Television & Internet-centered news degree. The degree aims to update and enhance the university’s established print journalism department. UNH has been turning out excellent newspaper & magazine journalists for decades. Now, Whitmarsh says it’s past time for the university to acknowledge the increasing shift in today’s media from print towards television, and, even more so, the web, and prepare their journalism students accordingly. Whitmarsh, who graduated from high school here in Durham, feels UNH would be a great home for this program, and is eager to implement his plan, saying,
“There has never been a more exciting time to be entering journalism. Today’s journalists stand at a crossroads. They can take a back seat to emerging technologies or they can jump on for the ride of lifetime. The University of New Hampshire stands poised to direct the course of new media. By embracing new mediums and applying the standards UNH represents, we can mold future journalists and protect and renew our nation’s greatest right.”
The “Electronic News” degree program would uphold the standards established by UNH’s Journalism degree while incorporating new mediums. Through classes and hands-on fieldwork, students will create a local news source, sharing content online, on-air and on mobile devices. Students will produce content that will be on-demand and streamed online. Content will be delivered through current, and future, media outlets.
Whitmarsh explains, “The mediums through which we deliver content have changed, but the rules of how we produce it stay essentially the same. As technology advances, newsrooms throughout the country are getting smaller. Now is the time to create a journalist who can embrace new technology while still delivering a story that meets the standards set by the likes of Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite.”
The Electronic News degree would have three concentrations: Print & Web, Broadcast Production, and Broadcast Reporting. The program would create a local news outlet for the Seacoast of Maine and New Hampshire. Students of the program would serve as reporters, producers, photographers and editors. All content would be published to the program’s website and then produced in a half-hour broadcast, which would be streamed live online, and aired on a local cable channel.
“Their classroom is the newsroom,” says Whitmarsh. “This program will prepare students for what actual newsrooms will expect of them. Each day students will set out to report on a news story and deliver it to the user through both the web and broadcasting. As soon as their story is done it’s published to the web.”
Whitmarsh is getting his Master’s degree in Interactive Communications and has been producing broadcast news for more than a decade. He says he has seen the decline in quality of television news as newsrooms get smaller. By merging his proposed degree with UNH’s Journalism degree he sees today’s television and media students gaining the journalistic ethics that he feels are being lost, while simultaneously giving print-centered students more technology expertise.
“Through social media, we have amazing ways of connecting with the world. Journalists need to embrace these platforms as tools for gathering and delivering news. We can do this without sacrificing quality. Anyone can write a blog or post video online, but we need to teach today’s students the rules of journalism and broadcasting, so their work is as strong as a New York Times or network news story.”
Not only does UNH need to catch its students up to today’s way of delivering content, it needs to prepare students for tomorrow’s challenges. With the Electronic News degree program, UNH can influence where new media goes next.