We don’t believe in making students wait until they’ve taken certain classes before they can be the journalist they want to be. The day you start your career as a journalism student at Ithaca College is the day you start your career as a journalist. As a matter of fact, we’ve even had some students start working for our campus media outlets the summer before they arrive on campus. In-class journalism opportunities like Ithaca Week as well as extracurricular opportunities like WICB News, The Ithacan, and ICTV News offer many chances to hone your journalistic skills as soon as possible.
The Journalism Experience is...
Our Campus Media
Interested in TV, print, radio, and more? Check out our student media!
Student Media: Awards
Our student work during the past year was honored by multiple professional organizations.
State-of-the-Art Equipment & Facilities
From day one, you'll have access to the facilities, equipment, and tools needed to bring your stories to life.
It all starts when you start – on Day One of your journey as a journalism major at Ithaca College.
Why Choose Ithaca College Journalism?
When students are deciding on which college to attend, they often ask, “What can I do during my time there?” Well, as it relates to the journalism program at Ithaca College, the answer is: a lot! The journalism degree balances the traditional journalistic skills with new ways of news gathering, news distribution, and audience engagement. It addresses media history, ethics, economics, media ownership, globalization, public affairs, public policy and cultural diversity. As a journalism major at Ithaca College, you'll learn to research and report stories across all media platforms including digital/mobile, broadcast, and print. Our students get immediate exposure to traditional media outlets as well as insights into the burgeoning areas of independent and entrepreneurial journalism through internships, guest speakers, and the Park Center for Independent Media.
Join our Student-Operated Media
Your Ithaca College journalism experience is more than just classes and class projects. There are many campus media outlets that students of all backgrounds and experience levels can take part in, like The Ithacan, ICTV, WICB/VIC and more. And, in case you’re wondering, YES, you can do more than one... In fact, it's encouraged to do so!
Study Beyond South Hill
Your educational experience is not limited to our scenic South Hill Campus. Ithaca College has campuses in New York City, Los Angeles and London. And that’s just for starters. Every year, more than 500 students participate in our study abroad program. We've had students study in every continent! (Except Antarctica... for now!)
Work with National and Regional News Outlets
Journalism majors, and Park students in general, often participate in off-campus experiential learning opportunities. For the past several years, we’ve had students work with NBC to cover the Summer and Winter Olympics. And if sports aren’t your thing, there are other opportunities! Since 2013, we’ve partnered up with industry news outlets such as CNN, NBC, NPR and PBS to cover major news stories like elections, protests, and anniversaries of some of the more significant events from The Civil Rights Movement - including The March on Washington, Selma, and the assassination of The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Make Your Degree Your Own
A question that many students ask when they’re looking to choose a school and program is, “What can I do with my degree?” Or, in other words, “What’s the return on my investment?” A college education is expensive, and you want to know that you’re getting your money’s worth.
In order for us to answer this question, we would ask you a question. What do you want to do with your degree? Some say they want to go into print media. Others might mention radio or television. Maybe you don’t want to go into traditional journalism outlets at all. Maybe you’re more interested in advertising or public relations? Regardless of your interests, the Journalism Degree at Ithaca College can prepare you for all of these options. In addition to our extracurriculars in radio, print, television, and multimedia, you’ll take a variety of classes to prepare you for all forms of journalism. Some classes include Visual Journalism, Narrative Journalism, Investigative Journalism, Journalism History, and more!
Thanks to our extensive IC alumni network, you can get in contact with many former students working in all sorts of different fields. Check out our alumni list for more information!
IC Grad Kristen Gowdy, '16 was in Pyeongchang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics covering bobsled and skeleton events for the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. She took a break from her reporting duties to remind everyone that, whether in the United States or South Korea, it's always a great day to be a Bomber!
IC Grad Kristen Gowdy, '16 was in Pyeongchang, South Korea for the 2018 Winter Olympics covering bobsled and skeleton events for the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Federation. She took a break from her reporting duties to remind everyone that, whether in the United States or South Korea, it's always a great day to be a Bomber!
And it’s not all about folks who are in front of the camera. Bethany George was part of an Emmy Award winning documentary production team at CNN. Justin Rouzier is a Broadcast Associate at the MLB Network. Nick Fustor is the Community Relations Coordinator for WWE. Eric Sherling is CNN’s Senior Vice President of Washington and Special Events Programming. Kyle Stewart is with NBC News’ Washington Bureau. Dustin Albino is the Digital Content Editor/Reporter at Jayski’s NASCAR Silly Season Site and writes children’s books! Speaking of authors, there’s Jeff Selingo – who’s written two New York Times bestsellers!
Maybe you’re thinking you’d like to pursue a career in radio. We’ve got IC Alums at NPR affiliates throughout the country. Sara McCloskey’s at VPM in Richmond, VA; Callum Borders and Meagan McGinnes are at WBUR in Boston, Hannah Breisinger is at WHQR in Wilmington, NC, and Elma Gonzalez Lima Brandao is at KPBS in San Diego.
We could go on for quite some time regaling you with the names of our alumni and the places where they’re working. We won’t do that. If you’d like to see more, please go to our Alumni Page.
JOURNALISM PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION
James Rada, Professor and Chair
Ithaca College Journalism Department
953 Danby Road, Ithaca, NY 14850