Department of Multiplatform Production

Chairperson of the Department: Professor Baruti N. Kopano
Professors: Gregory Adamo, Jared Ball
Associate Professors: Welma Redd
Lecturers: Sheri Booker, Maya Gilmore

The Bachelor of Science in Multiplatform Production recognizes that in the real world, there is less and less compartmentalization in the media. The integration of the media and the proliferation of new technologies require that students learn how to “do it all.” In addition to learning how to create and produce material for traditional broadcast media, students learn how to create and produce material for various digital and Internet-based media, including social media.

In learning how to “do it all” students need strong writing skills in addition to strong technical skills. In their coursework, students will develop text to be used in the audio/video materials they are creating and editing.

As important as classroom instruction is, students need practical, hands-on experiences in as real world a setting as possible. They will get that experience through a School of Global Journalism and Communication faculty-supervised media operation that will include, among other opportunities, BEAR TV (a student-staffed television station) and an online version of the student newspaper, The Spokesman.

Finally, because the world is interconnected in ways never dreamed possible in earlier decades students are exposed to how production media industries operate in other nations. This is important because students may one day work abroad. It is also important because different cultures approach media differently and those differences affect not just the things that are created but the forms that they take. Understanding that is key to understanding how and why the United States is depicted the way it is in various nations.

Goals

The following are the broad educational goals for the major in Multiplatform Production:

to increase the numbers of highly trained production professionals capable of working across multiple platforms; especially from among those who are minorities and urban dwellers,
to provide students with an understanding of the narrative capabilities of the media and the roles of those narratives in communicating information and ideas,
to provide students with global perspectives on the influence of the media in shaping how we perceive other nations and their people and how those nations and their people perceive us,
to provide students with an understanding of ethics and with basic communication law and how they affect choices about how narratives are presented, and
to provide students with hands-on multiplatform production experiences.

Learning Outcomes

The following are the learning outcomes expected for students in the Multiplatform Production major.

Students will be able, under deadline, to craft compelling, accurate and ethical narratives that adhere to styles appropriate to the media for which they are intended.
Students will be able to communicate narratives on multiple platforms, including mobile devices, social media and other new technologies.
Students will be able to demonstrate proficiency in information gathering techniques, including the wide range of digital sources that are available.
Students will be able to demonstrate proficiency in the techniques of recording visual images and audio and to edit that material into multiple formats appropriate to the media for which and the audiences for whom that material is intended.

Programs

Bachelor of Science

Multiplatform Production, B.S.