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Office of the University Registrar

2005-06 Undergraduate Catalog

Course Descriptions

College of Journalism and Communications

Students who have not been admitted to the College of Journalism and Communications must have a 3.0 overall grade point average to enroll in any courses other than the RTV 2100, RTV 3000, RTV 3234, RTV 3405 and RTV 4420.

Entry into the broadcast news sequence is limited to students in the Department of Telecommunication who have placed in a competitive entrance exam. Contact the department office to determine when the exam is given.

RTV 2100 Writing for Electronic Media
Credits: 3; Prereq: 6 hours of English composition, sophomore standing or above, ability to type 20 words per minute.
A preprofessional course designed to provide fundamental instruction and practice in writing for the electronic media.

RTV 3000 Introduction to Telecommunication
Credits: 3.
An introduction to the cultural, social, legal, business and career aspects of the electronic media.

RTV 3101 Advanced Writing for Electronic Media
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 2100 and RTV 3000 and sophomore, junior or senior standing in JM/TEL.
Study and practice of electronic media writing, including commercials, corporate communication, documentaries, drama and adaptations. (WR)

RTV 3200 Fundamentals of Production
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 2100 and RTV 3000 and junior standing in telecommunication, or permission of instructor.
Basic principles and operations of radio and television equipment for utilization in industry and commercial and educational radio television stations. Students are required to purchase an IBM formatted 2.p disk.

RTV 3234 Performance in Telecommunication
Credits: 3.
Development of basic radio and television announcing skills.

RTV 3283 Writing and Reporting for Interactive Media
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 3303.
Basic preparation and repurposing of audio, visual, and text materials to present news stories in an interactive, on-line environment.

RTV 3284 Advanced Reporting for Interactive Media
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 3303.
Gathering and preparation of materials for online news program. Requires 8 hours per week in online newsroom.

RTV 3303 Electronic News Writing & Reporting 1
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 2100 and RTV 3000; sophomore, junior or senior standing in JM/TEL NWS and selection by Competitive News Sequence Entrance exam.
Basic writing, reporting and production of radio news stories and newscasts. Students must purchase approved recorder for class. Six hours to arrange.

RTV 3304 Advanced Radio Reporting
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 3303.
Advanced reporting, writing and production of radio news stories and newscasts against deadlines. Radio news lab is required.

RTV 3305 Investigative Reporting for Broadcast Journalists
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 2100, RTV 3000 and junior or senior standing in JM/TEL NWS.
Principles of investigative reporting as applied to television and radio news.

RTV 3320 Electronic Field Production
Credits: 3; Prereq: RTV 3101, RTV 3200 and junior or senior standing in JM/TEL.
Advanced electronic field production and editing theory and practice.

RTV 3405 Television and American Society
Credits: 3.
Enables the non-telecommunication major to use television productively and to understand its structure and effects. Research findings concerning audience behavior and criteria for evaluating television programs will be discussed. (S)

RTV 4301 Electronic News and Reporting 2
Credits: 3; Prereq: RTV 3303 junior or senior standing in JM/TEL NWS.
Basic writing, reporting and production of television news stories and newscasts. Students must purchase two approved video cassettes for class.

RTV 4302 Advanced TV Reporting
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 4301.
News reporting, videography, writing and editing for television newscasts on deadline. One day-long lab in television newsroom required. Purchase of additional approved video cassettes may be required.

RTV 4340 Special News Projects
Credits: 3; Prereq: RTV 3403
Supervised assignment as line or field producer for radio, TV, or online news program or series. Requires eight hours per week in newsroom.

RTV 4420 New Media Systems
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 3000 and junior standing, or permission of instructor.
New electronic media systems of mass communication; cable television and satellite communication.

RTV 4500 Telecommunication Programming
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 3000.
Audience, economic and placement considerations in scheduling programs for broadcast radio, television and cable television, and other electronic media of mass communication. This course must be completed before enrolling in RTV 4800.

RTV 4506 Telecommunication Research
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 3000 and a computer science course.
Survey of various techniques in telecommunication research. Strategies of analysis of audience attitudes and characteristics, and ascertainment of community needs. Emphasis on survey research, sampling techniques and interpretation of market and ratings data.

RTV 4700 Telecommunication Law and Regulation
Credits: 3.
Legal structure and regulation of telecommunications industries. First Amendment and regulatory constructs of broadcast, cable satellite and the Internet. Defamation libel and copyright law.

RTV 4800 Telecommunication Planning and Operations
Credits: 3; Prereq: RTV 4500 and RTV 4506.
Organization and administration of the local telecommunication outlet. Personnel supervision, financial control, regulatory requirements, social responsibilities.

RTV 4905 Individual Projects in Telecommunication
Credits: 1 to 3; Prereq: at least 10 hours of junior- or senior-level telecommunication courses and permission of the department chairperson.
Projects must also have the approval of the Telecommunication faculty. The student and the instructor concerned will choose a problem or project which will give the student experience in telecommunication.

RTV 4929C Senior Advanced Workshop in Telecommunication Production
Credits: 1 to 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 3101, RTV 3200 and RTV 3320 and permission of instructor.
Requires 3 hours per week outside of class assignments for work in assigned production sites. Advanced telecommunication creative concepts. Sophisticated, complex uses of audio and video to design and construct programming and programming elements. Topics vary and may focus on (but are not limited to) areas such as concept development and script writing, computer-assisted program research, unit management, producing, directing, high-level video studio production, audio program creation, sports production, advanced single-camera techniques, documentary and long-form nonfiction production, non-broadcast video, educational and corporate television, audio/video production for the World Wide Web, post-production and editing graphics and special effects, CD ROM and multi-media production. Enrollment may be repeated as topics change and college curricular requirements allow.

RTV 4930 Special Study in Telecommunication
Credits: 1 to 3; can be repeated once for a total of 6 credits. Prereq: permission of the instructor.
Variable content, providing opportunity for study in areas of broadcasting such as television staging and lighting. Film criticism, communication theory and other fields.

RTV 4931 Ethics and Problems in Telecommunication
Credits: 3; Prereq: graduating term in telecommunication.
Investigation and discussion of social problems, ethics, and responsibilities in telecommunication.

RTV 4940 Telecommunication Internship
Credits: 1 to 3††; can be repeated with change in content up to 3 credits. Prereq: must have completed appropriate professional courses for the internship, a 2.5 GPA and department for credit.
Student and instructor will select an appropriate work area related to the field of broadcasting for on-the-job training. Student will work a minimum of 100 hours on the job for every hour of credit to be received. Progress reports and summary required.

RTV 4946 Professional Development in Telecommunication
Credits: 1; Prereq: senior standing.
Captson course in which students' preparation of r entering the telecommunication professions is evaluated by faculty and professionals.

RTV 4273 Electronic News Producing and Management
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 3303.
Basic techniques and experiences in live and field producing for radio, television, and on line news programs. Requires 8 hours per week in newsroom.

RTV 4274 Special News Projects
Credits: 3; Prereq: a grade of C in RTV 3303.
Supervised assignment as live or field producer for radio, television, or online news program, multipart or extended news stories, or other news projects. Requires 8 hours per week in newsroom. May be repeated once.



General Education Categories

  • Composition (C)
  • Mathematical Sciences (M)
  • Humanities (H)
  • Social and Behavioral Sciences (S)
  • Physical (P) and Biological (B) Sciences
  • International and Diversity focus (I)

Symbols Used in Course Descriptions

  • (WR) indicates the course satisfies the writing requirement.
    The Schedule of Courses lists the amount of writing credit per course section.
  • (MR) indicates the course satisfies the math requirement.
  • †† indicates the course may be taken on an S-U basis.