The Digital Journalism & Public Relations Program at Moorpark College exposes students to the tenets of digital media production, digital media design and data research, social media marketing and strategic public relations engagement. Throughout the courses offered students will have the opportunity to pursue a professional level of digital media training in their selected field, whether it is through the completion of our Digital Public Relations Certificate, our Digital Storytelling Certificate, or by professional publication with our own online daily newspaper, the Moorpark Reporter, students will get the tools they need to prepare for careers as public relations specialists, social media managers, data journalists, investigative reporters, film and video editors, market research analysts, sports and entertainment reporters, broadcast anchors, published authors, and much more. The Digital Media and Public Relations Department offers students a chance at a vibrant and fulfilling career.
Moorpark College Administrators & Department Faculty
| TITLE | NAME | CONTACT |
| Dean of AMC: Arts, Media & Communication | Priscilla Mora | pmora@vcccd.edu, Division Office: AA-101, (805) 553-4121 |
| Department Chair of Communication Studies | Rolland Petrello | RPetrello@vcccd.edu |
| Part-Time Faculty | Michael Hoffman | MHoffman@vcccd.edu |
| Part-Time Faculty | Cyrus Saatsaz | csaatsaz@vcccd.edu |
|
Part-Time Faculty |
Kelsey Stuart | kstuart@vcccd.edu |
| Moorpark Reporter Facilitator | Kelsey Stuart |
The Digital Journalism & Public Relations Associate Degree
Semester 1- CSU Transfer
| COURSES | UNITS | ADVISING NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| ENGL M01A | 4 | |
| CSU GE AREA B4 | 4 | |
| JOUR M01 | 3 | Meets CSU Area D, Major Prep for CSUN |
| CSU GE AREA C1 | 3 | Select any course from CSU GE Area C1: Arts |
| Total Units per Semester | 14 |
Semester 2 - CSU Transfer
| COURSES | UNITS | ADVISING NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| JOUR M02 | 3 | Major Prep for CSUN |
| CSU GE Area C2 | 3 | Recommended - JOUR M05 (CSUN Major Prep) |
| CSU GE Area A3 | 3 | Select any course from CSU GE Area A3: Critical Thinking |
| CSU GE Area D | 3 | Recommended - US 2/3 |
| Elective | 3 | Recommended -JOUR M15 (CSUN Major Prep) *Digital Storytelling Certificate Achieved |
| Total Units per Semester | 15 |
Semester 3 - CSU Transfer
| COURSES | UNITS | ADVISING NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| JOUR M10A | 3 | Major Prep for CSUN |
| JOUR M03 | 3 | Select any course from CSU GE Area B2: Life Science |
| CSU GE Area B2 | 3 | Select any course from CSU GE Area A1: Oral Communication |
| CSU GE Area A1 | 3 | Any CSU transferrable course |
| Elective | 3 | JOUR M14: Digital Public Relations, *Certificate Achievement |
| Total Units per Semester | 15 | CSU Application Due - October 1 - November 30 |
Semester 4 - CSU Transfer
| COURSES | UNITS | ADVISING NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| CSU GE Area B1 | 3 | Select any course from CSU Ge Area B1: Physical Science |
| CSU GE Area B3 | 3 | Select corresponding lab activity from CSU GE Area B3 |
| CSU GE Area D | 3 | Recommended - US-1, Select any course from CSU GE Area U1: History Dev of American Industry & Ideals |
| CSU GE Area E | 3 | Select any course from CSU GE Area E: Lifelong Learning and Self Development |
| CSU GE Area C1/C2 | 3 | Select any course from CSU GE Area C1: Arts or C2: Humanities |
| Elective | 3 | *JOUR M10B: Moorpark Reporter Student Staff Edit (4 units) |
| Total Units per Semester | 16 |
Moorpark College students also attend University's, such as USC, UCLA, CLU, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley and much more.
For a program path to transfer to a UC, see Department Faculty Head for options and degree path recommendations. Schedule an appointment with the Moorpark College Counseling Department, (805) 378-1428.
Student Journalists Get Hands-on Experience
Journalism students enrolled in the Student Staff courses get experience on multiple digital media platforms, including the broadcast-style podcast, radio podcast, reporting and writing for digital publication, social media management, digital public relations training, content marketing, social and culture analytics and much more. Student journalists go out on campus and into their communities to find and report stories for the award winning MoorparkReporter.com.
Journalism Prepares Students for Careers in Digital Media
Alumni from the Moorpark College Journalism program are currently working for major digital news outlets, corporate and non-profit public relations agencies, digital news outlets, web and graphic design companies, content market and social media management organizations, broadcast news stations, and much more.
Moorpark Reporter
The Moorpark College Moorpark Reporter is an award-winning digital publication that allows students the opportunity to publish news stories daily. Coverage ranges from Moorpark College athletic events, performing arts showcases, to investigative journalism and breaking news coverage, students are able to explore the full content of their beat and how its coverage applies to the daily publication.
Students who want to share the camaraderie of working as a team toward a common goal should consider joining the Moorpark Reporter staff. Students in any of three CSU-transferable staff classes enjoy the hands-on experience of working in a newsroom to create journalistic stories in multiple media for publication online and in print. Jour M02, the foundational and transferrable course in reporting and writing, is highly recommended as a co-requisite or pre-requisite for any of the staff classes.
Students also participate in statewide competitions, workshops and conferences.
Journalism M01: Introduction to Digital Mass Communication
CSU/UC transferable, GE credit, IGETC 3 units
In this General Education survey media course, students learn about each medium of mass communication, examining the social, political and cultural aspects of this country’s vast network of media sources.
Journalism M02: Digital Media Reporting & Writing
CSU/UC transferable 3 units
Introduces the fundamental skill sets required for journalists, including digital media reporting, synthesizing and writing Associated Press Style for media across platforms, including online media publications, digital public relations, radio/podcast, and broadcast media. Focuses on developing skills needed to excel as data and investigative journalists through the practice of information gathering, synthesis, organization and critical thinking, with an emphasis on accuracy, balance, ethics and awareness of digital media law. Teaches skills needed to conceive, plan, report, write, and produce digital news and feature stories based on original interviews and research, and coordinate stories with a variety of digital multimedia enhancements. *Required class for all journalism majors.
Journalism M03: Advanced Digital Media Reporting & Writing
CSU/UC transferable 3 units
Emphasizes advanced reporting, writing and critical thinking skills that help prepare students for professional digital media careers. Focuses on coverage of public affairs beats, including in-depth studies of data journalism techniques, investigative reporting strategies and advanced digital storytelling. As well as introductions to digital media platforms such as Google Adwords, Keyword Research, Adobe Web Design platforms, and coding templates. Emphasizes skills needed to conceive, plan, report, write, shoot and present in-depth news and feature stories across multiple media platforms. Strongly focuses on accuracy, balance and ethics. Course completion entails the development of a digital portfolio and seamless alignment of all professional digital media platforms.
Journalism M05: Visual Communication
GE credit; CSU, UC,transferable 3 units
In this General Education survey of the visual media of communication, students explore the meaning and messages behind digital images, icons and and videos used in social, news and other media today.
Journalism M14: Digital Public Relations
GE credit; CSU, UC,transferable 3 units
Introduces the fundamental skill sets required to build a digital public relations strategy that generates leads, creates brand focus, and increases traffic to websites/coordinating publications. Focuses on developing skills needed to manage, implement and measure the success of a digital public relations campaign, and how to present that campaign strategy to stakeholders. Teaches skills to build authority and thought leadership through the media, how to handle negative publicity, and how to write like a professional public relations manager. Evaluates current digital public relations career specializations, including crisis management, entertainment, non-profit, and corporate.
Journalism M05: Social Media
GE credit; CSU, UC,transferable 3 units
Students will be exposed to the inner workings of social media as a form of advertising, marketing, highlighting breaking news, and much more. This course will set students up to be able to communicate as a media member, using social media, with tricks for heightened followers, streaming content and much more.
Journalism M10A: Student Staff Reporting
CSU transferable 3 units
Writers and photographers take the leap from student to staff in this on-the-job training course that helps refine reporting and writing skills under the direction of the faculty adviser and student editors. Students will have the opportunity to become apart of an award-winning team of journalists and editors, as they breakout to cover campus and community news.
Journalism M10B: Student Staff Editing
CSU transferable 3 units
Student editors take charge as they plan each edition of the print and online news media. Editors plan and execute the edition with stories, photos, graphics and videos for all editions. Editors design and layout their pages as well as update web pages.
Journalism M10D: Student Staff Editing II
CSU transferable 3 units
Editors put it all together in this course, learning the nuances of news judgment and webpage design and building with Camayak, using a little Photoshop and Illustrator as they go.
Journalism M15: Digital Storytelling
CSU transferable 3 units
In this hands-on course, students learn the fundamentals behind good video and visual storytelling as well as the techniques for shooting, editing and producing for the media.