Documetary Production Concentration

Program concentration was removed 12/4/07

Overview

Drake’s Broadcast News and Radio-Television sequences within the School of Journalism and Mass Communication have prepared professional broadcast communications for decades.

Accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), Drake SJMC requires its students to complete three-fourths of their classes outside of the school for a well-rounded education. The documentary concentration serves primarily non-SJMC students who seek practical courses needed to plan, write and produce professional documentary product.

Four tenured faculty members, all with professional broadcasting and academic experience, teach the courses that comprise the documentary concentration.

SJMC maintains professionally equipped digital editing facilities and good-quality field cameras. The school also operates The College Channel, providing programming to Greater Des Moines.

The College Channel has a large appetite for the kind of material students completing the documentary concentration can produce. The faculty maintains excellent contacts with Iowa Public Television, another potential outlet for finished materials.

Required Courses for the Concentration

Students must select an SJMC adviser as soon as possible to assure that they meet the requirements. Five of the six required courses already serve Radio-Television majors. The special capstone course allows students with interests in their disciplines to produce meaningful documentary product.

  • JMC 54 (3 credit hours) News and Reporting Principles
  • JMC 57 (3 credit hours) Broadcasting Methods
  • JMC 100 (3 credit hours) Television Field Production
  • JMC 134 (3 credit hours) Video Planning and Analysis
  • JMC 114 (3 credit hours Advanced Broadcast Production
  • JMC 195 (3 credit hours) Video Documentary Capstone