Journalism and Mass Communications
- Degree Type Bachelor of Arts
- Department Journalism and Mass Communications
- Academic Division The College
- Offerings Strategic Communication major Journalism major Journalism and Strategic Communications minor
Journalism and communications students benefit from a liberal arts education provided through a professional prism. By offering students the best of both, we teach them to think critically, communicate clearly, and fully recognize the role of news, public relations and other forms of media in a free society.
Journalism and Mass Communications
As the only accredited journalism department in a small, highly selective, nationally ranked liberal arts college, we are committed not only to broadening minds, but also to inculcating habits of honor, careful analysis, reasoned discourse and excellent writing in an increasingly diverse and pluralistic culture. Through our signature Knight Program in Media Ethics, we ensure that students understand the ethical dimensions of the decisions they will make.
The department’s demanding professional courses are taught by faculty with extensive academic and professional experience and achievement in newsrooms and public relations.
Reid Hall, which houses the department, provides students with an up-to-date technological environment that prepares them for working in multimedia communications. The heart and soul of the building is its third floor, home to a newsroom, TV studio and control room. There, students in several classes work together to produce The Rockbridge Report, a newscast and website that are regularly recognized for excellence by professional journalism organizations.
Since 1985, The Rockbridge Report newscast has showcased the work of journalism students who report, write and produce stories about the people who live and work in Lexington, nearby Buena Vista and Rockbridge County.
To make sure students are well grounded in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences, they must take more courses outside the department than within. We offer two professionally oriented majors, Journalism and Strategic Communication, and a minor in Mass Communications.
The Journalism major prepares students to work as reporters, editors and producers of content in multimedia news organizations. Students may specialize their studies in the Business Journalism program, which prepares them to report and write about financial news and the economy.
The Strategic Communication major prepares students to craft messages for corporations, nonprofit organizations or governmental agencies.
The Mass Communications minor provides students in other disciplines with the opportunity to learn about professional values, theory and the practice of media, while honing their information-gathering, analytical and writing skills.
Opportunities
Both Journalism and Strategic Communication majors are required to complete summer internships, opportunities that have taken students from Austin and Boston to Seattle and Shanghai.
Our graduates work as business journalists at Bloomberg News, the Boston Business Journal and The Street.com. They report the news for outlets ranging from The Mercury News in San Jose, Calif., to U.S. News & World Report in Washington, D.C.
They also are running PR and marketing campaigns for clients at the Grey Group, Edelman and Ruder Finn in New York. They devise communications strategies for nonprofit organizations such as a philanthropic foundation in Oklahoma and the Woodberry Forest School in Virginia. And they serve as top executives at firms from coast to coast, from Zillow in Seattle to FleishmanHillard in New York.
They produce TV newscasts for local stations in such cities as Waco, Texas, and in-depth stories for “60 Minutes” in New York. And they anchor local newscasts and national business reports on two of the biggest stages in journalism, in Chicago and New York.
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Malinak will offer personal perspective on covering the Black community in present day Lynchburg, Virginia.
W&L Presents Premiere Screening of ‘The Brownsburg Conversations’
The May 6 screening of the feature-length documentary is free and open to the public.
Behind the Lens
DeLaney Filmmaker-in-Residence Nich Perez invites W&L students into the world of documentary film with two new film projects screening in Stackhouse Theater this spring.
W&L Presents Premiere Screening of ‘KAMAL’S’
The March 25 screening of the feature-length food documentary is free and open to the public.
Graham Frankel Smith ’02: The Speaking Tradition Fosters Connection
The mayor of Mountain Brook, Alabama, reflected on the importance of the Speaking Tradition in creating community in a recent blog.
The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to Speak at W&L
As part of the Mudd Center’s Leadership Lab, Goldberg and W&L’s Eric Deggans will discuss journalism, ethics and leadership in the modern age on March 17.
Bobby Carter to Deliver Institute on Media Ethics Keynote
The host and producer of NPR’s Tiny Desk concerts will discuss how he maintains and grows one of the biggest online hits in NPR’s history.
Meet the Faculty
At W&L, students enjoy small classes and close relationships with professors who educate and nurture.
Mark Coddington
Department Head and Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications
Coddington teaches courses on news writing, digital journalism, social media, and communication theory and research. His research interests include media sociology, online news production, epistemology of news, and journalism as a profession.
Adedayo (Dayo) Abah
Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications
- P: 540-458-8077
- E: abahd@wlu.edu
Abah teaches courses on communications law, news media, crisis communication, and international communication. Her research areas include online anonymous speech, international defamation law, copyright issues, Nollywood in African cinema, women and Nollywood, religion and the media, and immigrant media use.
L. Ady Dewey
Reynolds Visiting Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication
- P: 540-458-4298
- E: adewey@wlu.edu
Toni Locy
Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications
- P: 540-458-8434
- E: locyt@wlu.edu
Locy teaches courses on covering the courts and law, news writing, in-depth reporting, multimedia storytelling design and sports journalism. She was previously a journalist for 25 years, covering primarily the federal court system.
Jared Macary
Assistant Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications
- P: 540-458-8240
- E: jmacary@wlu.edu
Patrick Walters
Associate Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications
- P: 540-458-8865
- E: pwalters@wlu.edu