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Missouri Southern's Department of Communications offers students the opportunity to gain the necessary abilities in planning, preparing and producing programs in the electronic media and/or designing and writing for journalism.
The programs emphasize the technical skills, creativity and demand for understanding target audiences in the mass media, and our activities are numerous!
Can I get "hands-on" experience?
Indeed, you can, and from Day ONE.
In the print media and in broadcasting you are able to operate and use equipment from your first day of classes (and sometimes before, if you want to learn faster), and the equipment is in laboratories which are continually being up-graded. Our facilities compare with those of professional publications and professional stations.
While some institutions require you to be a junior or even a senior before you can touch some equipment, here at Missouri Southern, it's up to you. We'll start you off whenever you want.
With The Chart, Missouri Southern s award-winning newspaper, students become part of the news team from the first day of enrollment in the practicum. The staff functions as actual working members of a weekly newspaper. Editors, writers and photographers write and produce the 12- to 14-page broadsheet newspaper. The newsroom contains some of the area s most up-to-date hardware and software to help prepare students for the professional arena. Students advance quickly through the ranks of The Chart. Editors qualify for Performing Aid Awards and Student Help funding as well as other scholarships designed to encourage students to pursue careers in print journalism.
The Chart primarily focuses on campus news, sports, events, people and issues, but coverage also branches out to community, state, national and international stories. The Chart stations a student editor at the State Capitol each spring during the General Assembly. Many state legislators and college and university presidents read the newspaper for the latest information on Missouri s higher education. Upper-level editors have taken their knowledge and experience around the globe. Past editors traveled to China, Latin America, Germany, France, Japan, Cuba and Russia, and upon their return, have produced award-winning news supplements and magazines.
The Chart consistently remains one of the top non-daily college and university publications in the state and nation. The Missouri College Media Association named The Chart Best in State six times in 11 years: 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2004. Written, edited and produced by students, The Chart is considered a professional publication in terms of the stories it tackles, the attitude of the staff, and the overall quality.
As you can see, The Chart provides the aspiring journalist with a world of opportunity.
Crossroads: The Magazine , another award-winning publication through the department of communications, provides a hands-on learning experience for the journalist who possesses a flair for feature writing or photography. Graphic designers also lend their skills to help produce this full-color, glossy magazine each semester.
Student editors, writers, photographers and designers work together as a team to produce eye-catching and effective story packages for the magazine. Students also connect with print professionals to obtain a high-quality product.
Students are encouraged to complete Newswriting and a semester on The Chart before joining the Crossroads practicum, but many talented individuals have landed staff positions without prior news experience. Like The Chart, students advance through the ranks quickly and gain invaluable leadership skills. Students develop their own story, photo and design ideas. The magazine focuses on people, places and events on campus and in the surrounding areas.
Each summer, Crossroads produces an issue with a global viewpoint, International Crossroads. Two recent issues contained student reporting and photos from Cuba, summer 2003, and Russia, summer 2004. Past issues have included content submitted from universities in Japan and Austria.
Crossroads: The Magazine consistently receives recognition locally, regionally and nationally. Recently, the magazine placed second in the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Awards for Region 7 in 2004. Crossroads was first out of 248 entries for its house ad in 2003. The Associated Collegiate Press presented the award at the national convention in November 2003.
As its tagline suggests, Crossroads: The Magazine always strives to provide something for every reader by asking the question, What s in it for you? If you possess a passion for feature reporting, contact Crossroads to find out what s in it for you, too.
KGCS-TV, the television station at Missouri Southern State University, offers many broadcast opportunities for students. The low-power television station broadcasts on UHF channel 57 in Joplin. It also appears on local cable television systems, including Cable One and Mediacom.
Programming serves the Joplin community as well as MSSU. It includes network programming from the America One network and the Sportsman Network. KGCS is the local television affiliate for St. Louis Cardinal Baseball games. Many local viewers tune into the station for these telecasts. The station produces a variety of local programming, including, community service programs, news programs, sports, entertainment and governmental coverage. These programs are aired during the prime-time hours of the evenings.
Students are able to learn all aspects of television, including production work in the studio and in the field. They also have an opportunity to learn about station management and operations. KGCS prepares students for work in broadcasting and video production through valuable hands-on experience. Students may get involved at KGCS-TV beginning with their freshman year.
KGCS offers students many opportunities to work in television production. Students may work on studio productions as a director, producer, camera operator, graphics operator and audio operator. They may also use field cameras for creating video projects, and use non-linear editing equipment to complete their productions. Students who wish to work on-camera have opportunities to host programs, including news and sports play-by-play.
KGCS has received numerous awards, including national and state-wide awards for student productions. Students are involved in the MSSU chapter of The National Broadcasting Society, providing additional opportunities for recognition of their work and networking within the broadcast field.
88.7KXMS/Fine Arts Radio International , the classical/fine arts radio station at Missouri Southern State University, provides students with paid employment or for-credit work experience within a professional broadcast environment. KXMS is the only all-classical radio station in the Joplin, Missouri, market and is streamed world-wide via the Internet from its homepage, www.kxms.org.
88.7KXMS/Fine Arts Radio International is affiliated with Public Radio International (PRI), WCLV/Seaway Productions, and the WFMT Fine Arts Network. Among its local programming, KXMS offers the biennial Missouri Southern International Piano Competition, recitals, a program of new classical recordings, filmscores/Broadway music, and Missouri Southern Live!, a wide-ranging public affairs show.
Acknowledged worldwide from Tampa, Florida to Sydney, Australia 88.7KXMS/Fine Arts Radio International is reputed as the station associated with the Fine Arts Radio International Awards. Two yearly awards are given by the Klassix Society, the Friends of KXMS: a producer s award for excellence in music education via radio, and a lifetime achievement award honoring the body of work of prominent artists in the fields of radio and music.
Opportunities are available from the first semester of the freshman year through the student's four-years at Southern.
Hands-on experience?
You betcha!
Does Missouri Southern offer internships?
Indeed, Missouri Southern has an outstanding program of internships, and in the Department of Communications, the only limit to the internship experience is the student's imagination and creativity in going out after one!
Students may earn four or eight semester hours of credit. Especially popular is the 8-hour summer internship where the student works 40 hours a week for eight weeks in the place of the internship. That provides valuable, intensive experience.
Students do internships in and around Joplin as well as any place in the world where they seek to do one. Internships can be in any field or any place where the experience is related to the student's field. Some have done internships on newspapers, in radio or television, for magazines, in public relations, and in a host of other areas. There are rules: You must have completed 85 college hours and you must read thoroughly the department's handbook on internship requirements.
We think you'll find the internship program a perfect complement to your educational experience at Missouri Southern!
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3950 East Newman Road, Joplin, MO 64801-1595, Phone: (417)625-9580 - FAX: (417)625-9585
Comments? Questions? Email Linda Perkins