The Department of Communication has introduced the journalism and sports media major, a new way for students interested in journalism or sports broadcasting to pursue their academic careers, as of August 2023.
What started out as updating some of the concentrations within the communication major, soon turned into the decision to create a brand new one. According to Chair of the Department of Communication Kyle Holody, the new major will focus on giving students more experience in the field of journalism and sports media.
“Journalism and sports media is basically our way of continuing the high quality journalism we’ve always offered here,” Holody said, “but also making clear that we are training and able to train people to be on TV or behind the camera.”
The new major serves to clear up confusion about the concentrations within the communication major, including misconceptions about the sports communication focus. Holody said approximately 25 students have already joined the major and he expects more to do the same within the next few years.
This lack of clarity is why Kimberly Schumacher, senior lecturer in communication, media and culture, has told many of her students what the sports concentration entails on the first day of class.
“If you want to do sports reporting and anchoring you’re in the wrong concentration because sports communication is not sports journalism,” Schumacher said. “And I give that speech pretty much every class on the first day to try and guide students in the right direction, because a lot of students see the word sports, and they don’t investigate beyond that.”
Sophomore Cayde Williams said this was the case for him as well, and he is planning on changing to the new major soon.
“When I first came to Coastal I was originally a sports communication major because I thought it was going to be tailored around what I want to do, which was play-by-play broadcasting and sports journalism,” Williams said.
Both Holody and Schumacher believe the journalism and sports media major will provide some clarity regarding these issues, especially with plans in place to phase out some of the concentrations within the original communication major.
According to Holody, the new major is designed in a way that is easy for students in the interactive journalism concentration to switch over to. Some students, however, feel it is too late to change to the new major, specifically those who are not first-year students. This was true for Grayson Bray, a junior studying sports communication.
“I’m already a junior and switching to that track would probably mean I would have to take a few extra classes,” Bray said.
