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California State University, Chico

Tehama Group Communications

Octagon logo for Tehama Group Communications

Tehama Group Communications is Chico State’s student-managed public relations agency. Founded in fall 1990, TGC offers students with an intensive hands-on experience working with paying clients in an agency setting. This kind of valuable experience is increasingly important in today's highly competitive job market.

TGC operates like a professional agency — and in doing so strives to give its members experience in various public relations functions. This experience is gained by:

  • Functioning as a member of an agency: participating in agency and client meetings, following office policies and procedures, and working in both one-on-one and collaborative efforts.
  • Taking responsibility for an account: analyzing its needs, managing its direction, seeing it through from planning to implementation stages, working under the pressure of deadlines and balancing all of this with other academic obligations.

TGC staff typically major in public relations, news, graphic design and media arts. They are selected through a highly competitive application process to serve clients with a wide range of communication needs including:

  • Strategic communications planning
  • Brand development
  • Creation of websites, brochures, multimedia newsletters, videos and other organizational media
  • Social media program development and training
  • Special event development, execution and evaluation
  • Outreach to important publics such as news media, employees or volunteers

Want to be part of TGC?

Contact TGC adviser and department chair Janell Bauer at jcbauer@csuchico.edu.

TGC FAQs

Tehama Group Communications is fast-paced. All agency members are working on multiple accounts and projects at any given time. One morning you may be writing code for a client website, helping orchestrate a photo shoot in the afternoon, then conducting interviews that evening for a feature story you're crafting for a client newsletter. The purpose of TGC is to give students the chance to have a hands-on, client-driven agency experience prior to entering the job market.

Tehama Group Communications teaches agency members to be:

  • Multitaskers
  • Detail-oriented
  • Fast-paced workers
  • Excellent communicators
  • Team players
  • Efficient and motivated

The agency looks for an array of personalities and work styles each semester. If you feel that Tehama Group Communications would be the perfect fit for you, please check out our website.

Agency members are all students and the creative minds behind TGC. The management team consists of a general manager and various directors who work together to ensure the success of the agency. The adviser is in charge of approving published work and assisting agency members with any questions. 

Tehama Group Communications, JOUR 445-02. is offered to majors and non-majors for course credit. An internship is required for journalism and PR students, and TGC fulfills that requirement.

Most positions at TGC require JOUR 244, 260 and JOUR 341 as prerequisites, and most students in TGC are juniors and seniors. These prerequisites only apply to journalism and PR students.

For graphic designers, it's important that you pass Portfolio Review before applying to TGC. 

The application period begins at the end of each semester. Email TGC adviser Janell Bauer at jcbauer@csuchico.edu for information regarding the TGC application and process.

Tehama Group Communications, JOUR 445-02. is offered to majors and non-majors for course credit. An internship is required for journalism and PR students, and TGC fulfills that requirement.

Most positions at TGC require JOUR 244, 260 and JOUR 341 as prerequisites, and most students in TGC are juniors and seniors. These prerequisites only apply to journalism and PR students.

For graphic designers, it's important that you pass Portfolio Review before applying to TGC. 

The application period begins at the end of each semester. Email TGC adviser Janell Bauer at jcbauer@csuchico.edu for information regarding the TGC application and process.

Agency members are chosen by the general manager and the adviser. After reviewing the application, interviews take place and roughly 20-25 students are chosen each semester. TGC is highly competitive and typically has more applicants than positions available. Students are always invited to reapply the following semester if they are not accepted.

During the application process, each student is required to provide sample work that connects to the positions applied for. Want to be a graphic designer? Then you need to provide a range of design samples.  Photographers and videographers provide those samples to showcase their visual communication skills. Most PR and news majors are asked to provide writing samples and to complete an editing test. 

Agency members have the ability to write stories, conduct interviews, design logos and publications, create websites, form public relations campaigns and manage social media, all depending on the position you hold and accounts you are assigned.

Each semester Tehama Group Communications works with different clients, some in our local area while others may be at the other end of the state. Some are nonprofits, while others are for-profit. Clients come to TGC with various communication needs and the agency members work in teams to provide them with the best possible service.

Most students spend about 15 hours per week on TGC work. Some weeks it may be less. Other weeks it may be more.

Journalism majors may receive academic credit toward the degree for two semesters (a total of 4 units). Non-majors typically follow the internship guidelines established by their departments.