About the News Option

Why go with the News Option?

Students in the News Option study the basics of journalism: information gathering, interviewing, reporting, writing, editing and visual presentation skills. The option focuses on thinking, research, and understanding the diverse society in which we live.

Journalists play an important role in a free and democratic society as they serve a public in need of information about its leaders, political institutions and the culture. A journalist is part watchdog and part entertainer. The job requires guts, instincts and talent. At its highest form, journalism educates and provides information that people need in their everyday lives. Students who graduate with a degree in the news-editorial option spend at least one semester and often two or three semesters working on the department's laboratory newspaper, which may be the most honored college newspaper in the country. By practicing journalism, our students learn to tell the stories that need to be told.

Chico State students in the News Option are trained to:

• Understand and apply the principles and laws of freedom of speech and press, including the right to dissent, to monitor and criticize power, and to assemble and petition for redress of grievances;
• Demonstrate an understanding of the history and role of professionals and institutions in shaping communications;
• Understand concepts and apply theories in the use and presentation of images and information;
• Demonstrate an understanding of professional ethical principles and work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity;
• Think critically, creatively and independently;
• Critically evaluate their own work and that of others for accuracy and fairness, clarity, appropriate style and grammatical correctness.

Career opportunities for graduates in the News Option

The multiplatform storytelling skills we teach our students are needed by newspapers, magazines, websites and nearly every major organization.  While many  traditional newspaper reporting jobs are being replaced by opportunities online, students graduating from the News Option find employment in a wide variety of fields, including:

• News research, reporting and writing
• Editing and publishing
• Media organizations, including broadcast and Web sites
• Entertainment and sports organizations
• Education
• Community newspapers
• Business communications