By Megan Gould | December 21, 2020
(Below is an excerpt from the full article published in The College Today.)
Every journalist knows that conveying the news in both a catchy and informative way is a battle. And now so do the 17 senior communication majors who had to manage this balancing act as part of their senior project for the communication capstone, Explanatory Journalism: Covering the Current Political/Social Landscape the Way It Should Be Covered.
“If you consider yourself a news junkie, you’re into debating political/social/cultural problems and solutions and you wish the news media did a better job covering the news in a way that engaged young Americans,” says communication adjunct faculty member Laurie Lattimore-Volkmann, “this capstone may be for you!”
The capstone provided an accelerated environment for students to learn proper information gathering (reading, researching information and interviewing sources) and how to write and deliver explanatory journalism. Simultaneously, they explored various topics of interest to select a final investigative story idea. Lattimore-Volkmann, known to her students as “Dr. LV,” was impressed with how much these seniors accomplished in a short time.
“Their story ideas proved that this generation of college students really is interested in making sense of their world,” she says. “Their topics represent some really sophisticated thoughts about the world around them and how they fit into it. And that is really the best definition of good journalism.”
One of those students, senior Fern Wooden, chose a topic with personal stake: the foster care system in South Carolina… Read the full article at The College Today.