INTRODUCTION TO SPORTS COMMUNICATION

COMARTS 359

Examines sports media using the frameworks of media and cultural studies. The relationship between sports and popular culture provides an important site for understanding and critiquing the media's relationships to social, cultural, economic, and political structures. Topics for discussion will include sports media industries and technologies; representations of race, class, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, and other identities; and the intersection of sports media cultures with such issues as activism and social change, ethics and morality, gambling and fantasy sports, celebrity athletes, and fandom.

JOURN 651

Exploration of prominent controversies that pervade the realm of sports and engage the activities of sports communication professionals (such as sports journalists, broadcasters, marketers, and public relations specialists). Discuss the issues involved in these controversies and pay special attention to the way they impinge upon professional practices.

JOURN 601

Explores a wide variety of post-undergraduate communication career options available in Journalism. Topics related to job hunting, resume writing, and networking are also covered. Focuses on opportunities and challenges in a wide variety of communication fields, from advertising and public relations to radio, newspapers and TV broadcasting. Guest speakers or panelists will span different sectors (agencies, corporations, nonprofits, higher education, government, etc.).

JOURN 350

Explore various activities related to the promotion domain of sports marketing including marketing research, sports branding, image management, advertising promotion, event promotion, sports sponsorships, and public relations. Examine each of these activities, and focus on the marketing communications associated with each of these activities.

JOURN 450

Core skills and issues of communicating about sports to a mass audience in a changing media landscape, as well as advice and support in starting a sports communication career including access to professionals in the field. Utilizes professional, historical and theoretical perspectives in helping participants gain proficiency in disseminating information about sports-related events and topics for informative and strategic purposes, while developing a sense of the role of sport in contemporary society.