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Sports Journalism & Communications

The Sports Journalism and Communications program at the Mayborn School of Journalism prepares you to tell the stories that matter in the world of sports.

DEGREE PLAN REQUIREMENTS
View degree plan requirements for the Bachelor of Arts in Sports Journalism and Communications.
TALK TO AN ADVISOR
Get information on undergraduate programs at the Mayborn School of Journalism by scheduling a prospective advising appointment.

 

Curriculum Overview

Developed in close partnership with industry leaders, the Mayborn School of Journalism's Sports Journalism and Communications program will equip you with specialized skills for careers across the dynamic sports media landscape. Master sports storytelling while developing expertise in reporting, broadcasting, digital content creation and strategic communications for sports organizations. With access to multimedia labs, studios and mentoring from professionally trained faculty, you'll learn to analyze athletic competition, create compelling content for diverse audiences, and examine the ethical dimensions of sports coverage.

Courses You Could Take

A career in sports journalism is exciting, dynamic and critical to the future of the growing sports industry. The Mayborn School of Journalism provides students with the creative and critical-thinking skills to prepare them to work in fields such as sports broadcast, reputation management, athletic reporting and news storytelling.
Sample courses include:
  • Sport-Media Relations: Explore the purpose, processes and careers in sport media relations including history, media convergence, economics, budgets, operations, law and ethics of sport media communication. Survey sport media careers and gain a better understanding of sport media career opportunities.
  • Audio and Video Sports Journalism: Shoot, write, edit, research, and report video and web-based sports content for journalistic outlets. Includes an overview of the business of sports journalism, its crossover with public relations, and the ethics of navigating the two.
  • Sports Journalism: Learn about sports reporting, writing, photojournalism and performance for multi-platform use, including web, broadcast and print. Study column writing, reporting on competition, ethics in sports journalism, sports entertainment, sports business and the impact of sports in society.
  • Crisis Communication: Focus on professional crisis communication, including research, planning, writing, communication, evaluation and analysis skills. Gain an understanding of appropriate responses/work products for nonprofit, corporate, presidential, governmental organization, social media and media reporting communications. Use critical thinking and public relations writing skills, working under pressure to convey targeted messages.
  • Visual News Storytelling: Focus on video storytelling for television, web and emerging platforms. Report, shoot, edit, and write short stories. Explore different styles of visual journalism, including natural sound storytelling and short-format documentary. Gain extensive hands-on experience with camera and editing equipment. Create basic graphics and text. Produce multiple stories, content for student media, television and webcasts.
  • Sports in the Global Marketplace: Examine the global forces impacting sport and recreation in the USA and around the world. Gain a comprehensive view of global sport management and an understanding of cross-cultural influences on sport and recreation. Emphasis will be placed on the application of research and critical thinking as related to key issues in global sport.
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HEAR FROM STUDENTS AND ALUMNI

Hear from current students and alumni of the program.

HANDS-ON LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES IN OUR STUDENT AGENCIES AND STUDENT-MEDIA OUTLETS

The majority of Mayborn students participate in one or more of our student organizations, from agencies to media, all dedicated to specific areas of interest. Collectively, leaders from these groups come together to serve on the Mayborn's Student Council, a governing body that gives students the opportunity to work across disciplines and learn leadership.

THE GREEN SCREEN

The Green Screen is the only UNT Mean Green sports news show. Brought to you by students of the Mayborn School of Journalism from the Chilton Hall DCTV studio. We report on all major UNT sports giving the audience a source for all Mean Green updates.