Study multimedia journalism in Italy or France

Do you dream about being a foreign correspondent? Would you like to learn "backpack" (multimedia) journalism skills in Europe for college credit?

San Francisco State University and the Institute for Education in International Media (ieiMedia), are co-sponsoring 4-week intensive summer sessions in Italy and France in the summer of 2010.

The programs are open to college students and recent graduates from all schools.

* Urbino, Italy (June 3-July 2, 2010) This picturesque Renaissance hill town is the capital of the Marche region, a beautiful but little-touristed region of Central Italy. The city's impressive Ducal Palace houses one of the most important collections of Renaissance paintings in the world. Students study digital video, photography, blogging and reporting (as well as intercultural communication and Italian language) and produce an online documentary about the town (see last year’s project at http://inurbino.net). Students will live and dine (most meals included) in a University of Urbino dormitory.

* Perpignan, France (June 24-July 23, 2010) Perpignan lies in the Languedoc region of southwestern France, 8 miles west of the Mediterranean Sea and 19 miles north of the Spanish border, within sight of the Pyrenees. The city features a charming, pedestrian-friendly historic quarter; a daily market; and lively night life. Many attractions in France and Spain are only a short train ride away. Students will share studios in a modern apartment-hotel and take French and multimedia classes at the ALFMED language school in the heart of the old city. This program puts a particular emphasis on video storytelling; students will produce an online video gallery about the city.

Students can earn 3 transferable units of upper-division undergraduate credit (JOUR 677 Multimedia Study Abroad) through the San Francisco State University College of Extended Learning.

Program cost: $4,900 plus airfare

Early-bird rate (for students who apply by Jan. 15, 2010): $4,700

For more information about the Urbino program, email UrbinoProject@gmail.com; to learn more about Perpignan, email PerpignanProject@gmail.com. Go to http://inarmagh.net and http://incagli.net to see past ieiMedia student projects.

Applications will be available on the ieiMedia Web site beginning Nov. 1.

Check out Confessions of a Journalism Student

Temple University journalism student Sean Blanda shares some really interesting insights in Confessions of a Journalism Student on his blog. Check it out.

He points out there has been "a flurry of posts directed at students with advice on school" and the future of the industry but that none of these posts are written by students.

Touche.

Is college media behind the times?

Are college newspapers lagging behind their professional counterparts when it comes to new media? Are journalism programs failing to equip graduates with the skills they need to get a job in the industry? Are journalism students sticking to narrow, outdated ideas about the kind of journalist they want to be?

These are some of the questions discussed in a recent article, "New Media Meets Campus Media" published by InsideHigherEd.com. The article reports on a panel discussion held Friday at the annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Washington, DC.

Scheduled speakers for the panel, entitled "Issues and Challenges Facing Campus Media," included Dave Wendelken and Toni B. Mehling of James Madison University; Daniel Reimold of Ohio University; and Bryan Murley of Eastern Illinois University.

Perhaps even more interesting than the article itself -- after all, journalism students and professors have been discussing these issues for years -- are the comments in response to the piece. Journalism educators, students, recent graduates, even a self-described blogomist all weigh in, and several offer interesting insights.

Check it out -- and feel free to add your own two cents, either at InsideHigherEd.com or here.