Hello!

On behalf of our faculty, staff and students, welcome to the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at San Jose State University. If dynamic multimedia communications are in your plans for the future, then you're connecting with a west coast leader in contemporary media higher education that can help make your dreams come true!

Today our graduates are working for innovative media outlets around the world. Since its founding in 1936, this School has developed a global reputation for preparing women and men to “learn by doing” and become respected leaders in the fields of advertising, public relations and journalism, including reporting for broadcast, newspapers, magazines and photo-journalism. Students in the JMC School now develop strategic plans and exciting advertising and public relations campaigns for businesses and corporations through our DBH Agency, an in-house marketing communications group. Journalism students, trained across media disciplines, now produce, shoot, write, edit and stream national news feature stories for CNN.com, where they get thousands of global online views.

Undergraduate majors are also required to successfully complete a 240-hour professional media internship, and showcase their critical thinking ideas, creative writing and unique production skills for 21st Century media innovators. Rave reviews usually follow, and many Silicon Valley employers say they prefer to hire JMC School students because they learn, from day one, to prioritize current events knowledge, follow deadlines and observe time-honored media ethics.

History tells us success in media must always be earned, and hard-working individuals can reap huge rewards if they effectively address timely societal needs and public expectations. It was Johannes Gutenberg and his invention of the printing press that enabled people, for the first time on this planet, to share information and connect thoughts and ideas through mass-produced media. Centuries later, Oprah Winfrey would defy critics and capture hearts worldwide by how she told stories and enhanced the powerful reach and influence of television. Today, Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook, his college invention, along with other social media, can immediately populate, by the millions, human rights revolutions anywhere in the world, or simply enable two strangers across the planet to meet and fall in love. Mass communications is dynamic and demanding, fun, personally fulfilling, and sometimes very lucrative and life changing!

Who knows? Yours could be the next great name in media history. Our rich diversity of students, each drawing from their unique cultural and life experiences, could produce the next unique and exciting communications phenomenon! In the JMC School we encourage our students to think big, believe in themselves, stay informed, follow-up on creative ideas, and never stop trying to make a positive difference.

All are welcome here at San Jose State University. Get to know us, stay in touch, and as we tell our graduates, come back and share your achievements with the next generation. This is what we do in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Career hopes and dreams can come true for diligent individuals who prioritize getting a top quality, reality-based, comprehensive education, where the professional faculty care, get to know you, and help you succeed!

Come explore the possibilities with us! Drop in to see me or our faculty during office hours. Don't be shy! Share your career plans, and learn about new opportunities. We're here for you.

Take good care, and all the best!

Prof. Bob Rucker
Interim JMC School Director, Former CNN Correspondent
www.profbob.com