The program was approved Wednesday, Feb. 27, by the New York
State Education Department.
Students enrolled in the Broadcast Journalism major will
learn communications fundamentals through the core Jandoli School of
Communication curriculum, and then focus on broadcast news-related classes. The
combined course of study will prepare them for communication careers in a
variety of fields specializing in video and audio media.
“The Jandoli School faculty seeks to boldly equip our young
broadcast journalists with a 21st century education in ethical, visual and
urgent digital communication,” said Aaron Chimbel, dean of the school. “The
faculty felt the broadcast journalism major reflected a lot of the great work
our students are already doing in broadcast and video journalism and that the
new major would better highlight this work.”
With a staunch journalism program that was founded 70 years
ago, St. Bonaventure has a large alumni pool who work in broadcast journalism,
including Kerry Byrnes, Class of 1993, a producer for the “Today” show on NBC;
Neal Cavuto, ’80, news anchor, commentator and business journalist for Fox
News; Joe Enoch, ’06, NBC News investigative producer; Charlie Specht, ’10,
chief investigator for 7 Eyewitness News, the ABC affiliate in Buffalo, N.Y.;
and Christy Kern, ’11, news anchor at WIVB-TV, the CBS affiliate in Buffalo.
Chimbel said alumni broadcast journalists were consulted on
the need for the major and the content of the program. “They believe the strong
foundation we offer already is a great asset to students,” said Chimbel.
Hands-on experience has always been a hallmark of the
Jandoli School, where students have for years produced weekly SBU-TV
broadcasts. The school has recently expanded the reach of its broadcasts
throughout the Buffalo-Niagara region through Spectrum TV.
“The Broadcast Journalism program plays off of St.
Bonaventure’s long history of journalism and is the culmination of the
university’s recent investments in updated broadcast technology and faculty,”
said Joseph E. Zimmer, Ph.D., provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
“Our new dean, Aaron Chimbel, also brings his expertise, experience, leadership
and vision to this new initiative.”
Job postings for bachelor’s-level professionals with
broadcast journalism skills increased 57 nationwide and 52 percent regionally
between 2016 and 2018, according to EAB, a best-practices firm in the education
industry.
This is the second new major added to the School of
Communication’s curriculum this year. In early February, a Bachelor of Arts
degree in Sports Media was approved by the state Education Department.
