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SJ&B History


A Tradition of Excellence


1924

The first issue of the Talisman, Western's yearbook.

Jan 22,1925

Dr. Henry Hardin Cherry announced the birth of The College Heights Herald.

1962

A second journalism class was added to the English curriculum.

1970

The university created the Office of University Publications and made it responsible for The Herald and Talisman.

1970-71

Journalism emerged from the Department of English into the Department of Mass Communications.

1976

The Board of Regents approved reorganization that separated the  journalism program from the Department of Mass Communications.

1979

The new Department of Journalism received accreditation from the Accrediting Council on Education as a unit and specifically in print journalism and photojournalism.

1986

The majors in advertising and public relations received accreditation.

1992 & 1998

The department was reaccredited for six years.

1999

The Department of Journalism merges with the broadcasting and mass communication programs to form the School of Journalism & Broadcasting

2000

The Commonwealth designated the School as a Program of Distinction.

2003

The School of Journalism & Broadcasting moved into Mass Media & Technology Hall, a $18.5 million new building.

2004

The School, in its new configuration, was re-accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Additionally, the major in public relations was certified by the Association of Public Relations Society of America.

2005

The Pulitzer Prize Award Wall honoring 30 alumni who have been on 22 award winning stories was unveiled.

2009

The School offers the iMedia Certificate Program and adds a new faculty position, the endowed Turner Multimedia Professorship.  

2010

The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism & Mass Communication voted unanimously that the undergraduate program in the School of Journalism & Broadcasting at WKU receive re-accreditation.

2010

The School receives approval for two new programs.  The major in film and the minor in digital advertising is offered for the first time in fall 2010.

2011

The major in public relations is re-certified.  The Public Relations Society of America, through its Educational Affairs Committee, conducts the certification review process for undergraduate public relations programs.

CERTIFICATION IN EDUCATION FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS (CEPR) is a voluntary program of quality-assurance endorsement for studies in public relations at colleges and universities worldwide.

2014

WKU Photojournalism finishes in the top five nationally when it ties for second place overall in the 54th annual Hearst Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition.

The School launches a revised core curriculum for all majors, including SJ&B 101 Understanding Media and SJ&B 102 Media Collaboration.

In fall 2014, the prefixes of AD, PJ, and PR are used to distinguish classes offered in the Advertising, Photojournalism and Public Relations majors, respectively.

2015

In spring 2015, the School begins offering SJ&B 103 Digital Storytelling for all majors.

WKU wins the Hearst Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition for the 22nd time in the past 26 years.

The revised Advertising major is launched in fall 2015 and offers four new IXD classes, including the School's first coding class.

The Mountain Workshops of WKU celebrated its 40th anniversary during its October visit to Frankfort.

 2016                     

SJ&B earns reaccreditation for the fifth time in May from the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC). Majors included were Advertising, Broadcasting, Journalism, Photojournalism and Public Relations.

With a first-place finish in the Intercollegiate Multimedia Competition and a second-place finish in the Intercollegiate Photojournalism Competition, SJ&B places third overall in 2016 Hearst Journalism Awards Program.

WKU student Brittany Greeson also was named the national photojournalism champion in the 2016 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. WKU students have won 15 Hearst individual national championships since 1985.

The first Fleischaker/Greene Award for Courageous International Reporting was given to Colombian journalist Jineth Bedoya Lima in October.

ACEJMC Logo

 

The School of Media & Communication at WKU is ACEJMC accredited for majors in Broadcasting, Journalism and Photojournalism.

 


 


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 Last Modified 9/23/19