UTEP offers multimedia degree
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To help students prepare for careers in the fast-changing news business, the University of Texas at El Paso will offer a new degree in multimedia journalism.
The program was announced Monday by Sam Donaldson, legendary newsman and graduate of Texas Western College, which is now UTEP.
The program will be part of the university’s Department of Communication.
“UTEP is one of the first universities in the country to provide this kind of training that responds to the changing face of mass media,” said Frank Pérez, department chair. “Feedback from students has been strong and extremely supportive of this initiative.”
Donaldson also met with students who produce the online magazine, Borderzine.com., the capstone project for UTEP journalism majors in the new multimedia curriculum.
Financed through a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Borderzine publishes the work of students around the country in order to groom new Latino journalists and cultivate bilingual, multimedia news reporting.
“Our mission is to showcase the best of student journalism, while helping to prepare the next generation of multimedia news professionals, and getting recruiters to take notice of student talent with an eye to offering them internships and jobs,” said Borderzine director Zita Arocha.
Donaldson will help the students kick off their “What’s Your Border?” campaign and national photo contest. It will feature a series of events and a large art installation that will give students the opportunity to define their geological, cultural, social and personal borders. Submission rules and instructions can be found on the Web site.
Donaldson, former chief White House correspondent and World News Sunday anchor for ABC News, graduated from Texas Western in 1955 and worked as station manager for KFOV-FM in El Paso, now KTEP.
He has been a pioneer of Internet broadcasting and journalism in digital media.
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