The Media Arts Dept. offers courses in five disciplines: Broadcasting, Cinema,
Journalism, Photography and Public Relations.

These classes have been a presence on campus since Pierce College opened in 1947, but the departmental emphasis has historically been on the weekly newspaper, The Roundup. Several years later, a quarterly magazine, The BULL, was founded. Both publications provided "hands-on" learning for journalism and photography students and were offered as part of the school curriculum.

The "modern" department came into being in the early 1970s when two World War II veterans-turned high school English teachers teamed up with two products from the 1960s, one with a master"s in journalism from Cal Berkeley, the other with his advanced degree from Northwestern University.

What followed was a quarter-century run of unmatched excellence in newspaper and magazine production. During this time, the journalism and photo programs at Pierce received more awards than any other college in the nation.

With the turn of the century came a new phase of journalism often referred to as "convergence" reporting. No longer can students just focus exclusively on writing for print media, photography, or even broadcasting. Today"s communicators " be they journalists, public relations professionals or webmasters " will need to learn how to produce copy and graphics for traditional print, broadcast and online media.

In Fall of 2006, The Roundup went online, followed by The BULL in Spring 2007.

In that vein, the Media Arts Dept. is adapting its curriculum to offer courses in the new media and to insure that all students are cross-trained in all of its aspects.

Founding faculty members Ben Adelson, Mike Cornner, Tom Kramer and Bob Scheibel have retired, but a new generation of teachers, both full-time and adjunct, are implementing the new curriculum. Meet our current faculty on this website and discover the wide variety of offerings in communication...