Print Media Stream

Education and training in the ACJ’s Print Media stream are designed to turn incoming students into capable journalists who, by the time they graduate, are ready to perform confidently in any newsroom.

Students begin by learning to read a newspaper in its entirety (not just those sections in which they may have a personal interest), paying close attention to the content, structure, and language of different types of stories. Through lectures, classroom writing, and outside reporting assignments, they are taught to gather news and to report it in the clear, precise English required for newspaper readers.

The curriculum includes instruction in writing leads and stories, editing copy, composing headlines, writing picture captions, cropping photographs, selecting typography, and designing attractive page layouts.

Bringing out the lab paper 'The Word'

Midway through the year, students in the print stream begin to apply their newly acquired knowledge and skills to the publication of a laboratory newspaper, The Word. In this team effort, students rotate editing, reporting, and page-making functions, so that each student gains experience in every aspect of journalistic work. They learn to set and respect tight deadlines, to identify and correct flaws in their own work and that of others, and to meet increasingly rigorous journalistic standards. The ACJ’s laboratory newspaper is critiqued internally and sent to a wide circle of knowledgeable readers for feedback. Students also have the opportunity to publish their articles in major national dailies and magazines.