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© University of Florida - College of Journalism and Communications
University of Florida - College of Journalism and Communications

University of Florida - College of Journalism and Communications

University of Florida - College of Journalism and Communications

Introduction

The College of Journalism and Communications is considered one of the nation’s best. The strength of its programs, faculty, students, and alumni throughout its history has earned the college ongoing recognition as one of the best journalism and communication programs in the United States

Led by Dean Hub Brown, the College developed its reputation for excellence by creating curricula that combine conceptual and theoretical instruction with skills training, so students have the opportunity to apply what they are learning in professional settings.

Professional and practical opportunities are key components of a productive learning experience for students in the journalism and communication fields and contribute to the College’s national rankings. Renowned faculty members in the College provide a balance of academic background and practical experience related to their specialties.

The College offers bachelor’s degrees in advertising, journalism, media production, management, technology, and public relations and enrolls approximately 2,500 undergraduates in these fields. It offers master’s degrees and doctorate degrees in mass communication and enrolls approximately 700 students at the graduate level. The College also offers a range of online master’s degrees taught by renowned faculty and professionals.

The College excels in providing hands-on experience for journalism and telecommunication students — working alongside professionals — in the Innovation News Center and with our seven media properties, including the local PBS, NPR, and ESPN affiliates. Advertising and public relations students get experience working with national and regional clients through The Agency, our strategic communication agency led by professionals and run by students.

Mission

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (CJC) is committed to a diverse and inclusive environment, preeminent scholarship, cross-disciplinary education, superior skills development, and collaboration spanning the science and practice of communication to produce a significant societal impact on a local, state, and global scale.

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Campus Features

Weimer Hall

Weimer Hall is considered one of the finest educational journalism buildings in the nation. Named for Rae Weimer, the first dean of the College, the school moved into the $6.3 million building in 1980 and added the $3.1 million Alvin G. Flanagan Telecommunication Wing in 1990. Additional media properties space was added in 2001, and the Innovation News Center was completed in 2012.

In addition to 20 classrooms and laboratories, Weimer Hall houses the Innovation News Center, four radio stations, two television stations, research facilities, a 250-seat auditorium, and 11 satellite ground stations.

As an acknowledged leader in communication technology, the College has put forth a set of computer requirements requiring that each student have access to a personal computer. In support, the College provides some 300-networked computers equipped with the latest computer hardware and software packages.

Weimer’s well-equipped laboratories and classrooms also provide experience with professional-quality equipment, including television and radio production hardware, reporting and editing terminals, digital still cameras, and computerized graphics equipment.

Division of Media Properties – Radio, Television, and Digital

The College’s Division of Media Properties, located in the Flanagan Wing of Weimer Hall, includes seven broadcast stations, allowing students from throughout the College to gain experience in a competitive broadcast marketplace. More than 300 students work in news, sports, production, management positions, web design, promotions, and advertising for the radio and television stations each semester.

Public broadcasting television station WUFT-TV/DT carries PBS and locally produced programming, including a daily newscast produced by the College’s students. Commercial television station WRUF-TV broadcasts local weather, news, and sports and serves as a training ground for budding meteorologists.

Commercial radio station ESPN 850 AM/95.3 FM (WRUF-AM) is the top sports station in the market, while its FM counterpart Country 103.7 the Gator provides residents across North Central Florida with the market’s only contemporary country radio station.

The National Public Radio affiliate, WUFT-FM 89.1, and its repeater station, WJUF-FM 90.1, provide news, talk, and variety programming from NPR, PRI, and APM, along with local news, weather, and a Spanish language newscast on Saturday mornings. WUFT Classic (89.1 HD2 and 102.7 FM in Gainesville) plays classical music 24/7, and 89.1 HD3 has a top-40 music format.

In addition, the College has a partnership with the University of Florida Athletic Association to work with their professionals to produce high-quality content for Florida Gator venue videos and online distribution.

Innovation News Center

The Innovation News Center is the home of the College’s news, weather, and sports operations. The two-story, 14,000-square-foot space replaced three 1980s-era newsrooms and provided nearly 100 seats for reporters, producers, and editors working together to report the news for the College’s many distribution channels, including WUFT-TV, WUFT-FM 89.1, ESPN 850/95.3 WRUF, Country 103.7 the Gator, WRUF-TV 6, wuft.org and other affiliated websites.

The facility, which opened in the fall of 2012, allows the College’s students to learn to report from multiple platforms. Using the ROPE model – report once publishes everywhere – students work in a real-world environment that prepares them to produce content at any type of media organization.

The INC is organized around a “super desk” where an assignment manager and news managers from web, television, and radio are seated. Directly adjacent are seats for senior producers to manage the coverage on each platform. Three pods of nearly 24 seats each hold journalism and telecommunication students as they report and produce stories. Sprinkled through are breakout rooms for team meetings, television and radio editing rooms, and audio booths. The space also includes a mini-studio (or “live-shot area”) where the College’s students create video content for streaming and for broadcast on WUFT-TV and WRUF-TV.

The second-floor space includes a video editing laboratory, a conference room, and newsroom space for the College’s and ESPN 850/95.3 WRUF sports operations and reporting. All of these spaces overlook the news floor and are connected by two open staircases and bathed in natural light from the clerestory window overhead.

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    Locations

    • Gainesville

      2096 Weimer Hall 1885 Stadium Road, 32611, Gainesville

    Questions