The Journalism Experience is...

It all starts when you start – on Day One of your journey as a journalism major at Ithaca College.

You see, we don’t believe in making students wait until they’ve taken certain classes, or reached a certain class level, before they can be the journalist they want to be. The day you start your career as a journalism student at Ithaca College is the day you start your career as a journalist. As a matter of fact, we’ve even had some students start working for our campus media outlets the summer before they arrive on campus!

Why Choose Ithaca College Journalism?

When students are looking at colleges, and deciding which one to choose, they often ask, “What can I do during my time there?”  Well, as it relates to the journalism program at Ithaca College – the answer is, “A LOT!” The journalism degree balances the traditional journalistic skills with new ways of news gathering, news distribution, and audience engagement.  It addresses media history, ethics, economics, media ownership, globalization, public affairs, public policy and cultural diversity. As a journalism major at Ithaca College, you'll learn to research and report stories across all media platforms including digital/mobile, broadcast, and print. Our students get immediate exposure to traditional media outlets as well as insights into the burgeoning areas of independent and entrepreneurial journalism through internships, guest speakers, and our own Park Center for Independent Media.

Join our Student-Operated Media

Your Ithaca College journalism experience is more than just classes and class projects, however. Ithaca College doesn’t have traditional Greek organizations like fraternities and sororities. Instead, students rush the various campus media outlets like: The IthacanICTVWICB/VIC and more. And, in case you’re wondering, YES, you can do more than one!

Study Beyond South Hill

Your educational experience is not limited to our scenic South Hill Campus. Ithaca College has campuses in New York City, Los Angeles and London. And that’s just for starters. Every year, more than 500 students participate in our study abroad program.
Read about Professor Adornato and IC students in Urbino, Italy.

Make Your Degree Your Own

Another question that many students ask when they’re looking to choose a school and program is, “what can I do with my degree?” Now, let’s be honest, what a lot of folks are asking is, “what’s the return on my investment?” A college education is expensive, and you want to know that you’re getting your money’s worth.

In order for us to answer this question, we would ask you a question, “what do you want to do with your degree?” Some say they want to go into print media. It’s important to note that there are very few “print-only” media out there. In the digital age, even the most traditional print media are really multimedia. But if you’re thinking that you’d like to get into newspapers, have you heard of The New York Times? Yes, there are IC Journalism Alumni there: Nick Corasaniti, and Isabella Grullon-Paz. And not all of the IC Alumni are on the writing side of the paper – as evidenced by Adam Ellick: Director and Producer of Opinion Video at the New York Times.

What about magazines? Do you know someone who’s a golfer? Ever wonder what to get them for Christmas? Ask Brittany Romano who writes for Golf Digest! Brittany Smith is a Senior Digital Editor at Men’s Journal. is an Engagement Reporter at Reveal News. And then there’s Sierra Guardiola who writes for Hudson Valley Magazine.

Maybe you’re looking to get into TV News. ABC’s top-rated network newscast is anchored by a Park School grad, David Muir. For those of you in Pittsburgh, you might see Tom Garris at WTAE. If you’re in Austin, TX– keep an eye out for Emily Chavez. For folks in Ohio, you can catch two IC Alums: Ciara Lucas in Columbus and Tiarra Braddock in Cleveland. Heading south – Angela Kim is in Chattanooga. A little farther to the south, Mia O’ Brien is covering sports in Jacksonville. Looking to the west, Jaysha Patel is at ABC 7 in Los Angeles.

And it’s not all about folks who are in front of the camera. Bethany George was part of an Emmy Award winning documentary production team at CNN. Justin Rouzier is a Broadcast Associate at the MLB Network. Nick Fustor is the Community Relations Coordinator for WWE. Eric Sherling is CNN’s Senior Vice President of Washington and Special Events Programming. Kyle Stewart is with NBC News’ Washington Bureau. Dustin Albino is the Digital Content Editor/Reporter at Jayski’s NASCAR Silly Season Site and writes children’s books! Speaking of authors, there’s Jeff Selingo – who’s written two New York Times bestsellers!

Maybe you’re thinking you’d like to pursue a career in radio. We’ve got IC Alums at NPR affiliates throughout the country. Sara McCloskey’s at VPM in Richmond, VA; Callum Borders and Meagan McGinnes are at WBUR in Boston, Hannah Breisinger is at WHQR in Wilmington, NC, and Elma Gonzalez Lima Brandao is at KPBS in San Diego.

We could go on for quite some time regaling you with the names of our alumni and the places where they’re working. We won’t do that. If you’d like to see more, please go to our Alumni Page.

JOURNALISM PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION

Tim Mirabito, Chair and Associate Professor
Ithaca College Journalism Department
953 Danby Road, Ithaca, NY 14850