Open Educational Resources and Journalism

Introduction to Mass Communications (C-ID JOUR 100)

  • Media Studies 101 (Pearson, 2013) in Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)
    This text offers a collaborative effort of media and communication study academics from New England, Australia and the Pacific to outline the origins of mass communication, its theories and relevance in society.
  • Media, Society, Culture and You (Poepsel, 2018) (CC BY)
    Media, Society, Culture and You grew out of an experiment in developing and employing open educational resources (OER) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Professors from various disciplines were encouraged to find or develop texts to replace or supplement course materials. Because the field of mass communication changes so rapidly, the author of this text decided to “go all in” on OER materials and develop, write, and edit the first version of this electronic textbook with plans to update it at least once per year. Chapters are kept relatively short, but links lead down various intellectual paths for curious readers to follow.
  • Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication (University of Minnesota) in Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)
    Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication is adapted from a work produced and distributed under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-NC-SA) in 2010 by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing through the eLearning Support Initiative. The Text offers a full layout of all the mediums of mass media with an in depth chapter on each of the origins of the mediums.

Module 1: Communication & Media

Module 2: Mass Communication, Mass Media & Culture

Module 3: The Theories of Mass Communication

Module 4: The Mediums of Digital Mass Media: Books

Module 5: The Mediums of Digital Mass Media: Newspaper

Module 6: The Mediums of Digital Mass Media: Radio

Module 7: The Mediums of Digital Mass Media: Television and Movies

Module 8: The Mediums of Digital Mass Media: Music

Module 9: Media Convergence to Digital Mass Media

Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication (University of Minnesota) in Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)

Module 10: Understanding Media Literacy

Module 11: Media Controls: Who is in charge?

Module 12: Social Media Marketing

Module 13: Digital Public Relations

Module 14: Patterns in Advertising and Content Marketing

Introduction to Reporting and Newswriting (C-ID JOUR 110)

Writing for Electronic Media (Champagne, 2017) (CC BY-NC-SA)
Brian Champagne wrote a casual but incredibly informative layout for journalists yearning to tackle reporting, interviewing and multimedia in the digital world. He writes that this book does not teach the who, what, when, where, why, and how of reporting; its goal is to teach how to present the journalism already known via electronic media, primarily television. Further he declares, “A reporter who understands her medium knows she must write words to fit her video. In this book it is Rule #1: Write to Video. Write that on your hand, the wall, and your computer monitor. Needlepoint it onto fabric, etch it in metal, and carve it in wood.” It is a perfect addition to any aspiring newsroom.

Module 1: Types of Leads and Story Awareness

Module 2: Interviewing tips, Presentation, and E-mail Etiquette

Module 3:  Introduction to Podcast/Radio Reporting

Multimedia Reporting (C-ID JOUR 120)

Writing for Electronic Media (Champagne, 2017) (CC BY-NC-SA)
Brian Champagne wrote a casual but incredibly informative layout for journalists yearning to tackle reporting, interviewing and multimedia in the digital world. He writes that this book does not teach the who, what, when, where, why, and how of reporting; its goal is to teach how to present the journalism already known via electronic media, primarily television. Further he declares, “A reporter who understands her medium knows she must write words to fit her video. In this book it is Rule #1: Write to Video. Write that on your hand, the wall, and your computer monitor. Needlepoint it onto fabric, etch it in metal, and carve it in wood.” It is a perfect addition to any aspiring newsroom.

Module 1: A Reporter’s Basic Report

Module 2: The Interview

Module 3: The Job

Lower Division Student Media Practicum I (C-ID JOUR 130)

  • Writing for Electronic Media (Champagne, 2017) (CC BY-NC-SA)
    Brian Champagne wrote a casual but incredibly informative layout for journalists yearning to tackle reporting, interviewing and multimedia in the digital world. He writes that this book does not teach the who, what, when, where, why, and how of reporting; its goal is to teach how to present the journalism already known via electronic media, primarily television. Further he declares, “A reporter who understands her medium knows she must write words to fit her video. In this book it is Rule #1: Write to Video. Write that on your hand, the wall, and your computer monitor. Needlepoint it onto fabric, etch it in metal, and carve it in wood.” It is a perfect addition to any aspiring newsroom.
  • Web Literacy for Student Fact Checkers (Caufield, 2021) in Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)
    In this book Caulfield outlines how to fact check a variety of mediums, including Twitter identities, images, and much more. He offers short and informative chapters that help to guide students to primary sources and in depth research.

Module 1: The Staff Reporter

Module 2: A Multimedia Newsroom

Module 3: Finding High Quality Secondary Sources 

Lower Division Student Media Practicum II (C-ID JOUR 131)

  • Writing for Electronic Media (Champagne, 2017) (CC BY-NC-SA)
    Brian Champagne wrote a casual but incredibly informative layout for journalists yearning to tackle reporting, interviewing and multimedia in the digital world. He writes that this book does not teach the who, what, when, where, why, and how of reporting; its goal is to teach how to present the journalism already known via electronic media, primarily television. Further he declares, “A reporter who understands her medium knows she must write words to fit her video. In this book it is Rule #1: Write to Video. Write that on your hand, the wall, and your computer monitor. Needlepoint it onto fabric, etch it in metal, and carve it in wood.” It is a perfect addition to any aspiring newsroom.
  • Web Literacy for Student Fact Checkers (Caufield, 2021) in Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)
    In this book Caulfield outlines how to fact check a variety of mediums, including Twitter identities, images, and much more. He offers short and informative chapters that help to guide students to primary sources and in depth research.  

Module 1: The Student Editor

Module 2: A Multimedia Newsroom

Module 3: Finding High Quality Secondary Sources 

Introduction to Public Relations (C-ID JOUR 150)

Writing for Strategic Communications (Ohio State University) in Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)
This book is authored by Ohio State University lecturer, Jasmine Roberts, who has drafted an incredibly informative and detailed breakdown of the public relations origin, role in society and trends.

Module 1: The Origin of Public Relations

Module 2: Models and Approaches to Digital Public Relations

Module 3: Social Media Marketing and Digital Public Relations

Introduction to Photojournalism (C-ID JOUR 160)

  • Writing for Electronic Media (Champagne, 2017) (CC BY-NC-SA)
    Brian Champagne wrote a casual but incredibly informative layout for journalists yearning to tackle reporting, interviewing and multimedia in the digital world. He writes that this book does not teach the who, what, when, where, why, and how of reporting; its goal is to teach how to present the journalism already known via electronic media, primarily television. Further he declares, “A reporter who understands her medium knows she must write words to fit her video. In this book it is Rule #1: Write to Video. Write that on your hand, the wall, and your computer monitor. Needlepoint it onto fabric, etch it in metal, and carve it in wood.” It is a perfect addition to any aspiring newsroom.
  • Media, Society, Culture and You (Poepsel, 2018) (CC BY)
    Media, Society, Culture and You grew out of an experiment in developing and employing open educational resources (OER) at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Professors from various disciplines were encouraged to find or develop texts to replace or supplement course materials. Because the field of mass communication changes so rapidly, the author of this text decided to “go all in” on OER materials and develop, write, and edit the first version of this electronic textbook with plans to update it at least once per year. Chapters are kept relatively short, but links lead down various intellectual paths for curious readers to follow.
  • Writing for Strategic Communications (Ohio State University) in Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)
    This book is authored by Ohio State University lecturer, Jasmine Roberts, who has drafted an incredibly informative and detailed breakdown of the public relations origin, role in society and trends.

Module 1: The Ethics of Journalism

Module 2: Newspapers and Digital News

Module 3: Working with Photographers

Introduction to Visual Communications (C-ID JOUR 170)

Media Studies 101(Pearson, 2013) in Pressbooks (CC BY-NC-SA)
This text offers a collaborative effort of media and communication study academics from New England, Australia and the Pacific to outline the origins of mass communication, its theories and relevance in society.

Module 1: Who is the Public?

Module 2: Audience and Audience Research

Module 3: Impressions

Intermediate Reporting/News Writing (C-ID JOUR 210)

Module 1: The Digital Journalist

Module 2: A Recent Study  

Module 3: Fact Check