Media Entrepreneurship

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

A generation ago, students looking to pursue careers in media were likely journalism or broadcasting majors who could aspire to master one platform and work for the same news company for decades. No more. People don't consume news in the ways they once did; the media landscape is changing. There are new challenges -- how to regulate misinformation, how to fund big investigative projects -- but also new opportunities. Digital tools are eliminating ‘start-up' barriers and giving storytellers more control over their fates. Aspiring news writers or producers no longer need to work their way up in a legacy company, hoping to someday catch their big break. You could manage a YouTube channel with thousands of subscribers from your dorm room. Some of you probably already do. But how do you monetize such ventures? How do you turn a side project or a cool idea into a career? In "Media Entrepreneurship," we'll explore how you can combine your passion and skills - skills cultivated as a student of the liberal arts -- to capitalize on media's exciting new frontier. You'll gain the knowledge, tools, and confidence to see "being your own boss" or "launching your own brand" as a realistic career possibility. And it's not just about you. When you hear the word "entrepreneur," you might think of a guy pitching an idea to venture capitalists on Shark Tank. But, at its best, media entrepreneurship is an act of service. It's about building trust, meeting community needs, and expanding whose voices we hear as a society. In this course, you'll practice conceiving of a media project and creating your own startup business plan.