Journalism Department enters post-convergence age

Cypress College Journalism Department operates a post-convergence newsroom. It has been a progressive, new media program since 1999.

• It had one of the very first California community college websites.
• It was among the first California community colelges to use desktop publising on a computer.
• It was the first California community college to send layout files by file transfer protocol to the printer.
• It is still the only California community college that includes a three-camera, green screen video webcast magazine inside its newsroom.
• It was the first California community college to have a webcast radio station.
• It was the first California community college to abandon the fading newspaper for a monthly feature magazine--the only monthly magazine produced by a California communtiy college.

We have moved beyond convergence just as other colleges are trying to adopt convergence.  We no longer have  all students working in traditional media at the same time in the same newsroom. 

In Cypress' web-centric, post-convegence environment, "All students work in all media from anywhere at any time."  Students learn writing, photo, video, and audio, but apply these skills to delivering multi-media news on the web first.  Then the students can produce traditional print and broadcast media later. 

Cypress College Journalism students produce CyChron.Com, a 365/24/7 news website that now sends messages directly to subscribers' cellphones.  On the website appears C-Scope, a webcast video magazine andthe 365/24/7 webcast Cypress College Radio.  Every month, Divergence Magazine is published, featuring investigative journalism and long-form essays of opinion and literary and art reviews. 

Students are free to enroll in the Media Production Journalism classes:  Print Production, Online Production, Broadcast Production, and Visualjournalism.  Or students enrolled in other programs can volunteer.

There's room for everyone at Cypress College to experience every medium, and select the medium of their choice as a career.