February 21, 2023 by

Choosing a major is really hard. Trying to find one that somehow involves your various interests seems impossible, but Broadcasting, Digital Media, and Journalism gives you all the opportunities and skills you need to succeed in any field of media you choose: radio, television, film, journalism, photography, or even music. 

 

What Is Broadcasting, Digital Media, and Journalism? 

Broadcasting, Digital Media, and Journalism (or BDMJ for short) is one of the majors under the Department of Communication at Cedarville. It encompasses everything from film, radio, and TV to photography, music production, and journalism. As a major, it’s one of the most flexible, varied, and yet surprisingly in-depth majors at Cedarville. The BDMJ plan attempts to give you the widest variety in skills over the whole spectrum of media and entertainment, including audio, video, and writing. Every BDMJ student has to take at least one class from every path but is allowed more specific focuses to hone their skills in a particular area of media. You’ll also get experiences with soft skills needed for any career in media, including organization, planning, leadership, and networking. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to get concrete job experience on and off-campus.  

Part of the major is also choosing three practicum projects to work on. These are semester-long projects that give students full creative reign over a project of their choosing. If you’ve dreamed of producing an album, writing an audio drama, or making a short film, practicums are your chance to get credit and experience for projects you’d enjoy, or areas you would like more experience in. Everything in the BDMJ major is oriented to getting material for your portfolio and allowing you to excel in your own desired field. 

 

What Tracks Are There? 

There are four larger paths that BDMJ majors can take including audio, video, journalism, and integrated. The integrated path is the most unique, as it allows you to customize your degree with classes from each of the branches of the BDMJ major. This gives you the most freedom, but also means that you won’t be able to take all the classes you may want. 

 

Video Track 

The video track – often the most popular – is for all you aspiring filmmakers. In video classes, you’ll learn how to do everything for a film, including writing, planning, filming, editing, and everything in between. You’ll have several opportunities to write, produce, direct, film, and edit your own short films for classes, all with amateur and professional grade gear available for borrowing. You’ll also get experience in live video production and documentary filmmaking, giving you plenty of chances to find your passion.  

 

Audio Track 

The audio track includes two smaller paths: one for audio performance and one for audio production. Audio performance classes prepare you for voice acting and radio performance by having students take classes from the Theatre Department, whereas audio production gives you experience in radio production, sound design, audio for film, podcast production, and live sound. Audio is involved in more areas than you would expect, so there’s no shortage of opportunities to learn all the ways that audio is involved in a production. We also have several audio studios with professional-grade microphones, pre-amps, mixers, and sound treatment for classroom and project use, on reservation. 

Journalism Track 

The journalism track teaches classes on news and reporting, whether that be video or written news, photojournalism, and even documentary filmmaking. You’ll have all sorts of opportunities to write, photograph, film, and even report on news around campus and internationally. Some of the most important classes for journalism majors are the Multi-platform Journalism ones. These classes give you a chance to practice all the various forms of reporting and the mediums they come in. Cedarville also provides cameras on reservation to use for photographic journalism classes.

Extracurricular Opportunities for BDMJ Majors 

The place where the BDMJ major shines is the extracurricular opportunities. For those in video, Production Services Group (PSG) and sports production will give you the chance to work on live video. All chapels are recorded, produced, and sometimes even directed by students. All our home games also need live video, and sports practicums are available for video students who want to get credit for their extra work on sports production. 

For audio students, live sound opportunities include mixing for chapel, running sound effects and microphones for theatre productions, and various other live events also through PSG. Resound Radio also has opportunities for audio production and performance, giving students the chance to produce and DJ a real, professional radio station. Resound Radio streams online for anyone to listen to 24/7 and is entirely run by the student volunteers and paid student workers, overseen by the audio production professor, James Leightenheimer.  

Journalism students also have plenty of opportunities on campus. Cedars is the student written and edited news site, and they release two fully printed magazines, entirely written by the students. Journalism students also have opportunities with PSG and Resound Radio, whether it’s DJing and news reporting on the radio, or photographing and writing about sports events, chapels, and campus events. There are also opportunities for all tracks of BDMJ to work for Public Relations and University-related social media, allowing you to truly customize your experience for your resume. 

 

How Do I Know if BDMJ Is Right for Me?

BDMJ is one of the widest nets you can cast in terms of jobs after college. It can be intimidating to choose what you want to do, but if you love taking pictures, making videos, writing music, or even just talking, BDMJ may be the best fit for you. You may even come in wanting to do something very specific, but leave with experience in several areas, all of which you may enjoy. Cedarville’s BDMJ program gives you every opportunity to learn new skills and enhance your own strengths, in and out of class. You’ll also have the chance to do three practicum experiences, where you’re given full creative control over a project of your choice. If you love working on projects with other people, you’ll also get plenty of opportunities to use other BDMJ majors as crew for your productions and theatre students as actors, all with professional-grade gear to make your passion projects come to life. By the end of your 1,000 days at Cedarville, you’ll know most of the other BDMJ students by name and know exactly who to call when you need a boom operator, a voice actor, or a writer. And through those opportunities, you’ll learn one of the most important skills in media: networking.

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