Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film

Mission statement

The mission of the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film is to advance knowledge and practice of effective and ethical communication through teaching, scholarship, and engagement. Six themes unite the various disciplinary specialties represented by our faculty: communication competence, ethical discourse, diversity, leadership and participation, advocacy, and issues analysis.

General information

Student activities

An integral part of the Department of Communication, Media, Journalism and Film, the mass media program provides a wide range of activities for students. The department maintains an instructional television studio, which provides student programming on Springfield's Cable Channel 22 and KOZL - Channel 27, HEC-TV in St. Louis, and Time Warner Cable 17 in Kansas City. The department also serves in arks Public Television and Springfield’s Cable Channel 24. The department also serves in an advisory capacity for the university newspaper, The Standard, and is associated with KSMU-FM (91.1 MHz), the University’s National Public Radio affiliate. Our students can gain valuable experience working in each of these areas, as journalists for the newspaper, as producers of television programming, or as student interns at KSMU, the area’s FM source of fine arts and informational programming. The student-run Film Society, the Japanese Film Society, and the Academic Media Production Guild are also affiliated with the department. The department maintains a strong internship program with local and regional news organizations, providing an opportunity for students to acquire professional experience at a variety of radio and television stations and newspapers, as well as independent production facilities.

Missouri State boasts a tradition of excellence in debate. The debate program is one of the oldest in the country - as old as the university itself - and has consistently been one of the top 20 debate programs in the nation. Missouri State is also the only school in the nation to have hosted both the Cross-Examination Debate Association (CEDA) National Tournament and the National Debate Tournament (NDT). Missouri State students participate in NDT/CEDA policy debate. In 1992, Missouri State won first place at the CEDA National Tournament. Missouri State students have appeared in the "Sweet Sixteen" of college debate eleven times in the last twenty years, including a second place finish and three additional final four appearances (the latest in 2008.) In 2006 and 2008, the team secured one of 16 prestigious "First Round At Large" bids to the NDT. Within this tradition of competitive excellence lies a commitment to the education of the individual student. Missouri State debaters are consistently admitted to top graduate programs and law schools. The Holt V. Spicer Debate Forum features a national and regional travel schedule designed to offer each student the optimum level of participation.