The Roy H. Park School of Communications is the communications school at Ithaca College, in Ithaca, New York. The school is named after legendary media executive Roy H. Park, who lived in Ithaca and who served on the Board of Trustees at Ithaca College for many years.

Graduates have gone on to positions at ESPN, CNN, NBC News, CBS, ABC, The New York Times, NPR and more. The school offers majors in television-radio, journalism, marketing, communication management, film, photography, visual arts, cinema and photography.

The school is split into six core departments: Cinema, Photography, and Media Arts; Journalism; Strategic Communications; Television-Radio; Technical Operations; and the Communications Program in Los Angeles.

Diane Gayeski currently serves as the interim dean of the school.

Academics

The Roy H. Park School offers the following academic programs:

Undergraduate

• Cinema and Photography (B.S), with concentrations in Cinema Production, Still Photography, and Screenwriting
• Communication Management and Design (B.S.), with concentrations in Corporate Communication, Instructional Technology, and Integrated Studies
• Documentary Studies and Production (B.A.)
• Film, Photography, and Visual Arts (B.F.A.)
• Game Design and Immersive Media (B.F.A.)
• Integrated Marketing Communications (B.S.)
• Journalism (B.A.)
• Television-Radio (B.S.), with concentrations in Video Production, Audio Production, International Communications, Scriptwriting, and Directed Studies

Graduate

• Communications (M.S.)

Park Center for Independent Media

In 2008, the Park School launched the Park Center for Independent Media, directed by Jeff Cohen, founder of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. It has been designated as a national center for the study of media outlets that create and distribute content outside traditional corporate systems and news organizations.

The center's mission is to engage media makers and students in conversation about career paths in independent media, and financially viable ways to create news and information for various kinds of geographic or issue-based communities. The center will asses the impact of independent media institutions on journalism, democracy and a participatory culture.

Rory Kennedy, award-winning documentary filmmaker, was the Center's inaugural speaker in January 2008. Kennedy is the co-founder/president of Moxie Firecracker Films, Inc. The Park Center for Independent Media also offers the Independent Media Internship Awards, which provides a $2,500 grant to each students who work as summer interns at specific independent media outlets.

The Center held a day-long symposium on independent media in the fall 2008. The event brought members of the independent media together to discuss different issues facing the growing industry. The symposium culminated with a speech by Josh Marshall, the creator and editor of TalkingPointsMemo.com on the importance and future of independent media.

The first annual Izzy Award for "special achievement in independent media" was presented on March 31, 2009, to blogger Glenn Greenwald and Democracy Now! host and executive producer Amy Goodman. Roughly 800 people attended the award ceremony at Ithaca’s State Theatre – including Izzy Stone’s son Jeremy Stone.

Programs and Events

The Park School offers a wide range of programs and events each year, including:

• Jessica Savitch Distinguished Journalism Lecture Series, an annual series that brings in a high-profile personality in the broadcast journalism profession to honor alumna Jessica Savitch. Past speakers have included Cokie Roberts, Ann Curry, David Muir '95, Catherine Crier, and Natalie Morales.
• Park Distinguished Visitor Series. Each year Ithaca College hosts an individual representing one or more of the significant professions associated with the communications industry for a three-day residency. Leading figures in print and broadcast journalism are the primary focus. Past visitors have included Bill Moyers, Ken Burns, and Robert Fisk. This fall the Park Distinguished Visitor series will bring author Tom Wolfe to campus.
• Skip Landen Professional in Residence Program, which focuses on bringing successful alumni of our communications program to campus for a three-day residency. During this time, they visit or lecture in classes, teach master classes, provide a public lecture, and participate in various social functions involving students, faculty, and staff. Previous guests have included Bill D'Elia '69 and Judith Girard '68.
• Guest Speakers Series. Guest speakers who have visited Ithaca College recently include Susan Orlean, Dan Heffner '78, and Seymour Hersh.
• New York City Network Days. Each year, 15 students participate in this unique learning experience and meet working professionals over winter break in New York City. This is a one-credit opportunity for senior & junior Park majors to explore careers with alumni professionals. The 2008 Network Days were held at Ogilvy & Mather, Turner Broadcasting, Fox News, and Nice Shoes, a post-production video and editing outlet.
• Rod Serling Conference, a biennial event that brings together academics to discuss and analyze Serling's work and continuing influence. Serling taught creative writing at Ithaca for many years. The 2008 conference received national attention for a table reading of Serling's previously censored Twilight Zone script, "Noon on Doomsday." The never-before-produced work was presented with the cooperation of Ithaca College's Department of Theater Arts.
• PreVues, an annual student film and video showcase that highlights the best student work from the previous academic year. Each year the selected pieces are screened at Cinemapolis in Ithaca and are used for a compilation DVD.

Park Scholar Award

The Park Scholar Award is a four-year, full-ride scholarship to Ithaca College given each year to up to 20 students majoring in a field of study in the Roy H. Park School of Communications. The award, provided by the Park Foundation, recognizes students who excel in academics, activities, and community service, and maintain a strong interest in communications. The program, currently directed by Dr. Matthew Fee, allows each student approximately $42,000 a year in tuition, room and board, and living expenses. Additionally, they are given a one-time gift of $2,500 for a laptop purchase. The Park Scholar recipients are then expected to maintain a 3.5 GPA, participate in Park Scholar activities, be active in community service, and maintain a good judicial standing.

To celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2007, the Park Scholar program hosted a speaker series that was headlined by Bob Woodward, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter; Danny Green '85, co-creator of the The Smoking Gun website; and columnist and author Norman Solomon. Academic programming specifically designed for Park Scholars includes a first-year scholar seminar, biannual workshops, international research, monthly brown bag lunches, a faculty mentoring program, symposia and colloquia, and a New York City shadowing trip.

Currently, there are 67 active Park Scholars attending Ithaca College. The program is currently in its thirteenth year.

Ithaca College Los Angeles Program

The Ithaca College Los Angeles Program, an extension of the Roy H. Park School of Communications, is an internship-based program that provides juniors and seniors with a major or minor in communications an opportunity to gain professional experience in their chosen fields while taking industry-related courses. Classes are taught by Los Angeles-based faculty and industry professionals at the James B. Pendleton Center, located minutes from Burbank and Hollywood. Internships are available in the fields of cinema, television, radio, media and communications, music, communication/management/design, advertising, public relations, and print/broadcast journalism.

Communications-based internships are also offered at Ithaca College's London and Washington, D.C. campuses.

Student Media

The Ithacan

The Ithacan is Ithaca College's official newspaper. The paper is written, edited and published by students. The Ithacan is available in print every Thursday morning and online. The Ithacan and its staff have won many major collegiate journalism awards, most notably, the Associated Collegiate Press' National Pacemaker Award for the 2007-2008 academic year. The Pacemaker has been widely considered the Pulitzer Prize of collegiate journalism.

ICView

ICView is Ithaca College's publication for alumni, parents of students, and friends of the college. The paper is written, edited and published by students. The publication was formerly known as Ithaca College Quarterly and it published four times per year. Many of the articles are also available on the publications website: ICView

ICTV

See main entry Ithaca College Television

Imprint Magazine

Imprint Magazine: College Life’s Internet Magazine, published from Ithaca College, is published by college students, for college students, about college students. Imprint strives to inform its readers of national issues and give them the opportunity to voice their opinion and become involved in the discussion.

Buzzsaw Magazine

Buzzsaw Magazine, formally Buzzsaw Haircut, was founded in 1997 and is the college's monthly alternative news magazine. It is available in print and online every month. The magazine is produced by the Ithaca College community and printed by Our Press of Binghamton, NY. It is funded by the Ithaca College Student Government Association, the Park School of Communication, local advertising, community support, and a grant from Campus Progress.

It has won a number of national awards, including the Campus Alternative Journalism Project's award for "Best Sense of Humor" in 2003 and the Independent Press Association's Campus Independent Journalism Awards for "Best Campus Publication with a Budget Under $10,000" and "Best Political Commentary" in 2005.

Ithaca College Radio

Ithaca College is also home to two student-operated radio stations.

92 WICB

92 WICB is an FCC-licensed station that operates at 7500 Watts at 91.7 on the FM band. The majority of its programming falls under the modern rock category. While broadcasting modern rock, the station is run similarly to a commercial modern rock station, with the inclusion of playlists planned by the programming and music departments that include leeway for listener requests and DJ choices. The station was recently honored with the MTVU Woodie Award for Best College Radio Station.

Other programming ranges from mainstream hip-hop and R&B, to underground, downtempo, and other lesser-known genres of what is generally considered urban music. In addition to a lunchtime Jazz show, WICB broadcasts a number of other specialty shows throughout the week. These shows, which usually run 2–3 hours in length, come from genres such as blues, broadway, jam band music, and "homeless" music, that is not normally heard on the public airwaves.

VIC Radio

VIC Radio, once known as 106-VIC, is an Internet radio station broadcasting via Live 365 at www.vicradio.org. The majority of VIC's programming falls under the indie pop, alternapop, and power pop genres. The playlists are planned by the Programming Department, with leeway for on-air talent favorites and listener requests. The rest of its programming consists of specialty shows, programmed by student DJs, which are more representative of a typical college station.

The station also hosts an annual 50 Hour Marathon, where two DJs stay awake for fifty hours straight to raise money for a local charity. The marathon, which is simulcast on 92 WICB and ICTV 16, typically involves events such as concerts, scavenger hunts, and remote broadcasts around Ithaca.

Journal of Race, Culture, Gender and Ethnicity

Founded in 2004 by several Ithaca College students, the Ithaca College Journal of Race, Culture, Gender and Ethnicity is an academic journal that explores complexities of such topics and welcomes student contributions. The journal is available in print and online.

Notable Park School alumni

• Bob Iger (B.S. 1973), President and CEO, Walt Disney Company
• Bob Kur, NBC News Television journalist
• Jessica Savitch (B.S. 1968), Network news anchor
• Robin Young, Host, National Public Radio, Here and Now
• Karl Ravech (B.S. 1987), ESPN sportscaster
• Mark Romanek, director of One Hour Photo and music videos
• David Boreanaz (B.S. 1991), actor, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Bones
• Mark Mahoney (B.S. 1985), Pulitzer Prize winner for Editorial Writing, The Post-Star
• David Guy Levy (B.S. 2001), film producer, Lying, August
• Brian Herzlinger, film producer, My Date with Drew, special correspondent on The Tonight Show
• Daniel Heffner, film producer, White Fang, Three Men and a Baby, Saw 1-4
• Benjamin Kasulke, cinematographer, Brand Upon the Brain!
• Michael Nathanson, Film Producer, LA Confidential, Former Head of Production, Columbia Pictures

Notable Park School Former and Current Faculty

• Rod Serling, creator and host of "The Twilight Zone"
• Jeff Cohen, founder of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
• Michael Scully, assistant professor, Journalism
• Dianne Lynch, former Park School dean and founding executive director of the Online News Association

External links

• Ithaca College Roy H. Park School of Communications

References

1. Ithaca College Appoints Diane Gayeski As Interim Communications School Dean - News Release - Ithaca College Office of Media Relations
2. The Ithacan Online
3. [1]
4. About Us - IC View - Ithaca College
5. Buzzsaw Haircut
6. VIC Radio - Home
7. Ithaca College Journal of Race, Culture, Gender & Ethnicity
8. The Pulitzer Prizes - The 2009 Pulitzer Prize Winners
9. Ithaca College Grad Wins Pulitzer - News Release - Ithaca College Office of Media Relations