JOVRNALISM
JOVRNALISM, a hackathon-style course where students from different backgrounds collaborate to decide how to apply an emerging technology to a story or theme, was created by USC Annenberg Professor Robert Hernandez in Summer 2015. It has been taught every semester since, producing award-winning, innovative non-fiction experiences, often in partnership with media and tech companies. Previous partners that students have worked with include CIR/Reveal News, The Desert Sun, NBC, The New York Times, NPR, USA Today, Capturing Reality, Google, GoPro, Insta360, Kodak, SGO and many others.
In the JOVRNALISM course, students can:
- Create unique projects such as More Than a Survivor, a partnership with East LA Women’s Center (ELAWC) to produce stories about the lives of domestic abuse survivors
- Participate in award-winning projects, such as Homeless Realities, which one the SPJ Mark of Excellence “Best in Show” award in 2020
- Travel to do immersive digital journalism projects in important locations, such as the 2018 class that visited South Korea for the 2018 Olympics
Other awards students have won through JOVRNALISM:
- 2021 SPJ Best Independent Online Student Publication
- 2020 Webby for My People, Our Stories: Los Angeles/Homeless Realities
- 2019 Webby for The Deported: Life Beyond the Border
To get involved, email Robert Hernandez at r.hernandez@usc.edu or jovrnal@usc.edu.