Broadcasting minor added

Students studying communication at Dordt now have the opportunity to add a new minor in broadcasting to their degree. This fall Rich Lodewyk, director of the Dordt Media Network and instructor of communication, is teaching the first class offered for the minor on television and radio broadcasting.

Having taught communication at North Dakota State University (NDSU) and served as faculty adviser for NDSU’s on-campus weekly television newscast, Lodewyk is using his broadcasting experience to create similar opportunities for Dordt students.

Through the Dordt Media Network, students gain experience working with graphics and audio software along with skills in camera operating, technical directing, and directing.

“Students who work for the Dordt Media Network produce multi-camera livestream broadcasts for every single Defender Athletics event during the school year,” Lodewyk says. In addition to broadcasting all sports events, students play a role in livestreaming chapels and concerts in the B.J. Haan Auditorium.

"The Dordt Media Network educational broadcasting opportunities are faculty-led but student-driven,” Lodewyk says.

With the Dordt Media Network already in place, offering a minor in broadcast journalism made sense. The focus of this class is on creating and presenting quality journalism.

“Students learn how to be television and radio news reporters and anchors,” Lodewyk notes. Through the resources that the Dordt Media Network has, students can create television newscasts as well as television and radio news packages, radio podcasts, a TV talk show, and a sportscast.

The minor gives students studying communication the skill set they need to apply for jobs as TV or radio reporters as well as news producers, assignment editors, and videographers. Assignments are geared toward creating practical experiences that students can add to their portfolios when applying for jobs.

Lodewyk is most excited about the potential hands-on experience that students will be able to have through the minor, especially through the sports broadcasting course he is teaching next spring. “We have so many exciting broadcasting opportunities that connect directly with Defender Athletics, whether it’s on the air or behind the scenes,” he says.

The broadcasting minor will not only teach students how to effectively use equipment but will also stress the importance of having a Christian perspective as a foundation for creating podcasts, newscasts, or radio announcements.

“Today’s media is all about storytelling,” Lodewyk comments, “and more Christians are needed to tell those stories.”

Dordt students have state-of-the-art broadcasting equipment to use and now they can minor in broadcasting and learn even more. Lodewyk has dreams of what the future might hold for the program, too.

“I am excited about the possibility of Dordt students producing their own weekly television student newscast,” he says.

Ana Timmer ('20)