Photojournalism at CMU

With superb faulty, a degree that opens many doors in the field, and a student body that is ready to learn, Central Michigan University is said to be one of the top schools in the nation for Photojournalism. As an accredited school for journalism, it is one of only two universities in the state with this honor. What brings students to the program relies heavily on the faculty’s teachings, the access students have to many resources (both in people and technology) that will further them in their chosen career paths, and the wide range of internships available to them as well. 

“To me it really isn’t about the photo that I took when I was at CMU, it was literally about the community I built with the people around me. The comradery that you build in the program through how you develop through other people does help and having that network throughout your career will only continue to elevate you,” said Jake May, who completed the photojournalism program and is currently working for the Flint Journal. 

With state-of-the-art labs, the Photojournalism department will, throughout the program, take a student from being uneducated about photojournalism to graduating and being proficient in audio slideshows, compelling photo stories, fair and accurate news reporting, online videos, and in-depth multimedia packages. The classes within the program cannot achieve such high standards without a faculty that is dedicated their students, classes and their journalistic ambitions.

Now tenured, faculty member Kent Miller came to Central in 2004 as an Associate Professor of Photojournalism and Digital Media. Previously, he worked for 32 years in the newspaper business, with jobs ranging from photographer to photo editor.

“My two favorite teachers at Central were Brett Marshall and Kent Miller… Kent really taught a lot about industry, the structure, and just overall, a more fatherly presence of encouragement. ‘You can do this.’ Kent was probably my biggest cheerleader through the program,” commented Neil Blake, a graduate of the Photojournalism program. Blake now teaches at Central, and is a photographer for the Midland Daily News.

Another attribute to the program is its access to many local and award-winning papers. The two main papers directly connected to CMU and the department are CM-Life and Grand Central Magazine.

CM-Life began in 1919 and has been growing ever since. While being an independent paper, its office is in Moore hall on Central’s campus, making it an easy choice for aspiring journalists to sink their feet into more professional worlds of journalism. Every year, the publication wins countless awards through different avenues. At the 2013 Journalism Awards luncheon, CM-life took home awards for 1st and 2nd place for General News Photography, 2nd place for Sports Photography, 3rd place for Photo Illustration, and 3rd place for Breaking News Photography.

Founded in 2008, award-winning Grand Central Magazine, an independent online-only publication, has quickly grown in popularity and recognition, taking home 1st place in Best Independent Online Student Publication at the 2012 Journalism luncheon and 2nd place in the same category this year. Working for the magazine can be beneficial to the major as working can be used as journalism credits. This helps students work for a publication, and learn the ropes, while furthering their major in a positive and progressive way.

The Photojournalism department brings home many awards from many facets, including a significant majority of the student awards at the Michigan Press Photographer’s Association’s annual photo contest. With the skills learned throughout the program, in the past 5 years, CMU has taken home over 60 awards in various categories through the competition. Many of the photos entered in the competition were taken during photojournalism classes at CMU.