For SJMC students, summer is often a time to relax and take a break from vigorous schoolwork. But it can also be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the benefits summer classes provide.

The School gets the opportunity to offer pilot programs and, because summer courses are taught in a significantly shorter time, it can hire instructors currently working in journalism.

“Summer offers the opportunity to bring in people who can’t spend 16 weeks teaching a course,” said Associate Dean Meg Moritz, who coordinates the School’s summer course offerings.

“I think it can be helpful to have someone come in from the outside professional world occasionally to supplement the school’s efforts,” said David Bernknopf, former CNN vice president and now a consultant with Altamira Productions in Atlanta.

Bernknopf taught Media Ethics last summer as a FIRST (Facultyin- Residence Summer Term) scholar. The School received a grant from the University to bring in FIRST scholars in an effort to broaden the quality of summer courses.

Although Bernknopf had not taught the class before, he has faced ethical decisions from a unique perspective. Bernknopf was at CNN from its inception until his retirement 21 years later in 2001, and he has lectured on media ethics and related topics several years as a Hearst Professional-in- Residence at the School.

Summer semesters can vary from one week to 10 weeks depending on the term of the class. The five-week structure in Bernknopf’s class kept things pretty intensive, he said, noting that the only drawback was keeping students interested five days a week for 95 minutes each day.

Doug Crigler, a senior Media Studies major, said, “The pace and workload demand your full attention and time.”

During the summer, pilot programs may be offered. If they succeed, they may be offered later as regular classes.

Nadia Kaneva, a doctoral candidate in mass communications, offered Identity and Community Online, a pilot course in which students examine why people participate in online communities.

James Schiffman, senior editor at CNN International, was also brought in as a FIRST scholar to teach Writing Across Platforms, a pilot course he developed. The three-week Maymester session taught prospective journalists that “they must look at themselves as storytellers who are able to work in various mediums – print, television, the Web – and that there are things to learn about writing for one medium than can be applied to another,” he said.

During Maymester, students may take only one class. Dana Query, a first-year Newsgathering master’s student at the School, said it was “basically like a full-time job.” Schiffman set up video conferences for the students with a CNN anchor and field producer. Students were also able to interact in studio work, shoot TV stories and write print stories.

Crigler, who also took Schiffman’s class, said another advantage was having the course taught by a highly respected and experienced professional. “Some of my classmates said that it was the best classroom experience they had a CU,” he said.