TIMELY Perspectives & data

2023 - How Black Americans Engage with Local News ( Pew Research )

Emmy Award winning SJSU Journalism graduate, Damian Trujillo from NBC Bay Area, returned to his alma mater during the global Covid 19 pandemic to talk about being in the middle of a dangerous clash between San Jose, CA. police and Black Lives Matter protesters. This incident came shortly after the nation witnessed the brutal death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Weeks afterward, daily protest marches persisted in cities all across the United States.  For public safety reasons due to the highly contagious and deadly nature of the coronavirus, SJSU classes during fall semester 2020 were mostly conducted online using Zoom technologies. 

MASS COMM 105: This timely SJSU interactive class crafted by Prof. Bob Rucker identifies and evaluates the depictions and impact of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious cultures, and disability groups in advertising, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, public relations, and multi-platform social media. Daily we study diversity related news updates and research data help stimulate student analysis and candid discussions of changing attitudes, trends and perceptions that shape mass communication diversity messages and public perceptions. This university elective class is open to all students at SJSU. Mature and responsible discussions and conduct are always expected.

At the outset of every diversity class each semester,  students in Prof. Rucker's class take :30 to 1:00 to describe their multiple cultural identities before they begin a collective and interactive study of professional media portrayals of ethnicity and race, gender, sexual orientation, religious cultures and disabilities. Mass Communications 105 teaches people how to relax, trust and share their experiences to help others better understand how to connect and communicate.