B.A. Interdisciplinary Mass Communications, Biola University

Introduction to the 'Media Management for Non-Profits' Major

Josh Penman designed this interdisciplinary major in order to study abroad at Oxford, and to study all of the most interesting courses that Biola had to offer, regardless of which department they exist in. What follows is the logic he used when proposing this interdisciplinary major to the Cinema & Media Arts department.

I designed this interdisciplinary major under the Mass Comm. department to develop skills that are needed for Media Management for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the Middle East and North Africa.

The mix of courses is chosen based on my experience working with NGOs, CBOs (Community-Based Organizations), United Nations departments, and governmental organizations such as the Sudan National AIDS Program (SNAP) and the Khartoum State Ministry of Health as the producer of Sudan's first HIV/AIDS prevention media campaign in 2005-2006.

As a producer, I found himself lacking in three areas:

• 1. Knowledge of practical and theoretical sides of the media production process.

  2. Information gathering and investigation.

  3. Organizational communication and efficiency.

The Media Management for NGO's major addresses these weaknesses and offers a balanced focus between foundational theory and practical skills.

Theoretical Media Production

For theoretical knowledge, the initial classes in the Film Production major at Biola University fit perfectly: The Art of Storytelling, Visual Aesthetics, and History of Cinema introduce the theoretical side of media production, whilePhilosophy of Aesthetics at Oxford and Rhetoric of Media Studies (Biola's Comm. department capstone course) allow deeper study of media theory and philosophical bases.

Practical Media Production

Experience in script creation, pre-production, camera work, sound, and logistics/production management is solidified with Intro to TV & Film Production, Editing for Film & Television, The Entertainment Business, Mass Media Law & Ethics, and the Senior Media Project (Biola's Cinema & Media Arts department capstone course).

Information Gathering & Investigation

Much of my work in Sudan involved collecting information in a hostile political environments, so Information Gathering and Database Analysis for Investigative Reporting in the Journalism department improves investigative and internet research abilities and Methods of Communications Research, in the CNMA department familiarizes him with research tools and builds academic research skills.

Organizational Communication & Efficiency

From my experience organizational efficiency depends on people and their communication with each other, so Biola's Communications and Psychology departments were the natural place to look for improvement: Industrial Organizational Psychology from Rosemead and Organizational Communication from the COMM department provide the tools and frameworks to improve communication and embed efficiency into an organization's structure.