The following article was also authored by Carrie Durning
Journalism at Patrick Henry College equips students to put truth to paper with a clear and accurate vision of the world around them. In particular, PHC’s Entrepreneurial Track offers a unique feature of the Journalism major to better prepare students for success in the world of business and finance.
The Entrepreneurship track's business aspect gives students the skills to write about and work with the business side of any professional media organization, as well as prepares them to potentially start their own news or media outlet in the future. The Journalism Entrepreneurship track offers students advanced courses in math and economics, equipping them for a wide range of career fields after graduation.
The Program
All Journalism majors at Patrick Henry College study basic news reporting and writing (Intro to Journalism I and II) as well as Media Law and Journalism History. These are core Journalism classes that all Journalism students are required to take. However, the Entrepreneurship track offers an exciting new addition of core major classes that emphasize business-related news coverage or starting a business altogether. The track includes courses in economics, finance, accounting, mathematics, writing, journalism history, and media law.
Click the image to read the Journalism Program Guide online
Significance
Dr. Les Sillars, the Associate Academic Dean, the Chairman of the Department Applied Liberal Arts, and the Professor of Journalism at Patrick Henry College, has taught at PHC since 2002. A Canadian native, Dr. Sillars initially began as a newsmagazine reporter in 1993, and moved on to become published by outlets such as First Things, The Gospel Coalition, The Federalist, Touchstone, The American Conservative, and the National Post (Toronto), among others. Dr. Sillars is on staff with WORLD News Group, where he has published news and commentary, and is an editor and commentator for its daily podcast, The World and Everything In It.
“The media industry has seen a lot of disruption in recent years, but with disruption comes opportunity. This [Entrepreneurship] track will give students the skills and tools they need to develop new ways to do—and to finance—journalism,” said Sillars.
According to Sillars, the foundational skills for journalism are the abilities to see the world clearly, think clearly, and write clearly. “If you can do those things, you can be a journalist,” he said, “and you can serve the Lord in many other fields as well.”
Opportunities
Patrick Henry College Journalism students have engaged in a wide variety of fields, including teaching, law, communications, and analytics. The unique characteristic of the Entrepreneurship track is that it “opens up even more doors in fields that require people with keen analytical skills, relational ability, and a talent for effective communication,” Sillars said.
The possibilities of the Journalism Entrepreneurship Track at Patrick Henry College include everything from analyst to marketer in fields as diverse as law enforcement and financial services.
“I realized that . . . it’s important to prepare [students] to think about the institution of journalism and how it can better serve our culture,” Sillars said about the introduction of the track in 2019. “I also realized that there may be prospective students who are interested in the business side of the industry. This track will be attractive to them.”
Students in the Entrepreneurship track also develop a strong sense of professionalism, a respect for the institution of journalism and its role in maintaining a free society, and the ability to understand and evaluate trends and practices in contemporary journalism. Most importantly, they will develop a biblically-based philosophy of journalism to guide them as they seek truth as the ultimate goal in all that they investigate and report.
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Writing Journalism isn't for everyone. Some people like it. Some people do it because they're good at it. But there’s some—a precious few—that do it because they have to. Because they’re irresistibly drawn to protecting and defending the world around them through the power of language. Ring any bells?
