Arts/Culture Criticism
Everyone's a critic.  And with the Internet, everyone's critiques of movies, stage plays, rock shows or other cultural events can spread for and wide.  But there are right ways and wrong ways to write reviews.  This class will include attending live events and informing students about what goes into successful theater/arts criticism, how to present an informed opinion, how to structure a critique and what the reader islooking for.  Students will also learn where to find online andprint publications the need reviewers.  

The instructor is Robert Israel, an experienced writer, editor, communcations specialist and content developer.



Broadcasting
The Broadcasting class is taught by an award-winning team from WMUR TV, including General Manager Jeff Bartlett, Reporter Andy Hershberger, Videographer Jim Breen and Executive Producer David Hurlburt. While producing broadcast news stories of their own, students learn about where broadcast news fits in the ever-changing world of news reporting, the technical magic behind getting the news on the air and the nuts and bolts of covering stories and writing and editing copy. Add a dose of ethical issues and the First Amendment, and a student comes away with a well-rounded introduction to broadcast news.   

"The class was informative and insightful.  There was a lot of useful information in six short weeks."  -  Student

Cartooning and Illustrations
Pictures and illustrations are a great way to improve communications skills.  This course will lead students to explore their creativity and visual conceptualization skills.  Students will use hands-on learning to explore editorial cartooning; idea development; and famed illustrators lives, styles and techniques. 

With a focus on political and social commentary, students will create illustrations and are encouraged to develop and work in their own individual style.  Beginning with sketches and developing an idea through to the final artwork, students will learn to enhance editorial communication by creating visual images. 

The instructor is Ron Plante, an illustrator, graphic designer and teacher. 

This class is offered to students 16 years and older.  This six week class begins 5/2/12.  To register click here.

"I enjoyed the challenging assignments that made us think creatively."  -  Student 

Columns/Blogging
Everyday there is more and more outlet to express your own point of view through the written word. In this course Nashua Telegraph columnist Stacy Milbouer and Boston Globe Columnist Tom Long, will pass along some tips on writing the personal essay/columnist/blog. Just because it's in your head doesn't mean it will automatically come out that way on paper or on line. There's a method to expressing your opinions on anything from the next president to the best hot dog at the supermarket.  This six week class begins 9/12/12.  To register click here.

"I gained a solid understanding of how to start a blog.  A super class. I enjoyed it." - Student

Covering Politics
Politics is in the lifeblood of New Hampshire, from Town Meeting to the Legislature to the First-in-the-Nation Presidential Primary. Veteran Union Leader reporter and Statehouse Bureau Chief Tom Fahey has covered it all. In this course, he shows how to sort through the spin and rhetoric to write articles about how political issues and law making affect people. Learn how to question would-be presidents and how to look behind the scenes for clues about a candidate's chances or the likelihood of a proposal in the Legislature becoming law.   This six week class begins 9/12/12.  To register click here.

"My eyes were opened opened to many things in the way of politics and writing on the subject."  -  Student



Feature Writing
The object of the Feature Writing course is to develop a foundation in journalistic feature writing and learn how to craft a feature article.  Emphasis is on reading some excellent features (and some not-so-excellent ones) and writing.  The course will examine the structural and emotional  components of feature stories, as well as feature writing as "creative nonfiction."  Instructor Steve Billingham also will cover the interviewing skills necessary to develop the information and quotes necessary to write compelling feature stories.Students should have some exposure to journalism, either through work or school experience or previous journalism classes.

Steve Billingham, an editor for more than 30 years at the Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass., is an adjunct professor of journalism at Chester College of New England.   This six week class begins 9/12/12 click here.

"Steve not only presented the information, but also injected his own experiences, which made it very interesting."  -  Student

First Amendment Law
None of the classes at the Nackey S. Loeb School would mean much without the First Amendment to protect Americans' right to free speech and free press. Attorney Gregory Sullivan, who has argued numerous First Amendment cases before the N.H. Supreme Court and teaches First Amendment law at SuffolkLawSchool, presents students an easy-to-understand course on the protections enjoyed by the media and how to stay within their guidelines. The course prompts lively debates on how far the media can, and should, go in reporting the news and how the law guides public officials as they conduct the public's business. Students will learn about past and recent court cases and discuss issues in the headlines.   

"I liked that simple, frank discussion was allowed."  -  Student 

Multi-Media
Audio slide-shows have become an important part of reporting the news. In this class, students learn when, why and how to add compelling photography and audio together to tell powerful stories, using simple tools.

This is not a technology-heavy course. Students use their own digital cameras, audio recorders and laptops to combine elements learned in class. Familiarity with basic photography and the computer operating system of their choice is necessary, as is access to an audio recording device. Students should consider purchasing SoundSlides software, though they will be able to use Apple's Imovie or Windows' Movie Maker. Class time will be spent dong hands-on work on projects as well as reviewing and discussing powerful work of photojournalists who regularly produce multi-media packages.

Instructor Don Himsel is the photo editor/multi-media producer for The (Nashua) Telegraph. He's the region 1 director of the National Press Photographers Association and has taught previously at the LoebSchool. He's also been a guest lecturer at the New England Newspaper and Press Association as well as the American Press Association in Reston, Virginia. Don's also been a requested speaker for the University of New Hampshire's journalism program.   This six week class begins 5/2/12.  To register click here.

Photojournalism
Taught by veteran news photographer Geoff Forester, this course helps students identify and use the elements of good news photography. Through hands-on activities and practical assignments, students learn the skills of telling a story through photographs and produce a photo essay. (Students must supply a digital SLR camera). 
This six week class begins 9/12/12.  To register click here

"Geoff knows his stuff, gives great examples, inspires others."  -  Student
 

Photoshop Elements 6: The Basics
This six-week course covers the basics of using Adobe Photoshop Elements.  While there are a lot of things that can be done with photos, we focus on basic structure, including ethical considerations.

For instance, what are all those hieroglyphics in the tools palettes and how do users find what they need in a hurry?  We discuss the logic behind the way the menus are laid out to help find things more easily and we cover basics needed to create good printed pictures and designs, both at home and/or in a more commercial setting.  Yes, there are differences!  

Photoshop Elements 6:  Beyond the Basics
This six-week course covers keyboard shortcuts and more advanced functionality for those who have a handle on what Photoshop can do.  Things like specialized filters/transparency functions, layers, resolution, how to create cool special effects with color and black and white, quality color correction versus "good enough," size considerations for enlarging and cropping photos.

The course also highlights differences in using Photoshop for print products and web and computerized production.  For instance, why can content copied from the web look "fuzzy" when printed on paper?  This six week class begins 5/2/12.  To register click here.

Public Relations
Taught by two respected public relations professionals, this class will demystify public relations, the vehicle by which businesses, political candidates, non-profits, entertainers and a wide variety of organizations work to build trust and advance their mission and goals.  Public relations is practiced as an applied social science to help build relationships and support, mold public opinion and manage crises.  Instructors Jayme Simoes and Brett St. Clair of Louis Karno & Company Communications will cover the history and ethics of PR, how to write effectively, PR tactics, media relations, crisis communications and PR in new media.

Jayme Simoes is President of Louis Karno & Company.  He is a past president of the Public Relations Society of America's Yankee Chapter.  Brett St. Clair, APR, is a partner at Louis Karno & Company.  He is an accredited public relations practitioner with more than 20 years of experience in the field.   This six week class begins 5/2/12.  To register click here.

"The instructors were marvelous and the material was presented extremely well."  -  Student 

Social Media
This course examines techniques used to make Social Media a business tool.  Instructor Judi Window emphasizes how to develop the planning process, identify and build market niche and use Social Media tools to help design a company or personal marketing plan.  It is an exploratory class, primarily for students planning to or currently using Social Media to enhance their business, non-profit or personal brand through technology.  Students must have a firm grasp on Facebook, Twitter, and other main stream basic Social Media formats, as well as a business plan or idea.       

"I really enjoyed all the guest speakers and was surprised at how much I still had to learn about social media.  Thank you for keeping the class engaging and fun as well as for providing us with incredibly useful knowledge and skills for both work and personal environments."   -   Student

Writing Editorials
The editorial writing class is taught by Marty Karlon, the award-winning Sunday editor of The Telegraph of Nashua. In this class, students will learn about the history of editorials and the fundamentals of effective editorial writing. While working on editorial projects as part of classroom editorial boards, students will choose important issues, research them and write editorials. They also will learn the difference between editorials, columns and blogs -- the growing rage on the Internet featuring anyone who has an opinion -- and a computer.  This six week class begins 9/12/12.  To register click here.