Douglas Barthlow

Douglas A. Barthlow is Principal Senior Lecturer, Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies (for majors in journalism and speech communication), and Internship Coordinator of the Department of Communication. Barthlow has strong experience as a broadcast journalist, having served as a News and Public Affairs Director for two radio stations (WAMX-FM/WCMI-AM), as TV sports producer (WCIX-TV) and as news producer for a television station (WOWK-TV).

Dr. Barthlow served as executive producer for the video tributes of the inaugural Atlanta Press Club Hall of Fame inductees, as producer of the tennis venue at the Centennial Olympic Games, as a trustee of the Atlanta Press Club Foundation, as a member of the Media Advisory Committee for the Atlanta Regional Commission, and as faculty advisor to the award-winning student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Dr. Barthlow co-chairs the Scholarship Committee of the Atlanta Press Club.

As Director of Undergraduate Studies, Dr. Barthlow oversees the academic progress of the department's undergraduate majors. Each year, he facilitates the placements of interns in metro-Atlanta's premiere telecommunications industries, public relations firms, magazines and other publications, film/video production and post-production houses, non-profit organizations, and state government.  In addition, Dr. Barthlow is overseeing the department's development of curriculum in all sequences, has organized the implementation of senior capstone courses, and was the lead investigator on a Provost-funded effort to boost graduate and retention.  He is Journalism’s ambassador to the Critical Thinking Through Writing initiative.

“I am a supporter of experiential learning because students can learn about the communication disciplines in a classroom and in a setting where communication professionals are employed.  The Dept. of Communication values experiential learning as a component of our majors’ education to allow the students to apply the knowledge acquired in classrooms to practical settings, like newsrooms, film sets, PR agencies, etc.  Part of my role is to facilitate the transition from student to working professional, and fortunately, metro Atlanta provides scores of opportunities to practice the skills developed on campus.

One of the most important skills across disciplines is critical thinking, and the emphasis in the curriculum for all communication majors will enable them to apply this important skill regardless of their profession: deconstructing a screenplay; determining credibility of sources for a news story; analyzing relevant information to include in a presentation for clients.

My role is not to oppose students’ career choices; rather, it is to provide current information for students to make a knowledgeable decision about where they may want to begin their careers.  The competition for jobs is fierce in communication industries—always has been and will continue to be—and many succeed as professionals because of their ability to apply theoretical concepts learned in classroom.”