Murray, Randall  

Let's face it, Journalism History is not exactly the kind of class you go into with your adrenaline pumping. But Murray taught this seemingly drab class very well. His lectures are easy to follow and entertaining, the assignments are interesting and he's a fair grader. Oh, and he really knows his history!

This class is horrible. If you want an A, memorize every word of the 500 page book. This class is 2 midterms a final and 4 two page papers. No matter how good of a writer you are, don't expect to get anything higher than B- on one. The tests can be from either the lecture or the book which is impossible to study for. He doesn't give you any sort of study guide and only 2/3 handouts for the whole quarter. This class is a joke and you will not want to put any effort into it. RETIRE MURRAY

This class was interesting, fun and not too difficult. A lot of that can be credited to Murray. If you show up, take good notes and pay attention in class, you will be fine.

Maybe I'm not a morning person, (ok I'm not a morning person) or this was the most boring journalism class I've ever taken. I didn't come to most of the classes and I barely read the book and I did just fine in the class. I love history so at first I was excited for the class, but because of Murray I was bored to tears and often fell asleep in class. Also, he only uses the book that he does because he wrote ONE PAGE for it. Seriously, don't take him if you can avoid it!

Dr. Murray is very tough on students, but only because he is truly committed to making them better writers. I would definitely recommend his classes.

Dr. Murray is the strongest professor in the journalism department. He is a tough but fair grader who will rip your writing to shreds but you will be a better writer for it. I agree that I would rather have come away from his class with a B than an A from another professor. However, students should be warned that, while an excellent professor, he can be a little distant when talking with him one-on-one. But, if you want to come out of a class a better writer, he's the man.

Professor Murray is very knowledgeable and knows what he is talking about. He presented the material somewhat clearly but it was kind of difficult to know what to write down and what not to in the notes. He was a very tough grader on the essays but the multiple choice test weren't that hard as long as you knew the material. If you really want to learn get something out of the class I would definetly recommend him.

Although I am only a freshman, Dr. Murray is one of the best profs I've had at Poly. As the retired head only teaching winter classes, get him if you can. He'll rip your work apart, but I learned SO much from that class to take with me. I feel "ahead of the game" because I had him. Walking away with a B in this class is one of those instances that is perfectly okay with me. He cares about his students although some say that he is mean and cynical, he's just making you improve your skills; you know, what classes are suppose to be doing and we are paying so much for every year? It's not like college is a cake walk... its about learning. If you're a "softy" that gets offended when you don't get everything right all the time, don't take him, for fear you might have your feelings hurt. *gag* If you're someone who wants to take something out of the class and can stand constructive criticism, take him, and feel lucky you have gotten the chance.

Well, where should I start. Murray's teaching style is the Cal Poly motto "learn by doing." He won't inform you of certain writting styles or structures till AFTER he grades them. He cares a great deal about his subject and knows his info, but I often left class stressed and upset. I had no clue of my grade until it the last day of class. Before I enrolled in this course I had a strong interest in newspaper reporting. I left his course hating my major and dreading taking another jour course @ Poly. I know this sounds pretty sad, but this is just a fine example at why Cal Poly's Journalism department is going to lose their accredidation. Please avoid Murray he never says a positive sentence and everything is negative. He is partly retired and comes back to teach one quarter a year. I took him winter of 2002.

If you can't hang with Dr. Murray you ought to consider whether you want to be in the field of journalism or whether you belong at a university at all. His grading standard is tough. How else can you grade writing but to read it and then fail a student when it turns it out to be crap? I respect Murray because my writing improved while I was enrolled in his class. He holds Cal Poly journalists to a final standard. I've talked with plenty of other students who say Murray is great. I say if you have the chance take him, it won't be easy, but you'll see results. I also have him for Media Law, so I've come to know him. If you don't like him, good luck, you'll need it.

Sadly, Murray is one of the best teachers for the journalism department. His grading policies are entirely capricious and unjust and he doesn't believe giving an A to anyone (so forget about it- even if you think you can write). He taught nothing about the structure of newswriting and reporting, but implemented his strict copy editing curriculum (he is a die-hard copy editor at the Tribune and not a reporter). I strengthened leads and attribution in the class, but that should've been accomplished in one class and not a quarter. He is a sad site for anyone who values the practice of journalism; his journalistic beliefs are sensational, detached from the public and irresponsible. This class was a waste of time.

At first, I hated Dr. Murray's class. Then a funny thing happened - I started liking it. Why? I finally accepted that I wasn't the god of writing after all and I learned from him. Don't take this class if you have a fragile ego - your papers will come back bathed in corrections - but also know that he is a very supportive teacher who assisted me when asked, encouraged me often, and made me believe in my potiential. I am a better writer because of his class.

If you want a fair shot at a reasonable grade, wait to take this class from another prof. (No one in my class got an A.)If you want a fair shot at learning the material and being inspired to become a journalist, wait to take this class from another professor.

The professor was impossible about everything! The name of the class is Agriculture Communications, not journalism. All we learned about was AP style and his tests were unclear. There were answers that were incredibly close to eachother, and an argument after every quiz! I learned nothing, except how to write the way he wants but I'll never use it. Take the hint from the smart students in the class- find a different professor. You'll thank me later.

This guy was such an ass. He was completely unapproachable, unhelpful, and unwilling to present anything relevent to ANYTHING. he doesnt give a shit about teaching to his students, all he ever did was talk about how he write for the tribune..WOOHOO. RETIRE YOU OLD MAN

I can understand why some might give Murray a higher grade when they've taken him for Media Law, which I have also done. Even in that class his lectures were very confusing, but he at least seemed interested in the subject matter. Jour-218, however, is a totally different story!!! He just stands up in front of the class and rambles... breaking off into stories about "the good 'ol days" rather than sticking to what he expects us to know by test-time. There's no structure, no notes and--here's the zinger--it's IMPOSSIBLE to get an A! He actually curves the LOWER scores, but refuses to curve the HIGHER scores!!! I got the highest grade on the class on two separate tests, but couldn't break the B barrior. Meanwhile, students who didn't study and scored much lower than me ended up with the same grade! It's not a just system... but the most important think to consider when grading a teacher is how well the students learn. I can honestly say that I learned absolutely nothing in his class... You're paying an ungodly amount of money for these classes and you deserve to walk away with something... so don't take Murray!

Quite simply the best Journalism Professor in the department. He knows his stuff and he has been at Poly a long time. What a mind for JOUR he has! I will admit, his classes are not easy. But you will be glad you took them when it is overwith. You will learn so much more in his classes than other JOUR prof's classes. I would rather get a B from him than an A in another JOUR class where I did not learn as much.

Very good. I enjoyed the class I took from him, and it was COPY EDITING!! - quite possibly the most boring subject there is. He definitely puts a lot of time into the students and the class. And you will learn from him - he definitely helped me become a better writer.

Murray is a difficult grader, but you definately learn from your mistakes in his class. He is one of the best journalism professors at Cal Poly, if not The Best. He makes others look like lame excuses for an level teacher.

Murray may have been a good teacher in the past, but he's lost his edge. His lectures were ambiguous and he made many confusing mistakes. Many students appreciate his toughness because of sloppy teachers they may have experienced, but Murray should not be touted as the best journalism teacher in the department. On one occasion I asked him beforehand if something was okay, and he blew me off by telling me to do whatever I want. He then marked me down for the very thing I had asked him about. I agree that teachers should hold us to a higher standard, but they should be able to live up to that standard as well. The impression that I got was that he was only teaching because he needed the money to "buy a new laptop." Many students in the classes I had with him simply resorted to cheating to get a good grade. Skip Murray and you skip a quarter of frustration.

Murray is pretty cool. He also teaches very well, and you will learn a lot from him. I had him for 233 and 302, and I learned so much. Unfortunately, his grading system is so much harder than anyone else's. A "C" in this dude's class is like an "A" in anyone else's. If you want an easy "A", forget Murray, but if you actually want to learn, he is the best choice.

It's a shame the department can't talk Murray into staying on full time and retire Munroe. Murray's a good old-school professor who makes you work and doesn't waste time worrying about if you feel good about yourself. He's a tough but fair grader and I learned more with a B than I did with A's from Munroe or Arnold. If you want a dose of the real world, where the boss doesn't care about your personal problems, take Murray. He's worth it.

Take Murray! He's a great professor who really knows his media law. All you need to know is the SIGNIFICANCE of each case and you'll be fine. Don't know it??? Ask him and he'll tell you the answer...and then you'll see it on the midterm. Work hard and he'll give you what you really earned.

Media Law is perhaps the best journalism class I have taken at Poly. Murray made the class really interesting and the material easy to understand. Despite everyone elses complaints about being an unfair grader, I was able to pull an A in media law without too much work. The trick is to just memorize the impact and significance of each case study, not all of the minute and insignificant details! Students who get bad grades in Murray's classes do so for a reason -- they are LAZY.

I took 203 from Murray, and absolutely abhorred his teaching style for news writing, but I really think he was a more effective instructor in media law. Murray is very detail oriented (as people may have discovered in writing classes, where AP style and copy editing is arguably more important to him than actual composition), so it makes sense that he loves law. It's absolutely imperative to know the significance of each case to succeed in this class (the final was pretty much case matching), and he dictated the signficance of the cases during his lectures. It was a lot of work- really hard quizes every two weeks (which was really more like a midterm every two weeks). However, he gives students the chance at extra credit if they remember cases from previous tests. The class was at 7 a.m. four days a week, and I thought I was going to die, but Murray really forces his students to learn and I'm thankful for his strictness. (Sometimes he was a bit too strict, and his questions on quizes were super confusing- make sure you do the reading!) However, I'm really glad it's over, and I'm glad this particular class was my last experience with him, because he's not that bad of a guy. He's just a hard ass.

Mr. Murray has an exceptional approach to lecture. I had this class at 7 a.m. four days a week, got a C and still enjoyed learning about the variety of cases because of the way they are presented and examined. Reading in his classes is paramount, as homework usually revolves around the textbook. Tests, however, are largely based on lectures, and because Murray's lectures are poignant and easy to follow, the class is a joy to take.

Dr. Murray wrote for the LA Times. He's a hard-core, old-school newsman. If you expect to make it in media/entertainment, whatever it is, you gotta know your a)ethics and b)law He was straight up on the 1st day of the 4-unit lecture: "400 cases, you need to know who the players are, what they wanted, what the majority-ruling stated and it's effect on media law." Marbury v. Madison, Plessy v. Ferguson...and on and on. Get yer flash cards, write it all down and go to town. It's rote memorization...11 yrs ago anyway, apparently law school is exactly the same. Great prof. ...has a ton of great stories if you can get him to talk. I bet he was a 10x better writer than Ramos ever was (another Times writer). Boring!

Murray is difficult in every way. He relishes making students suffer. Some kids in this class worked there asses off and got in the C range!!! Because he gives out 50% c's no matter what! There was 1 A in the entire class! All the tests are based on notes except for maybe 4-5 questions. Take good notes or this class will end you! His curve is wacked. The best advice is wait till 2007 to take it because he'll be retired!!! Or, if you must, make sure you study your ass off for that first midterm.... the final is so easy- and cumulative. Good Luck!

What else is there to say? Fine person, nothing interesting. Class was meh... Blah, blah, blah... Fine person.