SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

CMNS 235-3

 

 

Donald Gutstein	Fall 2001
CC 6147 / 291-3858	Burnaby campus - day
Email: gutstein@sfu.ca

 

INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM IN CANADA

 

Prerequisite: 

CMNS 130

 

Overview

Do Canada's news media serve the public interest?  What role should journalism play in a democratic society?  Does corporate concentration muffle freedom of expression?  What factors influence the news we see and hear?  This course introduces students to journalism as a crucial institution in Canada.  It does not teach the basic techniques of journalism.  Rather, it focuses on the social, political, economic and technological forces which shape and constrain news production in the modern Canadian news organization.

CMNS 235 is a prerequisite for CMNS 335 (Newspaper Industry and Press Policy) and CMNS 331 (Political Communication).

Course texts and readings

Students should purchase the following texts for the course:

* Peter Desbarats, Guide to Canadian News Media, 2nd ed. Toronto: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1996

* Robert Hackett and Richard Gruneau with Donald Gutstein, Timothy Gibson and NewsWatch Canada, The Missing News: Filters and Blind Spots in Canada's Press. Ottawa: Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, 1999

* A course reader of additional readings is available for purchase in the bookstore.

* One or two additional readings will be available on 2-hour reserve.

Students are encouraged to read and/or watch the news on a regular basis.

Grading distribution (to be confirmed at first class)

 

Mid-term take-home	20%
Term paper	40%
Tutorial attendance / participation	15%
Scheduled final exam	25%

 

The School expects that the grades awarded in this course will bear some reasonable relation to established university-wide practices with respect to both levels and distribution of grades.  In addition, the School will follow Policy T10.02 with respect to "Intellectual Honesty," and "Academic Discipline" (see the current Calendar, General Regulations Section).

Week-by-week outline

Week 1: Introduction to the course

Week 2: What is news? A survey of theories of journalism

Week 3: Past -- the rise of the Canadian newspaper

Week 4: Present -- TV's domination and print's reaction

Week 5: Future -- journalism in cyberspace

Week 6: The Canadian news system -- how it operates

Week 7: The Canadian news system -- what's missing

Week 8: News and politics

Week 9: Influences on the news -- media owners and editors

Week 10: Influences on the news -- advertisers and audiences

Week 11: Influences on the news -- sources and flak

Week 12: Influences on the news -- journalists and news organization

Week 13: Journalism, alternatives and the public interest