SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

CMNS 235-3

INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM IN CANADA

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, professional, economic and technological forces which shape and constrain news production in the modern Canadian news organization.

Prerequisite:

CMNS 130

Format:

A two-hour weekly lecture and a one-hour weekly tutorial.

Course texts and readings:

Students should purchase the following texts for the course:

Robert Hackett & Richard Gruneau with Donald Gutstein, Timothy Gibson & 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 reserve in the Library.
Students are encouraged to read and 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%

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 -- convergence and the Internet
Week 6: The Canadian news system -- a duopoly?
Week 7: The Canadian news system -- what's missing?
Week 8: The Canadian news system -- alternatives and the public interest
Week 9: News and politics
Week 10: Influences on the news -- media owners and editors
Week 11: Influences on the news -- advertisers and audiences
Week 12: Influences on the news -- sources and flak
Week 13: Influences on the news -- journalists and news organization

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).