SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION

CMNS 235-3

 

Donald Gutstein                                                                                Spring 2005

RCB 6142; 604-291-3858                                                                  Burnaby Day

Email: gutstein@sfu.ca

 

INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM IN CANADA

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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, professional, economic and technological forces which shape and constrain news production in the modern Canadian news organization. The course places the Canadian system in a global context.

 

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

 

Course texts and readings

 

·         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 available for purchase in the Bookstore.

·         One or two additional readings 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)

 

·          In-class midterm                                                  20%

·          Term paper                                                        35%

·          Tutorial attendance / participation                            20%

·          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)

                                                                                                          (over)

Week-by-week outline

 

 

Week 1: Introduction to the course; reading and watching the news

 

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: Online news

 

Week 6: News and politics

 

Week 7: Influences: owners and editors

 

Week 8: Influences: advertisers and audiences

 

Week 9: Influences: sources and flak

 

Week 10: Influences: journalists and news organization

 

Week 11: Influences: ideology

 

Week 12: The Canadian news system: what's missing

 

Week 13: The Canadian news system: alternatives and the public interest