JOURNALISM

Mohulsachdeva

JOURNALISM

Journalism refers to the production and distribution of reports on recent events. The word journalism applies to the occupation, as well as citizen journalists using methods of gathering information and using literary techniques. The purpose of journalism is thus to provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.

Types of jobs available in journalism are

  1. Blog writer
  2. Communication officer
  3. Content writer
  4. Web editor
  5. Reporter
  6. Communication assistant
  7. Writer
  8. Cameraman
  9. Communication coordinator

Universities that offer degree for journalism

  1.  Ryerson University. …
  2. Carleton University. …
  3. University of British Columbia. …
  4. University of King’s College. …
  5. Concordia University. …
  6. University of Guelph-Humber.

Courses you need to take in journalism

  1. Broadcast Journalism
  2. Corporate Communication/Public Relations
  3. Feature Writing
  4. Mass Media Law
  5. Photojournalism
  6. News Writing and Reporting

ARTICLE BASED QUESTIONS

1-Journalism in Canada is increasingly seen as under threat and in crisis. Economic factors, such as the erosion of the traditional advertising model, have led to the widespread shuttering of local media outlets across the country – particularly newspapers. Even large media conglomerates like Postmedia and Torstar are looking to government for assistance as traditional revenue models fail. Further exacerbating this crisis of journalism have been government attempts to constrain the freedom of journalists to report, often through the auspices of restrictive national security legislation such as Bill C-51. Recent high-profile incidents such as the surveillance of journalists by Quebec police, the arrest of journalist Justin Brake, and court orders to reveal confidential sources demonstrate how all levels of government in Canada have created a legal environment that limits press freedom and journalistic independence. Both factors have combined to limit both the quantity and quality of media coverage of issues of importance to Canadians.

2-The decline in both the quantity of news coverage and quality of reportage has serious consequences for our democracy. The ability of citizens to participate effectively in a democracy requires them to be well-informed on the issues of the day. Providing credible, accurate information to the public is an essential function of journalism in a democracy. When local, regional or national issues are under-reported or neglected entirely, citizens are ill-equipped to fully participate in democratic decision-making. Moreover, journalists often assume the important role of watchdog in a democracy, holding “public authorities and private corporations to account and conducting independent investigations to uncover corruption, miscarriages of justice, public waste, corporate greed and other examples of wrongdoing.” Diminishing the ability of journalists to provide this democratic service reduces our ability to act as effective citizens and hold powerful actors to account. Indeed, an overwhelming majority of Canadians recognize this, as recent polling demonstrates that Canadians believe that journalism is “critically important” to our democracy.

3-Moreover, the loss of traditional media outlets often means the loss of original reporting. Despite the wealth of information available online, a PEW Research Centre study found that 95% of original news stories still come from traditional news outlets that have the resources and staff to conduct original newsgathering. Online news sources are often reliant on traditional news media for original news and reportage that they merely re-package as their own content. Many commentators therefore fear that the essential journalistic function of the traditional news media is not being replicated by online media, impoverishing our democracy as traditional news media gives way to digital media. Increasingly, there are calls for government to intervene to ensure that traditional news media can continue to provide quality journalism to the public. While a controversial tax on internet providers that would be used to fund Canada’s, beleaguered traditional media was quickly shot down by the Trudeau government, the 2018 federal budget did set aside a very modest $10 million to assist local journalism in underserved areas. However, industry insiders have criticized the government’s efforts as inadequate to rescue traditional media from its ongoing financial challenges.

4-Further exacerbating the quality of journalism in Canada has been government efforts to limit the independence and autonomy of journalists in how they report. Journalist and civil rights advocacy groups were largely unanimous in their condemnation of the Harper government’s Bill C-51, which critics warned would give all levels of law enforcement unprecedented powers to survey journalists and censor content deemed harmful to national security. Indeed, Bill C-51 was in large part responsible for the ten-point decline in Canada’s press freedom ranking by Reporters without Borders in 2016.

5-Bill C-51, it also introduces new powers to security agencies that could have a profound effect on the integrity of journalism in the country. In particular, Bill C-59 grants security agencies the power to impersonate journalists and publish falsified information during the course of an investigation. Such powers would appear to only further undermine Canadians trust in the credibility of the information they receive.

These attacks on journalists’ freedom to report have not gone unnoticed. In response to the spying scandal in Quebec, the provincial government has promised to implement the recommendations of the Chamberland Commission – the official inquiry into the scandal – including greater protections for journalists and their confidential sources. At the federal level, the Trudeau government passed Bill S-231, also known as the Journalistic Sources Protection Act, which offers enhanced protection to journalists and their sources and requires law enforcement to provide a higher standard of proof to the courts that a journalist’s source should be revealed.