By ILINA GHOSH Staff Reporter March 8, 2016 Freelance journalists must pitch strategically and confidently and be “the raccoon[s] of the journalism world,” veteran freelancer Robert Osborne told students at a recent workshop organized by the Ryerson Journalism Research Centre. Osborne’s workshop, which focused on selling stories and maximizing the return on work, took students through the freelance process, drawing on lessons he learned over his 14 years as a freelance journalist and producer. Building a diverse set of skills and performing under a diverse set of conditions is critical to freelance success, he said. “You’ve got to be…
-
-
By ILINA GHOSH Staff Reporter February 23, 2016 Journalists must embrace their role as educators when reporting on indigenous issues and recognize how their work shapes perceptions, Truth and Reconciliation Commissioner Marie Wilson said during this year’s Atkinson lecture at Ryerson’s School of Journalism. In her address, Wilson drew upon lessons she learned over many years as a CBC journalist and, more recently, the six and a half years she spent as one of three TRC commissioners. “Recognize the extraordinary value of the space you have been given – your column inches, your air time, your video frames, your…
-
By ILINA GHOSH Staff Reporter After eight days of reporting in the Ebola–ravaged city of Monrovia, Liberia, CBC News senior correspondent Adrienne Arsenault says fear and suspicion haunted her team’s homecoming – even before they set foot back in Canada. It was October 2014 and while the Ebola virus was rapidly coursing through western Africa, a different epidemic had taken hold in North America. “[Fear-bola began] when we were there and we knew our return was not going to be pretty. I was getting tweets from people that are unconscionable – ‘How dare you go there and expose Canadians.…
-
By ILINA GHOSH Staff Reporter A year ago this month, Canada’s new anti-terrorism legislation, the controversial Bill C-51, was unveiled at a campaign-style rally in a Toronto suburb. The divisive legislation initially encountered little opposition on Parliament Hill, leaving it to the media to highlight concerns. And Canadian news outlets were “equal to the challenge,” according to new research conducted by Ryerson University School of Journalism instructor Kevin MacLean. “For the first two and half to three weeks there was no opposition,” MacLean said. “The NDP was quiet, refusing to take a position. The Liberals said they [were going to…
-
By ILINA GHOSH Staff Reporter She was excluded from the Globe and Mail’s federal leaders’ debate this past fall, but Green Party leader Elizabeth May tweeted her way into the discussion, demonstrating how social media provides a platform for voices ignored by traditional news organizations. Twitter and other social media also give the public a greater role in determining what’s news, and generate discussion of news stories over time, giving them a new, virtual life, suggested news and social media experts during a panel at Ryerson University last month. The discussion, moderated by TVO’s Steve Paikin and organized by RTA’s…