By STEPH WECHSLER Special to the RJRC Digital photography and the capacity to edit pictures quickly and affordably have reopened debate over what editorializing means in images and the nature of photojournalistic neutrality, says award-winning photographer Peter Bregg. New technologies have expanded the options for manipulating photographs, Bregg said during a panel discussion organized by the Ryerson Journalism Research Centre: “If a photo is heavily enhanced in post production is it the truth as it happened, or is the photographer trying to influence the reader?” Bregg, winner of the 2014 Canadian Journalism Foundation’s lifetime achievement award and an instructor at…
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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…
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By ROBERT LIWANAG Special to the Ryerson Journalism Research Centre February 29, 2016 Neutrality in journalism limits the civil liberties of reporters and should be abandoned, said the director of Ryerson University’s Centre for Free Expression during a recent panel discussion. Citing CNN’s two-week suspension of global affairs correspondent Elise Labott over a tweet last November, James Turk said neutrality fails to distinguish an institution’s business interests from the journalist’s public obligations. Labott’s tweet—“Statue of Liberty bows head in anguish”—was posted in response to a U.S. House of Representatives bill halting the admission of Syrian refugees. “ (Neutrality) is based…
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By STEPH WECHSLER Special to the RJRC February 26, 2016 Jian Ghomeshi’s trial has given Canadians a crash course in the parameters of consent and a comprehensive case study on how the media covers sexual violence. Farrah Khan, co-ordinator of the Office for Sexual Violence Support and Education at Ryerson University, called the climate around the case “tumultuous,” and urged journalists to be mindful of how they tell stories involving sexual assault. “When you’re reporting, people are listening,” said Khan, who was invited by the Ryerson Journalism Research Centre to discuss a guide she co-authored for journalists on covering sexual assault.…
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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…