J-Links for June 21: Is a journalism degree useless?; Let’s talk about suicide; Ethiopia’s Skype ban bad news for journos

In Canadian media:

How will Sorkin’s The Newsroom portray journalists?

Award-winning journalist and co-creator and co-producer of television series Rookie Blue, Ellen Vanstone discusses television’s portrayal of journalists. She wonders if Aaron Sorkin’s news anchor character can make journalists look like heroes again in new television series The Newsroom. Vanstone also takes us back through history and explores how journalists have been portrayed on screen.

A recent j-school grad on her degree being deemed “useless”

CastCareer.com created a list of the top 200 jobs of 2012; a newspaper reporter is listed as the fifth worst and a broadcast reporter as the 10th worst. Nataliya Schafer, a recent j-school graduate shares her views on why this doesn’t bother her. In fact, she likes where journalism stands.

MLB Network in Canada? Rogers hopes so

Owner of the Toronto Blue Jays, Rogers Communications Inc. wants to bring the MLB network to Canadians, but first it needs permission from the Canadian Radio-television Commission.

In international media:

Ethiopia’s ban on Skype detrimental to journalists, too

Ethiopia passed a law May 24 to ban Skype and other VOIP services, but international media didn’t pick up the story until last week. The government said the ban was put in place to prevent the country’s state-run telecommunications provider from losing money. However, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says that this prevents journalists from talking to international sources securely and affordably.

Today’s read:

Hamilton Spectator columnist: we need to talk about teen suicide

The Spec’s Susan Clairmont discusses teen suicide and if media coverage is “helpful or hurtful.” After receiving much feedback from a first column, Clairmont wrote a second column highlighting some of the numerous calls, e-mails and tweets she received about the issue.