Students' Lounge

UBC Indigenous Reporting class examines health and healing in Aboriginal communities

May 01, 2012 - Posted by Belinda Alzner

Duncan McCue and a class of University of British Columbia journalism graduate students have produced eight feature stories that show there is more to Aboriginal communities than problem people and discouraging statistics. As Belinda Alzner explains, these students found there are solutions within these communities, too.

UPDATE: Specialist or generalist; what kind of journalist should j-schools be producing?

Dec 21, 2010 - Posted by Alexandra Bosanac

Does journalism need a new approach? The University of Toronto thinks so. In fact, Robert Steiner, director of the journalism lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs and former Wall Street Journal reporter, thinks a new master's of journalism program currently under consideration is the future of journalism. (Updated Dec. 20)

A journalist, not a newspaper(wo)man

Jan 06, 2009 - Posted by Laura Stone

It's a question that hangs on the lips of every impending journalism school graduate (including this one): what's the outlook? The answer, according to Joe Grimm, a visiting journalist at the Michigan State University School of Journalism, is...

J-school survival tips (from grads who made it)

Sep 02, 2008 - Posted by Regan Ray

J-Source asked a whole slew of recent graduates for the single most important tip they'd give to students entering first-year and put together a selection of the best responses from five successful, working graduates of Canadian j-schools.

How to survive first year j-school

Sep 02, 2008 - Posted by Regan Ray

Leading off our annual Back to J-School Edition, longtime Ryerson j-prof Don Gibb lays out ten tips to help students get the most out of first year and stay sane in the process. Plus, five working grads chime in with their best techniques for success.

A guide to choosing the right journalism school or program

Nov 27, 2007 - Posted by Mary McGuire

If you are interested in studying journalism in Canada, your overriding question is probably “Which j-school is the best one?” As J-Source Education editor Mary McGuire explains, there’s no universal answer. In this helpful guide, she provides a checklist of criteria to consider when evaluating different programs.

J-School Confidential

Sep 03, 2007 - Posted by David Hutton

Mediabistro.com has started a new series, to run throughout the 2007 year: J-School Confidential, filed by media experts in the making. The series will feature a rotating cast of emerging journos will take on that great media debate -- to j-school or not to j-school -- while chronicling their tales of learning the craft both in the academic settling and on the ground. They range from a writer who gave up a plum women's magazine editor spot to pursue graduate training she hopes will lead to work as a cultural critic to an overachieving undergrad who breaks TV industry news and has his own news radio show, all on top of the government degree he chose to pursue instead of journalism coursework.
The first article in the series looks at the challenges that lie ahead for Katia Bachko, a dance magazine editor turned Columbia journalism student.

Where Peter Gzowski got his start

Sep 03, 2007 - Posted by David Hutton

As editor-in-chief of The Varsity in 1957, the late Peter Gzowski began a career that would touch millions around the world. His work there was featured in a chapter of The University of Toronto: A History, written by Martin Friedland, University Professor and Professor of Law Emeritus at U of T, and excerpted here.

Peter Gzowski - Courtesy CBC Promotions

J-schools need to re-invent themselves to teach students relevant skills

Aug 20, 2007 - Posted by Mary McGuire

Dan Gillmor, a leading online journalist and advocate of citizen journalism, offers his ideas about how journalism schools are not keeping pace with the new demands of the re-invented world of journalism. He outlines his ideas about what should be taught instead of the age old courses on Beginning Newswriting.

Journalism schools out-of-date

Aug 14, 2007 - Posted by Mary McGuire

An article from Insidehighered.com about how journalism schools are falling behind and failing to adapt to the new media world. As a result, students are not learning the skills they need in the new multi-media world of online journalism. The article is based, in part, on a presentation to the AEJMC's convention in Washington in August 2007, and is followed by lots of feedback from students and educators about their experiences in today's J-schools.