J-Topics

It’s 2013. Visible minorities are 50% of the GTA population. What impact has this had in the coverage of stories that fall outside what is considered "the mainstream?" Are the shootings at the Sikh gurdwara in the U.S., Tamil protests in Toronto or the Shafia murders treated like any other story or treated as stories about a specific community? Who does the reporting and does ethnic background make a difference in reporting style? J-Source live blogged the SAJA talk. 

September 6 marks the 17th anniversary of the death of Dudley George — an unarmed First Nations occupier shot and killed by an OPP officer at Ipperwash Provincial Park in Southwestern Ontario. But Maurice Switzer, the first Indigenous publisher of a daily paper in Canada and the current director of communications for the Union of Ontario Indians, says flagrant attitudes of racism still exist in politicians, police officers and even journalists. With an intro from Ethics editor Romayne Smith Fullerton.

Duncan McCue, a UBC journalism professor and reporter for CBC’s The National has launched a website to help journalists report about Aboriginal communities. Belinda Alzner spoke with McCue about why he created the website, some challenges journalists face, and how the resource can help journalists and editors work together to overcome them. And with Attawapiskat making headlines, the guide is as timely as it is useful.