Journalism Archives - Queen's Journal

Tara Henley’s comments about the CBC exemplify how not to criticize journalism

Written on January 14, 2022. Posted in Editorials.

To maintain the integrity and accountability of Canadian journalism, criticism of media outlets is a must. Tara Henley’s accusations towards the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), however, are proof that not all criticism is productive. On Jan. 3, journalist and author Tara Henley—having recently...

How young journalists are tackling race reporting

Written on October 22, 2021. Posted in Features.

Race reporting, often at the intersection of journalism and activism, concerns reporting on issues of race and racialization. It’s crucial to accurately represent marginalized perspectives in the media. Pamoda Wijekoon, ArtSci ’20 and Internal Content Editor at The Pigeon, feels media outlets have...

Journalism, not just Ryerson, has a discrimination problem

Written on March 12, 2021. Posted in Editorials.

An open letter from students alleges the Ryerson School of Journalism fails to properly represent and support BIPOC and LGBTQIA2S+ students. Ryerson should be paying attention—but so should journalism bodies as a whole. Last weekend, the chairs of Ryerson’s School of Journalism stepped down just...

Accessible information is the key to combatting hate groups

Written on February 2, 2021. Posted in Editorials.

There’s a misconception that alt-right hate groups, while openly plaguing the US since Trump’s election, don’t have a Canadian equivalent. That belief is misinformed. Hateful ideologies exist as much in Canada as they do in the US. They existed before Trump and they’ll exist long after him. When Trump...

Student journalists are journalists. They should be recognized as such.

Written on January 26, 2021. Posted in Editorials.

Despite the important news coverage provided by student-operated publications, student reporters often face hurdles in being recognized as legitimate journalists. Student journalists provide coverage of local topics that are often overlooked by major news outlets. Where major news outlets like The...

To overcome hurdles to media access, we need to embrace publicly funded journalism

Written on November 6, 2020. Posted in Editorials.

Facebook and Google have become the gatekeepers of our newsfeeds. But this is only part of a much larger problem. Access to unbiased journalism is vital, but so is funding that journalism. Going forward, we need to embrace publicly funded media to protect free, accessible journalism. A recent National...

Can we stop policing women’s bodies already?

Written on September 15, 2020. Posted in Editorials.

Last week, Kori Sidaway, a B.C. news anchor, received a harassing email about her appearance during a broadcast. The viewer shamed her for wearing a shirt that showed a hint of cleavage, dubbing themselves “The Vancouver Cleavage Patrol.” While female journalists are no strangers to disproportionate...

News outlets spread information about the coronavirus, not fear

Written on March 27, 2020. Posted in Editorials.

Contrary to popular belief, North American journalism about COVID-19 and its impacts isn’t sensationalism or fearmongering. It shows that reporters are doing their jobs to share information and accountability with the public. At a press conference last week, US President Donald Trump accused a...

Local journalism shows its value during COVID-19 pandemic

Written on March 20, 2020. Posted in Editorials.

The value of local journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic is its ability to pursue stories of human kindness. Large publications, like The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Globe and Mail are necessary for reporting on topics like government and institutional response to COVID-19 and...

Subscribers don’t have to pick mainstream over local journalism

Written on March 6, 2020. Posted in Editorials.

For mainstream journalism, the digital subscriber model seems to be the way of the future. But this model isn’t as feasible for smaller publications—and it may be forcing them into obsolescence. The New York Times has flourished in recent years, thanks in part to its skyrocketing digital subscriber...

Diversity in Canadian media should start on campuses

Written on February 4, 2020. Posted in Editorials.

Student newspapers are the training grounds for the next generation of journalists—and the starting points for much-needed newsroom diversification. A Globe and Mail opinion from Amy O’Kruk, a former Western Gazette editor-in-chief, Western University’s student newspaper, articulated the important...

Reflecting diversity in journalistic style guides ensures respectful reporting

Written on January 10, 2020. Posted in Editorials.

Language is constantly evolving, as is the public’s understanding of marginalized communities and identities. The words journalists use to refer to peoples’ identities should stay updated alongside this progress. Style guides like the Canadian Press stylebook are used by countless news publications...

In conversation with Star Editor-in-Chief, Irene Gentle

Written on September 12, 2019. Posted in News.

The Toronto Star is the only national Canadian newspaper to sign onto Covering Climate Now, an international journalism coalition dedicated to covering the climate crisis with the urgency it deserves. The Journal spoke to Irene Gentle, The Star’s editor-in-chief, about the paper’s decision to sign...

Former Journal editor talks mental health in memoir

Written on September 4, 2019. Posted in Arts.

Former Queen’s Journal editor in chief Anna Mehler Paperny’s debut memoir is a deep dive into depression and the way our society fails to address it effectively. Her book, Hello I Want to Die Please Fix Me: Depression in the First Person, guides the reader through her personal experience with depression,...

The Lazy Economist: What I learned at an economics conference

Written on July 28, 2019. Posted in Columns.

As if I didn’t get my fill of economics during the school year as an Economics student and one of the authors of The Lazy Economist column, in May, I attended an Economics for Journalists conference run by the Fraser Institute. The Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank, aims to measure the tangible...

Careful election coverage promotes political engagement

Written on January 29, 2019. Posted in Editorials.

Whether the election you’re following is on campus or the world stage, community journalists are positioning their political coverage carefully. In an era of clickbait and fake news, media credibility during elections is often accused of bias or unequal coverage. Last week, The Globe and Mail’s public...

Don’t give up on print media just yet

Written on November 29, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Diminishing print success has made traditional media outlets across Canada vulnerable, and the federal government has taken note. On Nov. 21, Ottawa announced a new plan to financially support Canadian journalism in its transition across outlets to digital business models. The measures will...

Queen's takes the Real World: Trading Kingston for the concrete jungle

Written on November 29, 2018. Posted in Columns.

If you open any of my old diaries or yearbooks, one staple of my identity has always been the same: I’ve known exactly what I wanted to do with my life and where I wanted to be since I was seven years old. When I pictured myself as an adult, it was always as a career woman working at a newspaper...

The Journal finalist for Fraser MacDougall Prize

Written on July 30, 2018. Posted in News.

Queen’s student newspaper is a finalist for the 2018 Fraser MacDougall Prize for Best New Canadian Voice in Human Rights Reporting. The Journal picked up three out of six finalist spots for articles that delve into human rights issues on campus. The articles include two features from 2018, and one...

We can all learn from National Geographic’s acknowledgement of the past

Written on March 16, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

Throughout its history, National Geographic has participated in racially-biased media coverage of people of colour within the United States and around the world. On Monday, Editor-in-Chief Susan Goldberg formally acknowledged this on behalf of the publication for the first time. By making an example...

Journalists have a major part to play in covering women in news

Written on February 15, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

As the most visible component of the issue of gender inequality, journalists have a responsibility to seek out women’s perspectives on the stories they write. While they can’t be charged with solving this issue by themselves, they can stop being a part of the problem. In an article from the New York...

Voyeurism is driving away journalistic integrity

Written on January 26, 2018. Posted in Editorials.

When a newspaper releases information about a murder, they don’t just cover the basics. Every single uncomfortable detail about it is included, and it’s completely unnecessary. As podcasts and longform journalism continue to dive deeper into people’s lives to create juicier content for readers, they...

Local news deserves to survive

Written on November 30, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

With the rise of digital media, print-first newspapers have very quickly become unprofitable. However, it’s important to remember a small local paper’s primary function isn’t to make money; it’s to put a microscope on a specific community and hold local officials accountable. On Monday, Torstar Corp....

Sexual Violence Awareness Week aimed to recognize experiences of survivors

Written on November 24, 2017. Posted in News.

This past week, the AMS Social Issues Commission facilitated Sexual Violence Awareness Week in an effort to provide a “brief glimpse at the essential dialogues that fuel sexual violence prevention and response on our campus,” according to their event page. The Social Issues Commission (SIC) hosted...

It’s up to news media to curb sexist language in reporting

Written on November 10, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Despite holding the position of Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, Ottawa Centre Liberal MP Catherine McKenna has been given the name “Climate Barbie” on social media by other government officials and news organizations. Last Friday, she took a moment to address a Rebel Media reporter...

Don’t forget about old school journalism

Written on July 31, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Reading and watching short pieces of news might be a quick way to see what’s going on in the world, but a snapshot can’t give you the whole picture. A piece of news that is low-quality and attention seeking is often described as a hot take. The hot take is a part of a growing culture of storytelling...

Is hope such a strange word to use for the future of journalism?

Written on February 7, 2017. Posted in Editorials.

Freely consuming news through social media is threatening print and electronic journalism. But the solution may not be in preserving journalism the way we know it — but in shifting it to change with the world. As part of a new yearlong investigation into the future of journalism, the Toronto Star’s...

CBC: your value is in your reporting, not your opinions

Written on October 25, 2016. Posted in Editorials.

The CBC is stepping into territory that isn’t theirs to claim. The national media outlet is planning to launch a new opinion section that features commentary on the day’s news. But as a publicly-funded body and a credible news source to many Canadians — particularly in places where other news sources...

Queen's needs a lesson on transparency

Written on October 6, 2016. Posted in Editorials.

Queen’s has a transparency problem. I was in first year when BISC Executive Director Bruce Stanley was fired, opening the floodgates to two years of dismissals and resignations on Queen’s’ satellite campus. Before I even knew what The Journal was, I wondered why we — the students impacted by Stanley’s...

Tag: Journalism

The Journal, Queen's University - Since 1873

Get the App

Get the App