Diversity in News Media
Assign half of the students to read the article Decolonizing Journalism and the other half of the class to read the Owning Our Stories article. Both articles are accessible in the student material section of this lesson. Have students answer questions and then share the answers to their respective articles:
Next. discuss as a class:
Historically, Canadian journalists and newscasters have mostly been White males. Has this changed? If yes, how so and why has this happened? (For instance, women are now much more heavily represented – are other groups?) Do you think the changes accurately reflect reality?
Note that media ownership in Canada has also generally been White. Then ask:
What might be different when diverse groups have economic control of production and broadcasting? How do the concepts of “ownership” and “control” apply to the broader discussion of diverse media representation? What are some specific strategies that journalists and media producers can employ to ensure that diverse voices are heard and represented accurately and respectfully?