A group of Indigenous academics recently invited me to do a workshop on working WITH the media. Their opinions of media were less than positive, and many were disappointed by previous experiences dealing with journalists. Despite fears of how they'll be represented, I suggested there's...
RIIC is getting an awful lot of calls and emails from students recently, from Canada and the US. That time of the year. Big essays and assignments due. RIIC welcomes the calls --- it's encouraging to think a new generation of journalism students are thinking...
Nothing RIIC enjoys more than a good ol' mind-bending discussion about ethics with journalism students. Dorian Geiger, a journalism student at University of King's College in Halifax (my alma mater) gave me a ring recently. He's working on a paper about the portrayal of Aboriginal...
Officially, I was on holidays. But my idea of a holiday is to accept an invitation to speak about representation of First Nations in the Canadian media at Australia National University. Nuttier still, while stopping in Sydney en route to Canberra, what I do for fun is...
A nice shout-out for RIIC from the enfant terrible of Canadian journalism, Kai Nagata. Here’s his short video, in which he applauds the CBC (my employer) for giving me freedom to explore my journalistic interests outside the CBC for a year, which resulted in me...
Ever found yourself plodding toward deadline, and wondering why that interviewee kept referring to "the Sixties Scoop"? Or have you wished you had someone you could ask, "what exactly is a 'medicine wheel'"? Well - here it is: the online Aboriginal Key Terminology Guidebook by...
I've long argued that if we want better journalism in Indigenous communities, that's a matter of training and education. Last week, I had the good fortune to present some of the principles from RIIC to my colleagues at CBC, in a talk I called "The Secret...
UBC journalism partners with First Nations to report on major health issues An innovative UBC Graduate School of Journalism project provides a hard-hitting look into efforts by Aboriginal communities to address such major health and social issues as suicide, sexual abuse, diabetes and the survival of...
Journalism ethics can rarely be reduced to a clear set of rules, but it's crystal clear to RIIC that some of the key principles of journalism ethical codes need adapting to acknowledge Aboriginal protocols and cultures. That's why RIIC is jazzed to be spending a soggy...
How about this for a nice surprise in my inbox? An email from Janice Neil, editor-in-chief of J-source.ca and journalism professor at Ryerson University, congratulating me for earning an Hononourable Mention as the J-source Canadian Newsperson of the Year Award. Cool, eh? J-source is the English...
