First-year Journalism – Mass Media students had a valuable opportunity for experiential learning at Durham College (DC) earlier this month.

The ‘Community Listening’ event, held at the new Centre for Innovation and Research, was part of the Voices in Durham project, a partnership between the Regional Municipality of Durham and DC. The theme of the event was ‘reporting on fair and equitable stories in the diverse region of Durham.’

“We’re talking to key leaders in the Region of Durham about how journalists can approach them, how they can tell stories, how to gain trust in their communities, and how to really build rapport and to look for stories that the students wouldn’t normally know about,” explained Journalism faculty member Joanne MacDonald.  

By simulating a press conference, the event allowed students to experience the work of a professional journalist, and each of them had a unique role to play, from moderating the discussion to taking notes and snapping photographs.

One of the guest speakers was Dr. Vidal Chavannes, Director of Strategy, Research and Organizational Performance at Durham Regional Police Service. He saw the event as an ideal opportunity to speak to the future reporters who will shed light on important news and issues.

“I’m happy to participate in any opportunity to connect with young people who are interested in telling the stories of the residents of Durham,” he said. “Any time you’re able to hear other people’s life stories, I think it helps you understand just how different that we are, but also how much we have in common.”

First-year students Bryson Betts and Sunmeet Kour served as the event hosts, leading the discussion before turning the microphone over to their assembled classmates. The panelists touched on a variety of topics, from the importance of inclusive local news to the best way for reporters to approach their communities.

DC’s young journalists will benefit greatly from the experience, according to professor Teresa Goff.

“When you’re working in journalism, you need to know your audience. We want them to feel comfortable going out into the community and doing interviews, but we also want them to understand the diversity of Durham,” she said. “We want to get the students thinking about amplifying voices that we don’t often hear.”

Fittingly, the guest speakers for the event were six community members who are working hard to create change, including;

• Wosen Beyene, Manager of the Ajax Welcome Centre and Immigrant Services (Community Development Council Durham)
• Vidal Chavannes, Director of Strategy, Research and Organizational Performance at Durham Regional Police Service
• Jon Colwell, Visual Artist, Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation
• Akuah Frempong, Clinical Services Coordinator at Inner City Health Associates, Member of Congress of Black Women of Canada (Oshawa/Whitby Chapter), and Member of Durham Region Anti-Racism Taskforce
• Lisa McIntosh, Director, Income, Employment and Homelessness Support
• Raveena Rajasingham, President, Canadian Tamil Congress, Board of Directors

With the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation approaching on September 30, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) reporter Priscilla Wolf joined Durham College (DC) students for a discussion about Indigenous issues. 

Appearing virtually in The Rotary Global Classroom on September 26, Wolf fielded questions from the assembled students and shared stories from her life and career as an Indigenous woman who is committed to representing her community.

“I love working at APTN because we get to tell our stories from our point of view. Indigenous stories,” she said. With the benefit of her lived experience and knowledge of her culture, she tells those stories with empathy and integrity. While stressing that journalists of all backgrounds can and should cover Indigenous issues, she acknowledged that being a member of the community makes her work that much more personal.

First recognized in 2021, National Day for Truth and Reconciliation brings those issues to the forefront, particularly the history of residential schools. While those harsh truths must be acknowledged, Wolf sees the growing recognition as a positive step towards reconciliation.

“I think it’s important, because it shows how we’ve changed and how we’ve improved. It’s not just about how badly Indigenous people were treated. It’s also showing how the relationship has evolved with the Canadian government, and how Indigenous people have thrived and are still thriving today.”

Journalism professor Joanne MacDonald was pleased to see her students make the most of a unique opportunity to hear from someone as experienced and accomplished as Wolf.

“Hearing from frontline journalists in Canada is a pretty amazing experience. Students asked great questions, they listened and I think they learned a lot,” she said. “Diversity makes for better journalism.”

The event was part of the Voices in Journalism series. Every year, first-year Journalism students work with Durham Region’s CityStudio to produce a handful of events where speakers from across Canada and beyond share their wisdom and experience in panels on equity, diversity and inclusion in journalism.

It’s an invaluable opportunity for future journalists like Ganga Rajesh, who helped to moderate the event, and Gage Patte, who took a leading role in it.

“It’s important to learn from someone who’s had so much experience in the field. We’re going into the news industry, so we have to consider all these different perspectives and these different experiences that people we’re going to be working with have been through,” said Patte.  

As an international student who is just beginning to learn about the complicated history of Indigenous people in Canada, Rajesh was grateful for the chance to benefit from Wolf’s firsthand experience.

That sentiment was shared by their classmate, Simran Deb.

“I think that as journalists, it’s really important to listen to Indigenous voices,” she said.

The Journalism – Mass Media program is celebrating 50 years of excellence.

The first issue of the Durham College (DC) Chronicle was published in November of 1973. Over the ensuing decades, the world of journalism has experienced a number of seismic shifts, and the Chronicle has kept pace. What started as a printed campus newspaper has grown into an online platform that incorporates social media, Riot Radio and YouTube. But what hasn’t changed is the hard work of the award-winning students and professors who deliver the news from campus and the surrounding community with accuracy and integrity.

“This year is a chance to celebrate that we are still here, and that journalism is still very much alive and it’s still really important to democracy,” said professor and program coordinator Danielle Harder. “A lot of the world thinks journalism is in decline, but we like to think we’re just changing with society. We’re still telling the same stories; we’re just changing the ways in which we tell them. We’re telling them with more context and on new platforms.”

The internet may have irrevocably changed the old media landscape, but it has also created limitless opportunities for those with the skillset an education in journalism can provide. Graduates aren’t relegated to jobs as reporters or broadcasters anymore.

“Our students take the skills they learn from us and apply them in really interesting ways. We have students who go out and work in communications, and others who create social media content. We have some who write reviews for video games,” she said. “We’re teaching how to tell stories, how to think critically, how to ask questions that get to the truth.”

The 2023-24 school year will feature a number of special events to commemorate the Chronicle’s semi-centennial:

• A series of panel discussions will highlight important issues, beginning on Tuesday, September 26 with ‘Indigenous Voices in Journalism.’
• At the campus Library, a microfiche machine will allow for perusal of copies of the Chronicle from throughout its history.
• During Social Justice Week in January, professor and writer-in-residence Alvin Ntibinyane will discuss the importance of equity in journalism, while librarian Trish Johns-Wilson and students from the program will promote digital literacy and provide tips on how to critically analyze information and navigate online platforms.

There are also plans for a panel discussion involving graduates of the program who have gone on to exceptional careers.

All of the successes the program and its students have enjoyed over the last 50 years wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the campus community, according to Harder.

“We would like to thank people for supporting our students on campus as they learn to become journalists. We have really appreciated the support of leadership, faculty and staff.”

Stay tuned for more information on this year’s anniversary events to learn how DC’s homegrown journalists are leading the way.