Obstacles to Diverse Communities in Journalism

Tell students that in both Canada and the United States journalists have typically been White and non-disabled, and that research suggests this is still true: a recent study showed that in the Greater Toronto Area only one in five reporters on news broadcasts is a member of a racialized group, compared to roughly half the population of the area, and visible minorities made up only one in six newsroom decision-makers.^[1] As well, women, persons with disabilities and 2SLBTQINA+ people have spoken repeatedly about barriers to participation in journalism in Canada. Journalists from under-represented groups also say that they often are not assigned stories about their communities on the grounds that they cannot be objective on the subject (a standard that is never applied to White reporters.)

Ask students how this lack of diversity might affect the construction of news stories (they will mostly be based on the assumptions and biases of people who are White, able-bodied and heterosexual) and how news stories re-present reality (audiences receive a limited and possibly distorted picture of the world).

Point out that thanks to the internet and other digital technologies, it’s now possible for anyone to be a journalist by recording and broadcasting what they witness (as well as their opinions).