Tag Archives: Journalism

4.4: Reporting in Indigenous Communities

This website is a resource for journalists who work with indigenous communities. It was created by Duncan McCue, who is a CBC journalist. McCue has also been a professor at the UBC School of Journalism. I found the most useful section of the website to be a Reporter’s Checklist. While the is written with a great deal of humour, it also serves as a valuable list of cultural concerns journalists should be mindful of when working in indigenous communities (e.g., Have you requested permission to film or photograph a ceremony? What are the protocols about naming, or using the image of, a deceased person in this Aboriginal community?). In the Teachings section, reporters who have worked with indigenous communities are encouraged to leave blog posts about their experiences in an effort to build “collective wisdom”. The Resources section is a collection of links to sites that can help reporters build their understanding of indigenous issues in Canada.

Module 4: Post #2- Indigenous Involvement in Media

In line with our discussions about the ways that Indigenous communities are using technology, I looked at the involvement of Indigenous Peoples in different media programs. I thought that this article was interesting as it talks about some of the challenges and opportunities faced by Indigenous students in journalism school– http://www.macleans.ca/work/jobs/indigenous-students-meet-challenges-of-journalism-school/. A comment in the article from recent graduate Frank Molley is the following; “Being a journalist, not only are you standing up for the people,” he says, “it is also a form of justice.”

It was also great to hear that a report done by an online magazine (http://www.mediaindigena.com/), counted more than 60 working Indigenous Canadian journalists.

First Nations University of Canada is part of the University of Regina. They have a program called INCA (Indian Communication Arts) which has been running for more than 30 years and have produced many quality journalists.. There are some Indigenous students who transition from this program to the University of Regina’s Journalism Program.

Here is the link to a video documentary produced by students from INCA about the First Nations Summer Games 2013– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUIQTH66GfE.

References

Avison, Shannon. 2013 FNSG Legacy. Video documentary produced by students from the Indian Communication Arts (INCA) program at First Nations University in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. April 4th, 2015. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUIQTH66GfE.

Troian, Martha. Indigenous Students Meet Challenges of Journalism School: Aboriginals report racism and discomfort but also support. Maclean’s. June 11, 2013. Retrieved from:http://www.macleans.ca/work/jobs/indigenous-students-meet-challenges-of-journalism-school/

Module 1 Post 2: Aboriginal Peoples and News

People’s misconceptions of Aboriginal peoples are often due to what they see or read in mainstream media. I found this video that talks about how misconceptions can be driven and perpetuated by the media. Interestingly, it also touches on journalism, and how journalists often lack a solid background or knowledge on Aboriginal peoples; therefore, they are more likely to “buy into” and promote the myths that are already established.

In searching for how Aboriginal peoples are portrayed in the media, I stumbled on this article News Stereotypes of Aboriginal Peoples.

The article examines how Aboriginal people are typically shown on the news when an individual is either: a warrior, drumming, dancing, drunk, or dead (WD4). It speaks of various stereotypes that are based on untruths and how they are perpetuated by selective media coverage and false assumptions.

The article is posted on a site called “Reporting in Indigenous Communities”. Upon further exploration, I found out that this site’s purpose is to guide and educate journalists that are reporting news in Indigenous communities. It describes ways in which reporters can help serve Indigenous communities by providing quality news coverage. This site also has many valuable resources such as historical overviews, glossaries of terminology/definitions, government acts, residential schools, Indigenous media/blogs, and many more.