So, You Think You Can Be A Journalist?

Okay, Grade 11s! This is your first blog entry!

Brian Baker, a community reporter for Bloor West's Town Crier, is an example of a multifacted journalist, who not only can write about a vast array of topics such as sports, entertainment, and current events, but he also is wired into the world of online journalism. Check out his offical website http://www.puffingod.com/. Read throught the content, articles, and musings. Discuss one of his examples of hard news writing (it may be one of the articles given to you during the J-Talk). What makes it a good piece of journalism?

After going through Brian's website, discuss what is needed to be strong journalist in today's competitive news market. 300 words.

Welcome to 2009-2010 J-Squad Blog

Time to make history!

It is often said that Journalism is the first version of history. For your Grade 11 Journalism blogs (Unit 12) you will engage in history-making!

I am anticipating an exciting year full of great ideas, amazing work, and stimulating discussion. Most of all, I am looking forward to getting to know and appreciate all of you!You will be required to create a blog, SPECIFICALLY for this course. This blog will be a journal which will contain your thoughtful responses to questions relating to current issues or themes relating to journalism.I will post journal entry questions at certain points throughout the year. You will be required to complete 6 entries, consisting of around 300 words each and appropriate supporting visuals. Your work on the blog will fulfill one unit for Journalism.This unit intends to explore "the weblog" as an emerging form of communication and expression. I invite all of you to share your ideas and practice your writing and communication skills through this unit and course. Happy blogging!

Maddie White in the House, Part 2

The Feminist Movement has undergone several changes in direction since the word "Feminism" became part of popular consciousness in the 1960s. Read Madeleine White's article Where have all the feminists gone , in which she outlines the waves of Feminism and asks what does feminism look like in our day and age. Answer Maddie's question and use examples from your life.

Maddie White in the House, Part 1

On Friday, January 30th, Mary Ward J-students and members of Gender Justice had the opportunity to meet Madeleine White, a 23-year-old feminist and writer with the Toronto Star. She shared her experiences of the newspaper business, her writing process and how she integrates her feminism into work.

Writing an Opinionated Editorial (Op Ed) is not an easy task. It does not simply mean jotting down your personal rant on paper, but as we discovered through Maddie, it involves research with friends, professionals, and essentially anyone willing to share an opinion.

Read Maddie's article, entitled Gender studies missing from high school. From her talk, we learned about the hoops that Maddie had to jump through in order to learn why her source was threatened with job loss if her quote was published. What are your thoughts on how Maddie dealt with the situation? Identify the all the sources that Maddie uses in this article. How does using a variety of different voices enrich the article? What is Maddie's opinion about the addition of Gender Studies in Ontario high schools and what are your thoughts about it?

The hidden epidemic in schools: Cheating

In our instant gratification age, there appears to be a startling trend among students who are going to great unethical lengths to get A's without studying. Cheating is not new in education, however, the ways in which cheating culture is being promoted, shared, and valourized is greater than ever before. Information-sharing communities, such as Youtube, are littered with how-to videos on cheating, some quite elaborate and stealth. The above video is but one example of how people are using sophisticated techniques and tools to steal good grades.

As a student, you may have witnessed, heard of, or even partook in an incident of cheating at Ward. What are some of these practices? When and where do they occur? How is cheating at Ward different from cheating at others schools? Why do students cheat? What do you think about this state of affairs? How can students avoid the temptation to cheat?

Strong articles will be published in the Mary Ward Planet.

Barack to the Future

Tuesday, January 20, 2008 will be the swearing in of the 44th American president, Barack Obama. This momentous occasion will be a huge media event not only because he is the new leader of the free world in a time of war and financial crisis, but also because he is the first black president of a country that was founded on the backs of slaves taken from Africa. In a nation founded on the oppression of blacks, the inauguration of Barack Obama is truly a historical moment of great importance.

Carefully watch media coverage of the inauguration. What is the mood and tone of journalists on CNN, Fox News, or the CBC? Listen to the commentary of the journalists. What are the comments you agree with/ disagree with/ or that surprise you? What are some of your thoughts about Obama as he begins his presidency?

A Question of Journalistic Ethics, part 2

Sharing the community’s grief
Little Rock news coverage of three teen-age suicides
It was not a question of whether to report on the suicides of three Sheridan youths within hours of each other, but how to do it with the sensitivity the story — and the community — needed. Read the above story and comment on the way the story was handled by the Arkansas Gazette. What would you do differently in the handling of the story?

A Question of Journalistic Ethics, part 1

When a hero is not a hero

A firefighter is killed in the line of duty. He is given a hero’s funeral. Later an autopsy report reveals he was legally drunk. Read the above case study and discuss the ethical dilemma and how you would handle the story.