Kim Rupnarain – Ryerson Review of Journalism :: The Ryerson School of Journalism

Trayvon Martin’s blackness, George Zimmerman’s whiteness, and the colours used to tell the story

Kimberly Rupnarain — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:53:02 +0000

Unarmed. 17 years old. Carrying iced tea and Skittles. Wearing a hoodie. Black.

Armed. 28 years old. Vigilante. Acting in self-defense. White, Hispanic or Latino.

Even without a headline, it’s easy to identify what story these terms hail from—they’re the most popular and controversial details in the coverage of Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman.

Although some of them are imperative to understanding the story (“unarmed”; “armed”; “acting in self-denfense”), others are arguably excessive, namely the much-referenced and highly debated use of “wearing a hoodie.”

But if anything, the coverage of Martin’s death should at least be an opportunity for journalists to discuss and re-evaluate the way we cover crime and race.

Multiple reporters, like Poynter’s Mallary Jean Tenore, have already started investigating the coverage. In a recent article, she proposed journalists should not yet refer to Martin’s death as a murder, due to the implication of guilt carried by the word. Instead, she suggested, journalists should try to use “killing” or “shooting” if they wish to maintain some objectivity. In another article, Tenore explained why journalists should be careful of how they throw around the words “racial tensions,” and explored the special challenge of reporting on the hoodie.

Other media outlets, like Time, The Telegraph, and the Huffington Post, touched on another important aspect of the reporting process: the role social media played in bringing the story to an international audience. That platforms like Twitter and Facebook circulated the story until the media had no choice to but to cover it is just another example of how powerful such tools have become, and how necessary it is to pay attention to them.

It’s also an opportunity for journalists to really question what it is they’re writing.

In an article posted on his blog, the Daily Mail’s Tony Harnden managed to insert a rather unqualified statement high up in the story, stating that “For black parents, the fear of an incident like this is acute.” There was no accompanying quote or fact to support this statement, making it seem as though it’s simply Harnden’s opinion.

“For black parents, the fear of an incident like this is acute.”

For black parents only? Do white or Asian or Middle Eastern parents not worry about their children the same way black parents do? Or did he mean something else? The fear is acute? So this is something black parents worry intensely about? These are just some of the questions that a statement like Harnden’s can raise. He’s certainly not the only journalist to have inserted a personal opinion on race into his coverage, but this kind of overarching statement should give journalists pause before they include similar assertions in a news story.

Much of what to include or omit in the coverage of Trayvon Martin could easily be hotly debated. But at the very least, it’s worth a civil discussion.

Lead image via Reuters

Canadian magazine The Health Journal bites the dust

Kim Rupnarain — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 22:54:21 +0000

Masthead Online reported that Canadian magazine The Health Journal, has ceased publication due to the insolvency of its publisher, Gemini Communications Inc.

The publication, which was distributed nationally and at one time—published five times a year—was established in 1995 to deliver “timely, essential, and easy to understand health information to Canadian families,” according to the magazine’s website. With over 600 archived articles “written and reviewed by leading healthcare professionals,” the Health Journaladdressed a range of subjects from better-known topics such as anxiety, to lesser-known illnesses such as fibromyalgia.

Publisher and national sales director Chantal Goudreau told Masthead that the company will no longer publish any magazine or other entity under its name, including Health Journal. Although the magazine’s website is still live, Goudreau confirms that it is in the process of being shut down, and that subscriptions are no longer being accepted.

The end of The Health Journal closely follows the recent closures of Dogs in Canada, Canada’s oldest magazine, and Homemakers magazine, which both ceased publication in 2011.

For now, the website remains live and stocked with articles in such areas as active living, healthy eating, prevention and expert opinions. So take one last look at Health Journal, before its heart stops beating for good.

The Most Tales: Rachel Giese

Kimberly Rupnarain — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:30:23 +0000

The Ryerson Review of Journalism talks with The Walrus’ Rachel Giese about her most difficult interview.

Media outlets will publish Vancouver riot images online before releasing them to the police

Kim Rupnarain — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:19:01 +0000

When the Vancouver Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins last June, resulting in mobs of disgruntled Canucks fans rioting in their very own city, all Canadians suffered a terrible embarrassment.

For B.C. journalists, insult was only added to injury when the Vancouver Police Department demanded that six local media outlets, including The Globe and Mail, The Vancouver Sun, The Province, Global News, CBC, and CTV, release any and all photo and video images of the event.

Though the outlets fought for four months to dissuade the judge from allowing police to seize the footage, a court order handed down in mid-January said that the media must comply. And comply they did. But not before posting their material online for their own readers.

Curious parties can now see all of the images taken by photographers at both The Province and The Vancouver Sun, allowing readers, according to the Sun, to “see whether their images are included in the massive police file assembled for riot investigation.”

Regarding the court order demanding their compliance, the outlets have all expressed dissatisfaction over their compromised journalistic independence. Troy Reeb, vice president of Global News, made a statement saying that “the ability to operate independently is fundamental to the practice of journalism, and Global News will continue to vigorously defend this principle in the future. It is important for both the safety of our journalists, and the integrity of their investigative work, that they not be seen as gathering evidence for police.”

To view the selection of over 5,000 photos, visit www.pngphoto.com.