Marilee Devries was the Head of Research for the Spring 2014 issue of Ryerson Review of Journalism. Going hungry: Canadians are starving for agriculture coverage
If food is the world’s most essential industry, why have newspapers forsaken the farm?
By Marilee Devries Laura Rance wants agriculture to be a beat at the Winnipeg Free Press—and she wants to be the reporter on it. She grew up on a farm, so she can see that coverage is lacking. It’s the mid-’80s, and Rance has been a general-assignment reporter for two-and-a-half years. She decides to lobby for […]
Journalists at the movies, part two: five films to avoid
By Marilee Devries In a follow-up to yesterday’s post on the five movies about journalism that you should watch, here’s a compilation of their less-savoury counterparts. Not all of these films portray journalism poorly, but every one depicts the profession unrealistically in one way or another. Here’s how: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Besides dragons […]
Journalists at the movies, part one: five movies you should watch
By Marilee Devries Sometimes they are nuisances, looking for a scoop; sometimes they’re heroes uncovering the truth. Either way, journalists crop up in films all the time. Hollywood has a tendency to either vilify or glorify the noble* profession of journalism. Film historian Steven J. Ross said in his book Movies and American Society that films are […]
In-house plagiarism: is it ever okay to steal another reporter’s words?
When a Toronto Star intern copied chunks of a colleague’s article, it became clear that many journalists were confused about how to use internal material
On October 28, 2010, Toronto Star staff reporter Daniel Dale wrote a clever lead for his article about vanity licence plates: “You may be a Budweiser-guzzling ex-cop stripper who worships Buddha, carries a pistol, uses Viagra and supports Barack Obama, fine. Just don’t you dare mention any of those facts on your licence plate.” On […]
