An introduction to the range of research methods, both quantitative and qualitative, that are used to investigate questions in journalism and media studies. Students will be helped to bring a critical understanding to the process of research underlying reporting, so that they can understand, interpret and convey the results of studies, surveys and polls (including statistical information), in their reporting. Students will also be introduced to the basic research methods used in original scholarly work in journalism and media studies so that they can understand scholarly work about the discipline of journalism and media studies. Topics covered include: the research process from finding a researchable question through data gathering and analysis to dissemination of results; qualities of well designed and well-conducted research; ethical considerations in research; basic concepts and techniques in descriptive statistics; significance testing.

An introduction to the role of journalism in society and the political economy of the contemporary Canadian media industry. The course focuses on issues affecting the production and distribution of journalism. A variety of areas will be considered including ownership, corporate consolidation, regulation and labour relations as they apply to print, radio, television and the Internet.

This course comprises two components, law and ethics, and is intended to examine both subject areas in relation to the rights, responsibilities and moral obligations of journalists. To this end, students will spend half the term on law issues and half on ethics. While both components of the course will address concerns involving both legal and ethical principles, the law component and the ethics component will address separately the fundamental concepts in each. For example, in some areas of Canada it is currently perfectly legal to publish photographs of grieving families at funerals while elsewhere in the country it is not: whether legal or not, is it ethical to do so?

In the law portion of the course the concept of freedom of expression in Canadian law in relation to the profession of journalism, both its instantiation and limitations, will be a central theme. Materials will include both primary sources of law (select portions of legislation and judicially decided cases) and secondary sources (descriptions and commentary).

The ethics portion of the course is a combination of lectures, discussion-based seminars and applied case studies. After becoming familiar with the general history and evolution of the field of ethics, students will be introduced to the field of applied ethics and will employ some of the reasoning models they have learned to analyse both their own responses to ethical dilemmas and those made by the Canadian media.

A theoretical understanding of the media and their role in society is crucial to the work of contemporary journalists. This course will introduce students to key issues and debates around media, culture, and social power. It will also hone analytic skills and critical abilities in examining a range of media institutions and productions (e.g., film, radio, television, popular music).