Journalism and Media Production and Design Permanent Working Group (PWG) Committee on Anti-Racism and Inclusion Annual Report 2023-2024
PWG Committee Members:
- Nana aba Duncan (Associate Professor, Journalism; Carty Chair in Journalism, Diversity, & Inclusion Studies)
- Adrian Harewood (Associate Professor, Journalism)
- Sarah Everts (Associate Professor, Journalism; CTV Chair in Digital Science Journalism)
- Stéfy McKnight (Associate Professor, Media Production and Design)
- Katie Graham (Associate Professor, Teaching Stream, Media Production and Design)
- Matthew Pearson (Assistant Professor, Journalism)
- Susan Harada (Associate Professor, Journalism)
- Brett Popplewell (Associate Professor, Journalism)
Introduction
The Journalism and Media Production and Design programs at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication established a Permanent Working Group (PWG) in 2020- one of the most socially and politically tumultuous years so far this century. The PWG emerged in the wake of a Call to Action made by concerned Carleton journalism students and graduates seeking to address systemic racism within the journalism program. Part of the PWG’s mission is to help create a welcoming, stimulating, professional and creative environment for the school’s diverse student body. The PWG is marking its fourth year of existence. The members of the 2024 Permanent Working Group Committee include: Nana aba Duncan, Sarah Everts, Susan Harada, Adrian Harewood, Katie Graham, Stéfy McKnight, Matthew Pearson, and Brett Popplewell.
The PWG is committed to eliminating racism against racialized and Indigenous people as well as inequities or other barriers based on ethnicity, nationality, religion, gender expression, sexual orientation, or ability. Its members are committed to employing anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice to ensure Carleton’s Journalism and Media Production and Design programs are inclusive and safe for students and faculty.
Students and alumni have played an integral role in making Carleton’s journalism and media production and design programs more relevant, transparent, and accountable. They have challenged school administrators and instructors alike to be become more inclusive in their daily practices in the boardroom and in the classroom. They have communicated these values to the university community and the general public. The PWG remains committed to reflecting the voices of students and responding to their concerns about the curriculum and the faculty in an empathetic, principled and forthright manner.
Gender Neutral Washroom Issue
In March 2023, The Carleton University Trans* Advocacy Group (CTAG), began hosting a campus wide consultation process as a response to the CTAG Calls to Action sent to administrators and senior leaders of Carleton University in February 2019. One of the calls to action included gender inclusive washrooms across campus. A new gender-neutral washroom was established on the fourth floor of the Richcraft Building in Spring 2024. The gender-neutral washroom was an initiative of the School of Journalism and Communication (SJC) and is housed on SJC’s main floor.
Review of the Bachelor of Media Production and Design’s (BMPD) activities
BMPD faculty members participated in training this year – including the Kinàmàgawin Indigenous Learning Certificate.
BMPD course outline templates were updated to include a land acknowledgement.
BMPD faculty and contract instructors were provided with the updated checklist for syllabuses.
A first year BMPD course (MPAD 1001) included a guest lecture from an Indigenous scholar (Monique Manatch) from Indigenous Culture and Media Innovations (ICMI) on Indigenous storytelling and multimedia initiatives.
MPAD4000: Capstone Projects course had students partner with several organizations and community groups focused on EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) including The Multicultural Association of Northwestern Ontario, Keewaytinook Okimakana (KO), the Carleton Trans Advocacy Group (CTAG), and ReClimate.
Their work can be found at cubmpd.ca/betterfuture.
A new course was added to the BMPD calendar as an alternative option to MPAD 4000 Capstone Projects. The new course, “MPAD 4906: Capstone Projects: Translational Approach to Indigenous Community Wellness”, draws on the partnership between Drs. Stéfy McKnight, Kim Matheson, Rick Colbourne, and Sean Landsmen, and The Multicultural Association of Northwestern Ontario, Keewaytinook Okimakana (KO).
As part of their capstone projects, students will work collaboratively with thesis honours students in neuroscience, biology, and environmental sciences, and Indigenous youth to create multimedia projects that centre community stories. Previously, students benefitted from these partnerships in MPAD 4000, but now can do this work in a more focused way, that allows for more specified training in alternative community-based methodologies and storytelling. Dr. McKnight and some undergraduate students are producing recruitment materials that informs students about this new capstone stream over the summer.
In October 2023, Dr. Stéfy McKnight completed the SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) Partnership Engage Grant project titled “Aqtion Arqhive: Tracing 2SLGBTQIA+ Labour Activism in Katarokwi/Kingston.” The archive was launched at a community event in Kingston on October 5th, 2023, and can now be found online.
Dr. Stéfy McKnight was elected Equity Chair for CUASA (Carleton University Academic Staff Association) on July 1st, 2023. They are beginning the second year of their term this summer. They have been leading equity related initiatives for the current bargaining year.
Training and Professional Development
We continue to work with Dr. Krista Craven, the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Learning Specialist at Carleton University’s Department of Equity and Inclusive Communities (EIC). We are planning two workshops for the summer of 2024. The PWG is planning to organize a Trans Non-Binary Inclusion workshop that will focus on the syllabi of faculty members and a neurodivergence workshop for faculty and staff in late August 2024.
A Review of Activities within the Journalism program
Award-winning journalist and long-time CBC broadcaster Duncan McCue was hired as an associate professor and began his tenure track position in July 2023 specializing in Indigenous Journalism and (Story)telling.
Professor Nana aba Duncan was awarded the 2024 Faculty of Public Affairs Equity & Inclusion Award.
Professor Nana aba Duncan hosted Carleton University’s School of Social Work’s Black History Month event “Black History is every month: A Love Letter to the African, Caribbean and Black Community.” (March 19, 2024).
Professor Nana aba Duncan launched the Mary Ann Shadd Cary Fellowship for Black Journalists, which will send a Black journalism student from Carleton University to the National Association of Black Journalists Convention and Career Fair in Chicago, July 2024.
Professor Adrian Harewood served as the host/moderator for Carleton University’s Black History Month 2024 Opening Event, “Reuniting Black LGBTQ+ People and African- Centred Thought: A Talk with Professor Michele K. Lewis.” (February 1, 2024). Professor Harewood was also a guest speaker at the inaugural Black History Month dinner, discussion, and movie screening hosted by the Carleton University CUPE 2424 Racial Justice Committee. (February 22, 2024)
Courses
JOUR 3401: Journalism and Belonging, a course led by Professor Nana aba Duncan, on how diversity, inclusion, and belonging affect journalism, journalism practice and society in Canada was taught for the third time.
Professor Harewood taught the History of Black Canadian Journalism (JOUR 3401A) for the third time. It introduced students to an integral part of Canada’s journalistic heritage that has long been neglected. The course is understood to be the first of its kind to be offered at any university in Canada and has been well received at Carleton and across the country.
Meanwhile, Journalism Race and Diversity (JOUR 5002), the first course specifically focusing on race in the Carleton School of Journalism’s history, was offered for the fourth time.
The Globe and Mail’s Mentorship Program for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) students in partnership with Carleton’s journalism program continues. It offers an opportunity for students to work in one of the most dynamic and respected newsrooms in Canada. This year’s students were Olivia Barrett and Gabriela Calugay-Casuga.
Ongoing support for the student-led Association for Equity and Inclusion in Journalism and Media (AEIJM)
This year saw the revival of the Association for Equity and Inclusion in Journalism and Media (AEIJM), including the addition of “and Media” to the name, recognizing its inclusion of the MPAD program. The group benefited from the active support of Professor Susan Harada and Professor Nana aba Duncan and was able to establish new leadership. The association began working closely with JSOC (the Journalism Society of Carleton) and is now an official branch of the club, preventing the need for a CUSA club status. AEIJM held the event Decolonizing Journalism: Q&A with Duncan McCue, a joint project with JSOC on March 12, 2024. The association’s student leaders look forward to collaborating with JSOC’s mentorship program, hosting several guest workshops and student showcases in the 2024/2025 year.
Develop an official policy for honoraria to guest speakers
Faculty and contract instructors will be voting on honorarium amounts this summer, for a resolution on what to give guest speakers beginning the 2024/2025 year.
External Advisory Council
The journalism program has yet to establish an external advisory council for the PWG. However, the PWG remains committed to establishing the committee in the upcoming year. Once in place, the committee will bring ideas about equity and inclusion issues that employers are seeing in their work with journalism graduates, other professional colleagues, journalism products and the journalism industry. The council will advise our program on what is missing among young journalists they encounter, share how recent graduates are faring, and identify challenges they are facing.
Friday, July 26, 2024 in General, Reports
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