Notes from the Graduate Program in Journalism

Like us on Facebook!
Facebook PageThe Graduate Program in Journalism has entered the world of social media with a new Facebook page. Pay us a visit and like us! Expect to find program and alumni news, information about upcoming events, and job postings on our page. We always like to hear about what our graduates are up to, so keep us in the loop about your professional activities and reconnect with old friends. Find us at: https://www.facebook.com/WesternJournalismAlumni. 

London Under 30 returns on Rogers
The TV current affairs show produced by students in the FIMS Master of Arts in Journalism program re-launched on Rogers Television on Tuesday November 13th. London Under 30 is produced in partnership with Rogers TV and allows students to share their best work from the fall semester with the community they cover. The half-hour show explores the issues that are important to young Londoners and highlights the contributions they make to the city. This is the third year FIMS’ students have produced London Under 30. It airs every Tuesday night.

Award of Excellence bestowed
Congratulations to Journalism Lecturer Paul Benedetti, who received a 2012 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at a faculty reception on October 2.

Ira BasenIra Basen on board as CanWest Fellow for Fall term
Ira Basen has enjoyed a distinguished career in radio, particularly with CBC radio where he served as senior producer for Sunday Morning and Quirks and Quarks. He was also involved in the creation of the network programs, This Morning, The Inside Track, and Workology. More recently, he has produced several one hour documentaries for CBC’s Sunday Edition, including “Occupy Next,” about the future of the Occupy movement. Basen has also written for Saturday Night, Maisoneuve, and The Canadian Journal of Communication, and he is the recipient of numerous radio awards, among them several New York Radio Festival Awards. He has taught previously in the MAJ program, and he has also taught at Ryerson University, the University of Toronto, and at McMaster University. During his tenure as CanWest Global Fellow, Basen is teaching the graduate elective, “The Future of Journalism in the Digital Age,” and he is pursuing research that brings together his interests in the future of news in the age of social media, the growth of “brand journalism,” and the future of local news. Basen also presented the 2012 Annual Clissold Lecture in Journalism on November 13, delivering the presentation "And Now the News: Re-inventing Journalism in the Digital Age."

What is journalism?
FIMS journalism instructor Meredith Levine was part of a panel that produced the recent J-Source article "What is journalism?" The Ethics Advisory Committee of The Canadian Association of Journalists worked for over six months to produce this piece, which was published on July 17, 2012. The report addresses the increasingly elusive definition of journalism and the distinct role, if any, of journalists.

Tomasek awarded an MA
The Board of the Faculty of the Social Sciences at the University of Leicester awarded an MA Mass Communications to FIMS Instructor Keith Tomasek.  His dissertation, "Applying Lynch’s classification of Arab Blogs in the United Arab Emirates" draws on the work of Cottle, Dean and Sreberny to test Lynch’s tripartite conceptualization of Arab blogs to the blogosphere in the United Arab Emirates.

Journalism in the Media:
Associate Professor Romayne Smith Fullerton appeared in two separate sources, both related to the recent plagiarism charges against Globe Columnist Margaret Wente. She was a guest panelist on The Agenda with Steve Paikin, for the episode "Truth in Modern Journalism" on October 1, and she also appeared on CBC's The Current on Wednesday, September 26.

Professor Smith Fullerton was also featured as a guest panelist on The Agenda with Steve Paikin on June 11, 2012.  The episode, titled “An Appetite for Crime,” focused on the general public’s fascination with violent and graphic crimes.

Alumni News
Congratulations to Scott Russell (MAJ ‘85) who has been awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for his work in promoting amateur athletics in Canada.  He received the award while on live TV interviewing Minister of Sport Bal Gosal during Sports Day in Canada on September 29, 2012.

Showing at this year’s Vancouver Film Festival - No Job for a Woman: The Women Who Fought to Report WWII – was directed, produced and written by Michele Midori Fillion (MAJ ’91).  Michelle conceived the project and is the founder of Hurry Up Sister Productions in New York City.

Larry Bambrick (MAJ ’88), won a screenwriting award from the Writers Guild of Canada this year for his script for an episode of CTV’s Flashpoint.

Are you a journalism grad with news to share in this newsletter? Send your details to fims-alumninewsletter@uwo.ca, specifying that the information is intended for publication.