Notes from the Graduate Program in Journalism

Retirements and new faculty

The Graduate Program in Journalism will lose two long-term faculty members this June 30th, when both Mary Doyle and Cliff Lonsdale officially retire. Mary Doyle began teaching print journalism for the program in 1990, and Cliff Lonsdale joined the journalism team in 2002 as a television instructor.

Retirement Reception
Picture from the retirement reception on June 13, 2012.
Back row L-R: Meredith Levine, Romayne Smith Fullerton, Mark Kearney, Paul Benedetti, Keith Tomasek, Dave Mills, Jeremy Copeland.  Front L-R: Cliff Lonsdale, Mary Doyle, Wendie Crouch

Jeremy Copeland has now joined the faculty as the new full-time television instructor. Jeremy is a video journalist for Al Jazeera English television, and has worked as a producer for AJE in Washington.  During his career he has also worked for the BBC and the CBC in New Delhi, for the BBC London, and for the CBC in Halifax and Toronto.

Alumni News

Sixteen graduates from the 2011 MAJ class were the recipients of an Ontario Newspaper Award in 2012. Adela Talbot, Lauren Pelley, Sean Leathong, Heather Young, Jared Lindzon, Nicole Case, Angela Richardson, Alex Ballingall, Fan-Yee Suen, Trevor Melanson, Brian Moskowitz, Bethany Cairns, Edward von Aderkas, Mariam Ahmed, Stefanie Masotti and Alineh Haidery were all part of the team that produced “A Good Death,” a series of articles highlighting palliative care in Canada.  The project was led by FIMS instructor Meredith Levine and co-produced by CBC.ca.  In addition to winning the ONA Student of the Year Award, the students were also named as finalists for a Canadian Association of Journalists Award in the Student Award of Excellence Category.

Madeline Sonik, MAJ ’86, was short-listed for the Charles Taylor Prize for her book, Afflictions and Departures.  The award commemorates Charles Taylor's pursuit of excellence in the field of literary non-fiction.

Sylvia Stead, BA Hons Journalism, ‘75, was recently appointed as the Globe and Mail’s first Public Editor.  The role is expected to make the organization more transparent and accountable to the public, and to address issues of journalistic integrity.

Teviah Moro, MAJ ’04, was nominated for a 2012 National Newspaper Award in the Local Reporting category.  Teviah was part of a team from the Orillia Packet and Times who covered the lack of transparency in the hiring of a city manager.

New alumni profiles available!

Last year the Graduate Program in Journalism launched the Alumni Gallery of Distinction, as an ongoing project to highlight some of our best and brightest grads.  Our most recent additions include Angela Antle, Avis Favaro, Jeremy McDonald and Joe Ruscitti.  Visit the Gallery.

Thomas Rose and Michael Valpy serve as 2012 CanWest Fellows

Over a span of two almost two decades, from 1988 to 2007, Thomas Rose was variously a Senior Foreign Affairs Producer, Project Manager, and Senior Producer at CBC National Radio News and Current Affairs.  He was the 2006 recipient of the Amnesty International Human Rights English Media Award, and he was awarded a Knight Fellowship in Law for Journalists and a Yale Law School Fellowship in 2000. While with FIMS, Thomas taught the course “Journalism, Human Rights and International Development” during the Fall 2011 term.

Michael Valpy has enjoyed a distinguished and award-winning career in journalism, most notably at The Globe and Mail, where he has been a reporter, a national political columnist, a member of the editorial board, a deputy managing editor, and an Africa-based correspondent. He has also produced documentaries for CBC radio, written for Maclean’s and other national news magazines, and has co-authored two books on the Canadian constitution.  While with FIMS, Michael taught the course “News Media and Deep Democracy” during the Winter 2012 term.