Press freedom in Canada:

 A status report on the 30^th Anniversary of the Charter of Rights and Freedom

March 8-9, 2012

Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario

Registration now open at: www.ryerson.ca/lawcentre/eventpfc.html 

(Jan. 31, 2012) – Press freedom in Canada, including issues arising from the regulation of new media, anti-terrorism measures and government secrecy, will be the topic of a two-day conference at Ryerson University March 8-9, 2012.

“This conference will be an opportunity to take stock of the press freedom situation in this country 30 years after the Charter of Rights and Freedoms was put in place,” said April Lindgren, director of the Ryerson Journalism Research Centre. “It will bring together leading journalists, lawyers, scholars, students and members of the public to reflect on where we stand and why it matters.”

The conference, jointly organized by Ryerson’s Law Research Centre and the Journalism Research Centre, will feature a series of panel discussions on March 8 and a luncheon address by Postmedia columnist Christie Blatchford. The second day of the conference, March 9, will focus on in-depth examinations of key issues affecting press freedom, including court restrictions on media access to information, the implications of new media, and government strategies that hinder access to information.

Confirmed speakers over the two days include legal and media scholars from across Canada and abroad; Toronto Star editor-in-chief Michael Cooke; Globe and Mail columnist Margaret Wente; Tony Burman, former managing editor of Al-Jazeera’s English-language operations; John Gomery, president of the Quebec Press Council; Huffington Post Canada’s Kenny Yum; Ottawa Citizen columnist Sue Riley; and Linden MacIntyre from CBC’s the fifth estate. The legal lineup includes Daniel Henry, senior legal counsel for the CBC; Nathalie Des Rosiers, general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and Marlys Edwardh, who served as legal counsel to Maher Arar.

“We are thrilled to support and organize this conference” said Avner Levin, academic director of the Ryerson Law Research Centre. “It showcases Ryerson’s in-depth exploration of the relationship between the press and the law over the last few years.”

For a list of confirmed speakers and to see more program information as it becomes available,  please go to: http://www.ryerson.ca/lawcentre/events/pfc.html

Contact info:

Cara-Marie O’Hagan

Director, Ryerson Law Research Centre

c2ohagan@gwemail.ryerson.ca

416 979 5000 ext. 7983

Please join us

FCAD SRC LUNCHEON PRESENTATION

DR. JOYCE SMITH

   School of Journalism

Religion, Reporting and Radicalization: How Canadian

   Journalists Influence Securitization

 Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012

 12 – 1:30 p.m.

     RCC 202

CERIS – The Ontario  

 Metropolis Centre & Centre

 For Refugee Studies

 “News encounters of a questionable kind: Portrayals of other ethnic and racialized groups in Greater Toronto Area ethnocultural newspapers”

Friday January 13, 2012

12:00- 2:00pm

 Presenter: April Lindgren, Assistant Professor, School of Journalism, Ryerson University

 Moderator: Luin Goldring, Associate Professor, Sociology, York University; CERIS Citizenship and Social, Cultural and Civic Integration Domain Leader

Description: Visible minorities are expected to be the majority in the Greater Toronto Area by 2031. The GTA’s ethnocultural and racialized communities are served by nearly a dozen daily newspapers and more than 200 publications that appear less frequently. What role do these papers play in shaping how ethnic and racialized groups “see” each other? The results of a study that examines how other ethnic and racialized groups are portrayed in newspapers serving the Chinese, Punjabi, Russian and Korean communities will be presented. In addition to presenting data on the amount and subject matter of news coverage of other groups, the study examines the extent to which publications’ news coverage complies with Canadian Press Styleguide standards on when and how to mention the religious, ethnic or racial background of individuals in the news. The results suggest the CP standard is not uniformly applied in some cases and that there is only limited representation of other groups in most cases.

Location: Room 519 York Research Tower, York University

http://www.yorku.ca/web/futurestudents/map/

This seminar is free and open to the public.

Refreshments will be served.

Please RSVP to cerisadm@yorku.ca

Seminar presentations are posted on our website after the event,

to view please visit: http://ceris.metropolis.net