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Master of Media in Journalism and Communication

Established	2015
Location	London , Ontario , Canada
Website	https://www.fims.uwo.ca/mmjc

The Master of Media in Journalism and Communication (MMJC) program at the

In 2015, the professional program was established as the first master's program in Canada to create a curriculum that combines both journalism and communications education.^[1] The MMJC program continues to teach professional journalism using components from its predecessor: The Master of Arts in Journalism program. The Master of Arts in Journalism program was formed in 1974 and produced notable alumni, including Adrienne Arsenault, Scott Russell, John Ibbitson and Avis Favaro.^[2]

MMJC is limited to 40 students per year.^[3] The curriculum is split into three terms and in the final term, students take part in a professional journalism or communications internship in newsrooms and communications organizations across Canada and in many parts of the world, including CBC News, Al Jazeera English, Bell Media and London Free Press. Students also work on a final capstone project to compile the knowledge they have attained throughout the year, such as a host documentary or podcast series.^[4]

History of Journalism at Western University

In 1946, Western created an undergraduate program in journalism, modelled after Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.^[5][6] Students would receive a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Journalism degree. The main areas of focus were the history of journalism, the law of the press, the social responsibilities of journalists alongside practical training. Other related fields were briefly focused on: news photography, typography and layout, radio broadcasting and public relations.^[6]

Master of Arts in Journalism

In 1974, the undergraduate degree was discontinued and replaced with a 12-month graduate course, leading to a Master of Arts in Journalism degree granted through the Graduate School of Journalism. Western's smallest faculty was based in Middlesex College with nine faculty members and eight staff members, including secretaries, radio and television technicians and resource staff.^[5] For the period between 1974 and 1997, the Graduate School of Journalism was known colloquially as Western Journalism by students, staff and alumni [source].

30 to 40 graduate students were enrolled per year and they were required to take 14 mandatory courses and three electives over three terms.^[5]

The students could choose to specialize in print, radio or television news. Students who specialized in print published a monthly newspaper called the East London Reporter while broadcast students created 10-minute radio and television documentary for air on local stations. Some of the mandatory courses were Radio and Television Production, Writing and Editing for Newspapers, Media Law and a Communication Theory course. Students fulfilled a one-month internship at a print or broadcast outlet of their choice.^[5]

Faculty of Communications and Open Learning (FC&OL) (1996-1997)

The Graduate School of Journalism merged with the Graduate School of Library and Information Science and the Faculty of Part-Time and Continuing Education to form the Faculty of Communications and Open Learning in 1996.^[7][8] Prior to the merger in 1995, Dr. Tague-Sutcliffe proposed the joining of faculties due to the threat of closure facing the Master of Arts in Journalism program and library schools around North America.^[9][10]

Faculty of Information and Media Studies (FIMS) (1997-Present)

In 1997, the Faculty of Communications and Open Learning was renamed to the

FIMS also introduced an undergraduate program called Media, Information and Technoculture (MIT) in 1997, offering three and four year bachelor's degrees. The MIT program focuses on the intersection of media with technology and information, and asks questions about power, economics, representation and society.^[11]

In 2002, FIMS created a dual-degree program called Media, Theory and Production (MTP) in collaboration with Fanshawe College and students received a bachelor's degree and a diploma in Journalism, Radio, Television or Interactive Design. ^[10] The MTP program was discontinued in 2017. In 2004, the Media and Public Interest (MPI) program was created, which connects communication and media to social justice issues like democracy, equity, class, race and gender.^[10][12]

Master of Media in Journalism and Communication (MMJC)

In September 2015, the Master of Media in Journalism and Communication program was launched and replaced the Master of Arts in Journalism program.^[2]

MMJC's curriculum merged journalism education with communications skills to provide graduates with a broad range of skills in both fields. The program highlights how both professions rely on common storytelling skills, such as interviewing, research and multimedia, social networking fluency and concise writing.^[13] The program also teaches students to think critically about the media and prepares them to be future leaders in their professions.^[2]

In 2016, FIMS relocated once more. The faculty moved to the newly constructed FIMS and Nursing Building with MMJC students gaining access to new and professional facilities and equipment. Students spend the majority of their time in the FIMS Broadcast Studio, which can function as a classroom, newsroom and a newscast set. The studio features state of the art broadcast equipment, studio cameras and lighting, as well as a fully equipped broadcasting control room.^[14]

Students also have 24-7 access to editing suites, audio suites and sign out portable production equipment. The four edit suites run Avid Media Composer, which is a video editing software students can use throughout the program. The audio suites run Adobe Audition to record voiceovers for video stories and interviews for radio or podcasting. Students can sign out mobile equipment for projects, including Sony broadcast grade cameras, Go Pro/DSLRs, MOJO cellphone camera grips, microphones, gimbals, sliders, digital audio recorders and tripods.^[14]

Curriculum

The one-year professional program is split into three terms: fall, winter and summer.^[15]

Fall Term

The fall term offers five required courses with a focus on journalism, communications and media production to prepare students for the more advanced winter term.

Courses

• Introduction to Journalism
• Introduction to Communications
• Audio and Visual Storytelling Skills
• The Social Media & Digital Production Studio
• Doing Democracy Right or Doing Right by Democracy? Ethics, Critical Theory and the Right to Know

Winter Term

The winter term requires students to take two mandatory courses and three electives. Electives change from year to year and students are also allowed to choose electives from other graduate programs across Western.

Required Courses

• Information and Media Law
• Telling the Story Using Integrated Media (Journalism) or Telling the Story Using Integrated Media (Communications)

Sample Electives

• Shoot for the Heart: Harnessing the Power of Video Storytelling
• Copy Editing
• Special Topic: Advanced Web Design & Content Strategy
• Special Topic: Mastering Strategic Digital Communications & Initiatives
• Special Topic: Features, Opinions and Specializations

Summer Term

Students are required to complete a work placement in a journalistic or communications setting. An instructor will be guiding students online throughout the internship. The work placement can be completed in Canada or any destination of their choice. Students will also work on a capstone project alongside their internship placement to produce an integrated story based either in communications or journalism.

Sample Internships

• CTV Toronto
• CBC London
• ALS Canada
• London Police Service
• Sportsnet
• The National Post

Notable Alumni

• Adrienne Arsenault, senior correspondent for CBC News, co-host of The National
• Thalia Assuras, former television journalist for CBS, media consultant
• Stephen Brunt, columnist for Sportsnet, co-host of Writers Bloc
• Peter Edwards, crime reporter for Toronto Star, award-winning author of sixteen books
• Avis Favaro, on air medical correspondent, CTV National News
• Heather Hiscox, news anchor, CBC News Now
• John Ibbitson, political writer and columnist, The Globe and Mail
• Keith Kincaid, former president for The Canadian Press
• Colin Perkel, senior journalist with The Canadian Press
• Scott Russell, CBC sportscaster, author
• Doreen McKenzie Sanders, business journalist, president of the Business Press Editors Association, trailblazer for women in journalism and business^[16]
• Heather Scoffield, economics columnist, Toronto Star

Faculty

Faculty members are a mix of professional practitioners and tenured professors with doctoral degrees in related fields. Professional practitioners come from diverse backgrounds in traditional and new media, including CBC, Al Jazeera English and The London Free Press.^[17]

Notable staff include award-winning production staff David Mills and Wendie Crouch, who provided four decades of service to the Master of Arts in Journalism program. Crouch was awarded the Western Award of Excellence, Western’s highest honour for staff, in 2010. Mills also received the Western Award of Excellence in 2006, along with the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service in 2017.^[18][19][20]

Mills joined the master's program at its inception in 1967 as the Director of Broadcast Production. With Crouch joining Mills as a Media Specialist in the studios in 1975, the team – a consistent foundation of the program for over four decades – became the face of the program for many students and alumni.^[18][19][20]

Mills retired in 2013 and Crouch retired in 2015. The MMJC program awards two trophies each year to strong students in honour of their legacy [source]

Upon his retirement, Mills set up The David Mills Fund for Visiting Journalists in order to sponsor veteran journalists and recent graduates to return to Western to lecture to current students.^[18][19][20]

Deans

George W. McCracken

• (1945-1952) Chairman, Department of Journalism

J.L. "Bud" Wild

• (1952-1972) Head, Department of Journalism
• (1972-1973) Acting Chairman, Department of Journalism
• (1980-1981) Acting Dean, School of Journalism

Andrew W. MacFarlane

Macfarlane was a journalist, an educator and the founding dean of the Graduate School of Journalism. He won many awards during his career, including the Poynter Institute for Media Studies National Teaching Award. For his work as managing editor, executive editor and reporter of the Toronto Telegram, MacFarlane won two National Newspaper Awards and a Bowater Award for Commonwealth and International Writing. In his public service as a professional and volunteer, he was director of the Citizens' Inquiry Branch of the Ontario Government and founder of the Advisory Council of the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship. MacFarlane was also a former director of the Children's Aid Society of Metropolitan Toronto, founder-director of the Canadian Medic-Alert Foundation, founder of the Canadian National Magazine Awards and of the Commonwealth Association for Education in Journalism and Communication. With his mentoring and teachings, he had a particular interest in Indigenous journalists and educational projects in Kenya and Tanzania.^[21]

• (1973) Chairman and Dean Designate, School of Journalism
• (1974-1980) Dean, School of Journalism

Peter Desbarats

Desbarats was a leading television broadcast journalist, hosting political affairs shows and co-anchoring Global News. He wrote for Canada's largest newspapers, including