JMSC

Should journalists rely on anonymous sources? There has been much recent talk among media analysts, critics and journalism educators about reporters overusing anonymous sources. This is often cited as one of the many factors leading to a decline in public trust of the news media. Some critics say the persistent use of anonymous sources allows journalists to…

Should the Hong Kong government register journalists and issue them an official press card? This question of journalist accreditation was first broached by police officials who complained that some Hong Kong protesters were posing as reporters, with yellow vests and helmets falsely labelled, “PRESS.” They complained the riot police had no way to tell real working…

For me, the split screen images of the past few weeks were two dramatic news events happening more than 8,000 miles apart. In Washington, D.C., House Democrats began an impeachment inquiry into whether President Donald Trump pressured a foreign leader to help with his presidential campaign. And in Hong Kong, more than four months of…

Message from Keith First of all, welcome to the new class of Master of Journalism students, and to the latest entry class of Bachelor of Journalism (BJ) students, who will finish in 2023. These cohorts have the distinction of being our 20th class of students at the JMSC, and we are excited to see such…

Hong Kong on June 4 just saw one of the largest crowds ever gather to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the massacre of pro-democracy students and protestors in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.  Attendance had started to drop off in recent years for the annual candlelight vigil. The massive turnout this time was no doubt helped by mounting public…

Is WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange a hero or a heel? Is Assange, currently in a British jail, a journalist who should be supported as a symbol of press freedom? Or is he a computer hacker who should be extradited to the United States and forced to stand trial for crimes, including theft of private information?…

Message from Keith The adage holds that a picture is worth a thousand words, and I was reminded of that this month when I was fortunate to attend a luncheon talk by renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Liu Heung Shing. Liu first went to China as a photographer in 1976 and was there, working for the Associated…

Message from Keith If you want to feel optimistic about the future of journalism, take a short trip up to Beijing. Yes, you read that right, Beijing. I spent the first weekend in March in the Chinese capital, and had lunch with about 16 JMSC alumni. The oldest graduated in 2008 and the most recent…

Welcome back! Our newsletter took a short break during the Christmas and New Year holiday period.  So you will see this edition is jam-packed with lots of varied happenings at the Centre. Unfortunately, there was no hiatus from the bad news roiling the media industry, particularly in the United States. Since the start of 2019, more…