The Association for Equity and Inclusion in Journalism (AEIJ) hosted its first ever panel event yesterday.<\/p>\n
The association, based in Carleton University, was created in the fall of 2019 after an article by Carleton Journalism School alumnus, Atong Ater, revealed the difficulties Black students face when studying journalism.<\/p>\n
According a faculty liaison for the AEIJ, Prof. Brett Popplewell, Ater\u2019s article sparked a conversation around what meaningful diversity in journalism looked like. This conversation inspired the creation of the AEIJ which has been working to diversify Carleton\u2019s journalism school ever since.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission is to make the journalism school a safef space for Black, Indigenous, and students of colour, 2SLGBTQ+ students, and students with disabilities\/disabled students,\" the AEIJ\u2019s mission statement says.<\/p>\n
Thursday\u2019s event, according to a student member of AEIJ, Sedanah Qwai, was the first time the association hosted a panel event that anyone could attend. Qwai said it was a big step in furthering the AEIJ\u2019s mission of education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think by opening this event to other people, it allows for people outside the association to be able to benefit from the conversation,\u201d Qwai said.<\/p>\n
Pacinthe Mattar, an Egyptian-Canadian journalist and panelist for the event, said she was feeling great after the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was such an engaged group, and the questions were so excellent,\u201d Mattar said. \u201cIt was fun but also challenging because the questions we got were some of the most pressing questions about journalism and this industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kyle Edwards, an Indigenous journalist from Canada and the other panelist for Thursday\u2019s event, used his time on the panel to talk about what diversity in journalism looks like right now and how it can improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cNewsrooms not only need to be diverse but needs it to be reflect in our coverage,\u201d Edwards said. \u201cWhen we hire people of colour, that doesn\u2019t necessarily change what stories we are covering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mattar also said during the event the diversity of stories is important if there is to be meaningful representation in media.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really like to think journalism is going to get better for the journalist and for the audiences we serve,\u201d Mattar said.<\/p>\n
Mattar said she hopes to see more diverse stories being run by media outlets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is still a very narrow view of who the imagined audience is. It is predominantly White, middle class and older. But Canada is not only these things. We are much more than that,\u201d Mattar said.<\/p>\n
Mattar said she hopes a change diversity in the newsroom will help not only aspiring BIPOC journalists but the community as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope this breaks open what our imagined audience is, and that audience gets to see themselves represented in more meaningful ways,\u201d Mattar said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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