Fables and the journalism students
who tell them
For those who may not have seen it, a friend points out the fascinating article in the current issue of Maisonneuve, written by a former Ryerson University
In total, I wrote nearly a dozen fraudulent stories over two semesters, sticking to soft news and human-interest pieces. I often drew upon my social life for inspiration, “covering” local events I attended and imaginatively filling in the blanks instead of doing actual background research. My stories were pithy and concise, just like we’d been taught, earning me the straight-A average required to stay in the program. Each time a fake story was handed back to me with praise, I was both pleased and stunned that I had gotten away with it again. I guess it would have been impossible for one professor to fact-check almost one hundred student stories every week; we were, it seems, working on the honour system.Ultimately, "Kate Jackson" (not her real name) dropped out of the journalism program, to the chagrin of her professors.
My decision was partly practical: this constant creative writing was taking its toll on my other courses. But the other reason—you may find this hard to believe—was principle. I had been passing off lies as authentic news for months, with no repercussions. For me, journalism school and the degree it promised had lost their aura of authority. Creatively appropriating the reporting techniques I’d been taught made me start to reconsider just how trustworthy they really were....Of course, given the anonymous nature of the article and the untraceable and, ultimately, unprovable assertions, one has to wonder whether the article itself is fiction in whole or in part. Which is just the kind of slippery territory that such behaviour gets us into.
I realized later that I’d never been fully invested in journalism as a career. It sounded prestigious and exciting in the brochure, but once there, I chafed at the tedium of precise detail and impersonal language. I wanted to write to change how people saw their world, but my heart wasn’t in the news.
posted by D. B. Scott at
12:27 pm
7 Comments:
Of course, as a Ryerson journalism prof, I immediately sought out "Kate Jackson's" piece about kiting her way through Rye. Definitely a cautionary tale for anyone who teaches journalism, but I'm puzzled about her identification as Ryerson student, since she doesn't name the university she attended.
In addition there are some details she includes that don't sound like Rye. There aren't 250 students in the first year of the program, but a little over half that; all journalism classes are capped at 30 students; there is no requirement to maintain an A average to remain in the program; and Toronto is a little big to be be described as a "mid-sized" city.
It's true that Rye could be described as one the country's "top Journalism schools," as the story's deck indicates, but I think the school that got scammed was different top program.
I tend to agree with you, Lynn. Hence my careful disclaimer. It was my assumption that it was Ryerson, since she described it as one of the country's "top journalism schools" and because it specifically put the emphasis on magazines. Perhaps I did Ryerson a disservice by making that assumption.
However, if not Rye, then where? Humber? Centennial? Neither of those schools fit the specs. Maybe Carleton? Western (not really a journalism school, per se)?
The damage is done, however, particularly if the article brings into question the integrity and rigour of journalism programs generally. I feel a little squeamish giving the story wider circulation, but it is out there.
I'd be happy to publish a rebuttal or further responses or comments.
University of Kings College in Halifax perhaps?
Although, a Kings student would have probably called the school "Canada's elite journalism school attended by the cream of the crop!"
Isn't it interesting that you're all assuming the writer's claims are true? The whole point of "her" piece was that you shouldn't trust what you read. Fabricating an article such as this one would certainly make the point.
Journalism 101: Don't hang a story on a single anonymous source. So why should we believe this anonymous writer in Maissoneuve?
Well, it is pretty serious charge to suggest that Maisonneuve would print a story they knew to be false. It is also ridiculous to assume that the editorial staff at Maisonneuve would not do their best to investigate the claims the writer was making. I doubt they would risk their reputation by printing this story without doing the leg work to see if it was true.
I don't know whether to laugh or cry. You're suggesting that the story MUST be true because, gosh darn it, no less a publication than Maisonneuve printed it, and surely they would have verified it.
Tell me - should we also assume that everything printed in the New York Times is true?
If the story is true, and if Maisonneuve independently verified it, how come the writer insists on anonymity, and how come neither she nor the magazine will identify the J-school?
In my view, the magazine's decision to print this article fails one of the basic tests of journalism.
"If the story is true, and if Maisonneuve independently verified it, how come the writer insists on anonymity, and how come neither she nor the magazine will identify the J-school?
In my view, the magazine's decision to print this article fails one of the basic tests of journalism."
Says the anonymous commenter who obviously stands behind their argument!
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