A Difficult Conversation: The News Media and the Story of the First Peoples of Canada

The news media have long contributed to the oppression of indigenous peoples in Canada; when journalists did report on indigenous peoples, they were stereotyped as helpless victims and threats to national identity. The result has been a distorted version of history championing settlers’ pioneering legacy. In 2007-2008, the federal government introduced reconciliation policies. After conducting case studies of the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, and CBC, this thesis finds that the watershed moment when coverage began reflecting the nuances of the indigenous story came in 2014-2015.Analyzing the case studies through a theoretical framework that considers the principles that guide journalists, the culture of the news media, and agenda-setting offers insight into what changed. This thesis concludes more information, institutional legitimacy, indigenous activism, indigenous journalists, and a digital vista have all influenced the continuity and the evolution in the way the indigenous story is told by the news media in Canada.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Journalism (M.J.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Journalism

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Bell, Roberta

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2016 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2016-11412

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/38935