Scattered Episode 28: The Value of Journalism – Interview with Dr. Brad Clark

Dr. Brad Clark teaches journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary and his research focuses on media representations of marginalized groups. Brad got into teaching after years of experience as a journalist at newspapers and the CBC, where he covered major stories but wanted more variety. I was interested in why journalists ask academics for comments on scenarios in which they are not involved, and Brad provided some great insights.

In this episode we talk about:

• How opinions are often presented as journalism nowadays due to the fracturing of credible news sources with the internet and lack of gatekeepers.
• That journalism aims to verify facts, provide context, translate jargon, hold power to account and play a watchdog role through investigation and diverse voices.
• Academics commenting on issues in which they have no direct involvement.
• The overuse of the term “investigative journalist”.
• How investigative journalism is represented on Netflix, as seen in Spotlight and Ancient Apocalypse.
• How marginalized groups, like indigenous people and women, are often only represented after death rather than advocating for them in life.
• Ethical journalism and young people pursuing it as a career to counter conspiracy theories.
• That paying for journalism is important to recognize its value as a business amidst a sea of free but often low-quality online information.

You can find more information about Brad at his webpage here: https://www.mtroyal.ca/ProgramsCourses/FacultiesSchoolsCentres/Communications/FacultyStaff/Clark_Brad.htm

More information about some items mentioned in the interview can be found here:

• Journalism’s Racial Reckoning: The News Media’s Pivot to Diversity and Inclusion (Amazon.ca)
• Blue Storm: The Rise and Fall of Jason Kenney (Amazon.ca)

Thank you to the Community Podcast Initiative at Mount Royal University for letting us use the space to record this episode!

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