Gemma Richardson
Professor/Program Coordinator
Bachelor of Digital Communications
Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
Lecturer, Media/Information/Technoculture program
PhD in Media Studies, 2014
University of Western Ontario
Dissertation Supervisors: Dr. Carole Farber & Dr. Romayne Smith Fullerton
Dissertation Title: (Un)Covering Suicide: The Changing Ethical Norms in Canadian Journalism
Master of Arts, Communication and Social Justice
University of Windsor, 2009
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Valerie Scatamburlo-D’Annibale
Thesis Title: How the Forest Was Finally Won: The Great Bear Media Battle
Bachelor of Journalism, with Combined Honours in Human Rights,
Carleton University, Ottawa, 2004
Bachelor of Digital Communications
Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning
Lecturer, Media/Information/Technoculture program
PhD in Media Studies, 2014
University of Western Ontario
Dissertation Supervisors: Dr. Carole Farber & Dr. Romayne Smith Fullerton
Dissertation Title: (Un)Covering Suicide: The Changing Ethical Norms in Canadian Journalism
Master of Arts, Communication and Social Justice
University of Windsor, 2009
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Valerie Scatamburlo-D’Annibale
Thesis Title: How the Forest Was Finally Won: The Great Bear Media Battle
Bachelor of Journalism, with Combined Honours in Human Rights,
Carleton University, Ottawa, 2004
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Papers by Gemma Richardson
“crack-tape” scandal that engulfed the mayor’s office in the country’s largest city, Toronto. After the initial news broke that Mayor Rob Ford had been captured on video smoking crack cocaine, additional stories detailing Ford’s connections to drugs and criminals were published. While these breaking stories led many to question the mayor’s legitimacy to rule, a sizable number of ordinary citizens continued to defend Ford and question not his actions, but those of the mainstream media.
In this chapter, we will explore the disconnect between ostensibly outstanding examples of investigative journalism exposing illegal conduct in a city’s highest elected office and a vocal portion of the public who still argue that much of the media coverage was too personal or nasty. We contend that the news media have an obligation to address audiences as citizens who need information to participate in a democracy, not as individuals who want to be entertained or whose private curiosity ought to be teased to sell more products. We begin
with some details on the background to the scandal and highlight the role of the media. We will then probe the public’s right versus need to know, and we consider whether employing different approaches or frames—a feminist ethics of care approach or a mental health frame instead of a criminal one, for example—might have changed the dynamic between press and audience.
studies highlight the unique ways that social media can be harnessed to raise awareness and provide support and resources to vulnerable populations, while also providing insights into the challenges of utilizing these platforms.
and a high level of concern over stigma associated with seeking or providing mental health information online. Youth expressed a desire for interactive elements and youth-related material on mental health sites in order to engage and inform them.
Keywords: information seeking, youth mental health, online credibility, information literacy, social media
Conference Presentations by Gemma Richardson
After this initial literature review, this paper analyzes the guidelines published in 2009 by the Canadian Psychiatric Association on how to report suicide in a sensitive manner that avoids contagion potential. Based on these guidelines, a preliminary exploration is made into how well the guidelines are currently being followed by Canadian media. Several recent examples from Canadian print media outlets are used to demonstrate that more effort must be made to avoid contagion potential by eliminating sensationalistic elements of individual acts of suicide in media coverage, while at the same time speaking to the devastating consequences of suicide in our society.
Book Reviews by Gemma Richardson
Talks by Gemma Richardson
“crack-tape” scandal that engulfed the mayor’s office in the country’s largest city, Toronto. After the initial news broke that Mayor Rob Ford had been captured on video smoking crack cocaine, additional stories detailing Ford’s connections to drugs and criminals were published. While these breaking stories led many to question the mayor’s legitimacy to rule, a sizable number of ordinary citizens continued to defend Ford and question not his actions, but those of the mainstream media.
In this chapter, we will explore the disconnect between ostensibly outstanding examples of investigative journalism exposing illegal conduct in a city’s highest elected office and a vocal portion of the public who still argue that much of the media coverage was too personal or nasty. We contend that the news media have an obligation to address audiences as citizens who need information to participate in a democracy, not as individuals who want to be entertained or whose private curiosity ought to be teased to sell more products. We begin
with some details on the background to the scandal and highlight the role of the media. We will then probe the public’s right versus need to know, and we consider whether employing different approaches or frames—a feminist ethics of care approach or a mental health frame instead of a criminal one, for example—might have changed the dynamic between press and audience.
studies highlight the unique ways that social media can be harnessed to raise awareness and provide support and resources to vulnerable populations, while also providing insights into the challenges of utilizing these platforms.
and a high level of concern over stigma associated with seeking or providing mental health information online. Youth expressed a desire for interactive elements and youth-related material on mental health sites in order to engage and inform them.
Keywords: information seeking, youth mental health, online credibility, information literacy, social media
After this initial literature review, this paper analyzes the guidelines published in 2009 by the Canadian Psychiatric Association on how to report suicide in a sensitive manner that avoids contagion potential. Based on these guidelines, a preliminary exploration is made into how well the guidelines are currently being followed by Canadian media. Several recent examples from Canadian print media outlets are used to demonstrate that more effort must be made to avoid contagion potential by eliminating sensationalistic elements of individual acts of suicide in media coverage, while at the same time speaking to the devastating consequences of suicide in our society.