School of Journalism
Biographical Sketch:
John Gordon Miller has been an award-winning reporter, a senior news executive, chair of Ryerson’s journalism school, an author, a teacher, a researcher and a consultant.
He’s been professor of journalism at Ryerson for 22 years, following a 20-year career as an editor and reporter. Most of that was spent at the Toronto Star, where he was foreign editor, founding editor of the Sunday Star, weekend editor, deputy managing editor, and acting managing editor.
He came to Ryerson as chair of the School of Journalism, and served in that position for 10 years. He helped raise $2 million to fund a modern new building to house the school, directed a curriculum review, and established Canada’s first chair in media ethics and its first chair of diversity reporting.
During sabbaticals, Miller returned to his first love – reporting – and won two national awards for excellence in environmental and investigative reporting (2000 and 2004), as well as one for best editorial writing (2000) by the Ontario Community Newspapers Association. With a group of citizens including Farley Mowat, Miller founded a volunteer community newspaper, The Crier, in his hometown of Port Hope in 1999.
He lives in Port Hope today on a 50-acre farm. Mostly what he raises there is hell.
Miller is one of Canada’s leading researchers and trainers dealing with diversity in news organizations. He has presented numerous refereed conference papers on diversity in journalism (most recently at the Eighth International Conference for Diversity in Organizations in Montreal in June 2008). In 2004 he was invited to Ottawa by the federal Minister of State (Multiculturalism) as one of four speakers commemorating the 15th anniversary of Canada’s Multiculturalism Act.
A course he founded, Covering Diversity (now Critical Issues), won Ryerson's School of Journalism the 2003 Award of Excellence from the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. It is the only course of its kind in Canada, and grew out of John's research on the media and minorities.
Miller was also engaged by the Department of Canadian Heritage to write a study on the “State of Ethnic Newspapers in Canada.” In 2005 an Ontario government commission of inquiry accepted his study “Ipperwash and the Media: A critical analysis of media coverage of the 1995 Ipperwash confrontation.”
John is an authority on Canadian newspapers, and is frequently quoted in the press. His critically acclaimed book, Yesterday’s News: Why Canada’s Daily Newspapers Are Failing Us (Fernwood, 1998) established him as a press critic.
Qualifications:
John is a qualified expert witness in legal matters involving journalists and has participated in eight cases on behalf of both media and plaintiffs. Courts in Ontario and British Columbia have accepted his evidence in libel cases. See his website www.thejournalismdoctor.ca.
Research Interests:
Media and minorities
Stereotyping
Diversity publications
Teaching:
John teaches JN 8101, the introductory reporting course in the MA program. He also teaches JRN 805, a senior reporting class for final-year undergraduates.
Selected Publications:
Professional Affiliations:
Full Publication/Presentation List:
