School of Journalism

Biography:

“So, you want to be a reporter? Here’s some advice about this racket. Don’t ever change your mind. It may not be the oldest profession, but it’s the best.”

- Ed Hutcheson, newspaper editor, Deadline U.S.A. (1952)

After more than two decades working as a news reporter and producer, Janice Neil, decided there is one thing better than working as a full-time journalist: teaching. She joined the Ryerson faculty in 2007, teaching television news and radio journalism for students in the Bachelor of Journalism and Masters of Journalism programs. (A decade earlier, she was on the  journalism faculty at Carleton University – from 1998 to 2003 – teaching broadcast journalism and professional practices.) 

Her career as a reporter was mostly with CBC Radio and CBC TV in the London bureau,  Toronto and, Regina, Saskatchewan throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Then, she went behind the scenes, as a producer: from 1993-1998, Janice was the Ottawa Bureau Chief and Senior Editor of TVOntario's Studio 2, producing documentaries, studio discussion panels and interviews. In 1992, she created and produced a weekly program about Ontario politics (4th Reading).  She moved into radio, again, in 2004, at CBC Radio in Toronto, as Senior Producer of Metro Morning and in the newsroom as an editor, writer and reader, before coming to Ryerson. 

She’s also the Editor-in-Chief of the Canadian Journalism Project (J-Source.ca), a national website providing information, commentary and resources related to the achievement of, and challenges to, excellence.  She appears as a commentator  and gives  presentations to professional and non-journalistic groups about aspects of the journalistic process such as interviewing, broadcast practices, and contemporary issues in the profession.  Her academic research includes foreign news on Canadian television and, media coverage of election night. She has also immersed herself in film and prime time TV, admiring how fictional newshounds such as Hildy Johnson, Henry Hackett and Murphy Brown risk their lives to expose the truth and save the world. 

Qualifications:

Master of Arts (Film Studies), Carleton University, Ottawa, 2009
Thesis: “Masquerade: Making It As A Woman Journalist In Film And Primetime Television”

Bachelor of Journalism (Honours), Carleton University, Ottawa, 1980.

Research Interest:

J-Source; Canadian public broadcasting; portrayal of journalism and journalists in fictional film and television; foreign news on Canadian television; media coverage of election night. 
 

Current Courses:

JRN 125 - Introduction to Television Journalism

JRN 910 - Masthead

JRN314 - Reporting for TV Workshop

JN8201 - Broadcast Journalism

Professional Affiliations:

 Professional Juries/Reviews:
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication; Gemini Awards, Toronto; Canadian Association of  Journalists; Canadian Association of University Teachers, “Excellence in Education  Journalism”; CBC National Radio Awards of Excellence;  Ontario Community Newspaper Association; Association for Women in Communications,  Washington, D.C

Member:
- Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
-Broadcast Education Association
-Canadian Communication Association
-Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
-Canadian Association of Journalists

Other:

Twitter: @JNeil7