1. Introduction
Journalism is an interesting endeavor for any young person. Whether you are interested in it as a hobby, an extracurricular, or as a future profession, investigating and writing will help develop many of your skills. Hopefully this guide will be able to make some ideas more clear while also providing guidance in advancing your pursuit.
While not meant to be a definitive guide for a budding student reporter, writer, or multimedia recorder, this is meant to give them a start.
1.1. Reporting Guides
Some other guides that can be very useful and possibly overly detailed for the purposes of beginners are:
CP Style Guide
AP Style Book
PA Style Guide
The Varsity Hand Book
1.2. Principles
1.3. Organizational Structure
1.4. Rules
2. Contributions
If you are interested in joining The Blue and White, contact the Reviewer, General and any other reviewers whose sections you are interested in contributing to.
Having done that if you have a specific idea in mind for an article, contact the relevant reviewer to get started. While we do accept articles that are already completed, for a new writer it helps to get guidance from the relevant reviewer first.
3. Ethics
This organization will follow any relevant federal, provincial or city law or principle in effect to the fullest extent possible. It will also endeavor to be as ethical and moral as possible, serving the public good and no specific special interest groups.
3.1. Openness
This organization will offer to any interested and able members the ability to contribute to and manage the magazine. No member will be denied on any discriminatory means.
3.2. Variety
This organization will allow a variety of views to be expressed in both its internal structure and in its content.
3.3. Autonomy
This organization will maintain at all times its journalistic autonomy from pertinent issues to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.
3.4. Accuracy
This organization will strive to maintain the utmost accuracy in its content, this includes both fact checking and proof reading.
3.5. Fairness
This organization will strive to be as fair as possible in its coverage of events while also allowing differing views on a certain issue to be expressed and represented.
4. Content
4.1. Types
The Blue and White is a magazine whose article can be divided roughly into five types. These are equivalents to the sections of a bulletin. They are:
General
Present Issues (Features)
Present Events (News)
Past Events (History)
Opinions
Letters
4.2. Fields
For each of these, there are different fields or subject matters which the article can pertain to. They are:
COMMON
Extra
GOVERNMENT
World
Federate (Canada)
Province (Ontario)
City (Toronto)
University (U of T)
College
Reportage (Journalism)
BUSINESS
Public Sector
Private Sector
ISSUES
Society
Polity
Economy
SPECIFIC
Education
Environment
& Others
5. Format
5.1. General
General articles are rarely posted. They are related to the functioning of The Blue and White themselves, usually coming from the Reviewer, General.
5.2. Present Issues (Features)
Features are based on an issue not necessarily an event as present and past affairs are, it is aimed at providing an in depth analysis of a certain matter. Usually longer and more detailed, features cover differing aspects of the issue.
Usually they start with a lead that is followed by the topic. This then opens up to the story which finishes with a conclusion.
Writing a features piece usually takes more effort and covering the topic is usually a larger endeavor.
5.3. Present Events (News)
News article provide an impartial account of affairs ranging from business to government dealings as well as civilian and military conduct. It is important that the reporter both be without bias or conflicts of interest and that the matter be represented fairly.
Structure the article such that the most important information is first and less important information later. However, effort must also be given to provide context to the audience.
Quotations and paraphrases consist of the most important parts of a news article, as it provides both an accurate representation and a direct contact to the subject matter.
5.4. Past Events (History)
Past affairs pieces explore an area of history that has not already been written about in detail. They can cover a variety of events and raise specific issues.
Usually history articles are longer while also shedding some details for a larger scope. As with news articles of the present, impartiality is of great importance.
5.5. Opinions
Opinions articles are an argument based on the writer’s opinion about specific policies and issues happening around the world from campus to overseas.
5.6. Letters
Letters are a select posting of responses written regarding a specific article in The Blue and White.
6. General Guidance
6.1. University of Toronto & Related Entities
6.1.1. Governance (Governing Council)
It is composed of 50 members, 25 internal (students, professors, staffers) and 25 external (alum, government) to the university. Its duty is to approve of administration decisions.
Chancellor: David Peterson
Chair: Jack Petch
Vice Chair: Richard Nunn
6.1.2. Administration (President Council)
It is composed of the President and Vice Presidents, Teaching, Researching, Business Affairs, Human Resources, Advancement, and University Relations. They are responsible for the administration of the university. However, the university is also a decentralized organization and much responsibility lies in the Faculties and Departments and in their respective Deans and Vice Deans, and Chairs and Vice Chairs.
President: David Naylor
Vice President, Teaching: Cheryl Misak
Vice President, Researching: Paul Young
Vice President, Business Affairs: Catharine Riggall
Vice President, Human Resources: Angela Hildyard
Vice President, University Relations: Judith Wolfson
Vice President, Advancement: David Palmer
6.1.3. Teacher Union (Faculty Association)
It is the official representation of the interests of professors at the university.
President: George Luste
6.1.4. Student Society (Student Union)
It is the official representation of the interests of the students at the university.
President: Danielle Sandhu
6.2. Contacting People
Usually searching people will produce a method of communication. Otherwise going directly to the person's office or asking someone can also be a possible way to get a lead.
6.2.1 Rule of Thumb
Confirm beforehand, as there are exceptions)
Student, Professor, Staffer: first.last@utoronto.ca
Administration: first.last@utoronto.ca or title@utoronto.ca
Teacher Union: last@utfa.org
Student Society: first@utsu.ca or title@utsu.ca
6.2.2. University Directories
Mailbox Directory
Phone Directory
Website Directory
Researcher Directory
Media Release Directory
6.2.3. Media Relations of Strategic Relations of University Relations
Director: Laurie Stephens
6.2.4. University of Toronto Official Sources
The Bulletin (for media releases)
The Magazine (for alumni connections)
6.2.5. University of Toronto Campus Sources
The Varsity (student bulletin)
The Newspaper (other student bulletin)
The Blue and White (community magazine)
6.3. Archival Material
Using archives of sources can be very useful for researching a historical article. Some sources that can be useful are:
6.3.1. University of Toronto Library (Library System)
Librarians: Carole Moore & Joan Leishman
6.3.2. University of Toronto Archive (Archive Repository)
Archivists: Garron Wells & Harold Averill
6.3.3. Web Archive (Web Archive Portal)
Archives the whole web, useful to find old documents easily
6.4. Other News Sources
6.4.1. Bulletins
6.4.1.1. Canada
The Globe and Mail (federal)
The Toronto Star (city)
6.4.1.2. America
The New York Times (federal)
6.4.1.3. England
The Times (federal)
The Guardian (federal)
6.4.2. Magazines
6.4.2.1. Canada
Macleans (federal - news)
The Walrus (federal - general)
Toronto Life (city - general)
6.4.2.2. America
US News and World Report (federal - news)
The Atlantic (federal - general)
6.4.2.3. England
The Economist (federal - news)