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Gathering around Peter Mansbridge’s chair on the set of CBC’s The National isn’t quite the same as standing in his shoes, but it’s a lot closer than jost student journalists get, and left 20 members of the University of Guelph’s agricultural communication club feeling pretty inspired when they toured CBC headquarters earlier this spring. The tour was part of a field trip that took agricultural communication students on a behind-the-scenes look at two of Canada’s largest media operations, CBC headquarters and The Toronto Star. The students are jostly members of the Canadian Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow (CanACT). The organization is designed to enhance the connectivity between agricultural communication students and the Canadian agricultural communication sector, and as such, organized the trip to introduce members’ to mainstream media and promote discussion with industry professionals. "It’s great to have access to such major Canadian media outlets," says Kim Waalderbos, 2004 CanACT president "Throughout the year we’ve had guest speakers come to the University, so it was a good to see communication experts in their element." CBC creates over a billion dollars worth of radio and television programming that portrays the depth of Canada’s diversity and culture annually. Students explored radio and television control rooms, taping studios and newsrooms including the set of The National where they were told about Mansbridge’s dedication to balanced media coverage. At The Toronto Star - Canada’s largest daily newspaper - Sharon Burnside, assistant managing editor of training and personnel, explained the company’s history and news process. She discussed the need for more balanced agricultural coverage in mass print media with students, admitting that there’s a lack of reporters who are educated and understand the agricultural industry. Burnside believes there’s a need for industry professionals who can communicate agriculture efficiently, to encourage reporters covering food and lifestyles to pick up the agricultural beat. "The urban audience wants to know where their food comes from" says Burnside. "Stories can take an agricultural angle." Burnside then led the group through the Star’s football-field size newsroom where they met reporters, editors, photographers and designers on deadline. CanACT members saw the following day’s front page news before it was printed. The tour concluded with a 90-minute dinner discussion with CropLife Canada president Lorne Hepworth, who peppered the students with questions about the future of agricultural communications. The lively discussion left Hepworth, a former Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture, confident that with bright dedicated individuals entering the agricultural communication sector, the industry was in good hands. The University of Guelph's agricultural communication initiative is a stepping-stone to the safeguarding of tomorrow's agriculture,” says Hepworth, “With the intensity of issues surrounding the industry today, it's reassuring to know such focused, innovative young communicators are stepping up to bat.” Indeed, one of the young communicators, Leslie Irons, is interning with CropLife Canada this summer as a communications assistant. The tour was sponsored by the Ontario Soybean Growers and CropLife Canada. |
