A new-media project underway at Mount Royal University aims to amplify the voices of marginalized groups.
The Community Podcasting Initiative is believed to be the first of its kind at a Canadian university, says Meg Wilcox, an assistant professor of journalism who is co-leading the project. “We think it is a really important medium for our students to try out, to work with, to understand and also a really great opportunity for those in our communities that would like to learn how to do this,” she says.
In a sign of how the Canadian broadcasting landscape is evolving, a former TV studio in the School of Communication Studies is being converted into a more user-friendly podcasting facility. It will include a recording space with a large table and six microphones, as well as a separate voice-recording booth.
The hope is the facility will also open up more opportunities for student-led projects involving Indigenous peoples and other racialized groups. The project is a sign of the MRU School of Communication Studies’ increasing focus on social justice, says Brad Clark, a professor of broadcast media studies who is spearheading the initiative with Ms. Wilcox. “I think it’s really a reflection of the type of storytelling that our students need and want to do, and that our industry needs to do,” Dr. Clark says.