This term, Brock students put their critical analysis, media literacy and effective communication skills to work to support local community organizations.

Students in Kate Cassidy’s third-year Media Analysis course researched how homelessness, food insecurity and mental health are portrayed in the media to identify nuances and consider how these choices may have long-term effects on audience understanding. They then worked in teams to closely analyze various media sources, finding patterns in visual and text elements, how solutions were discussed and even whether social issues were depicted differently during different times of the year.

Finally, groups developed reports to contribute to an open educational resources (OER) to help local not-for-profit groups trying to educate the public on complex, sensitive topics.

Cassidy, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film, teamed up with Director of Community Investment Chandra Hardeen at United Way Niagara on the project.

Chandra Hardeen (left) and Kate Cassidy fielded questions from students at the final class session on April 3 after Hardeen shared her assessment of media analysis reports completed by students on social issues.

“The collaboration highlights Brock’s dedication to providing students with hands-on, impactful learning experiences that not only benefit their academic growth but also contribute to the community that they are members of during their time here,” says Cassidy.

Third-year Media and Communications student Warren Green and his group collected 80 articles from four English-speaking news outlets in Ontario to analyze how homelessness was framed in headlines and accompanying photography.

“Over half of the newspaper headlines indicate a thematic frame, which means that they discuss homelessness as a big picture issue, but the images don’t line up,” says Green. “There was very poor representation of visibly homeless people and there was neglible representation of support locations or intersectional issues.”

Hardeen reviewed all 30 reports before attending the last class session to offer insight and feedback. She commended the students on their skill, empathy and comprehension of topics that were not central to their studies. She also encouraged them to consider future career paths that blend communication and research skills with community and social justice work.

Hardeen says it was a pleasure to be a part of the innovative project.

“A lot of the students’ papers delved into the complexity of the messaging and how not-for-profit agencies can potentially relay these issues in a fairly simple manner, even though they’re complex issues,” she says. “There is some misunderstanding in the community that requires careful communication, and the students hit on that very well.”

Third-year Media and Communications student Thuan Tran says he welcomed the chance to investigate “societal issues that impact our region and people” and then put theory into practice.

“The opportunity to complete an analysis that will be used to further understand the media landscapes around current issues provided a deeper learning experience,” says Tran. “The beauty is that we are able to transfer what we learned in class and put it towards a real-life application, in this case to help United Way and other potential non-profits.”

Now that the analyses are complete, they will be compiled into a resource that United Way Niagara can share with other local organizations. The OER will also be used by future students in upcoming classes to develop their research skills.