CBC Archives

Ask students to name a news program that they regularly listen to on the radio or view on television. Have them describe what role the broadcaster plays in their decision to listen to that program. Ask: What skills does that broadcaster have? Record student responses to create a class list.

Direct students to the topic Barbara Frum:Pioneering Broadcaster on the CBC Radio and Television Archives Web site. Ask students to browse for about 30 minutes, paying particular attention to clips they have not used in previous activities.

Divide the class into groups of three. One group member will be a leader, one a recorder (to take notes on the group’s findings), and one a reporter (to report the findings back to the class). Each group will list and discuss the skills and qualities that a good broadcaster needs, supporting their answers with details from the clips. Students might focus on techniques, tone, level of language, and ethics.

Gather groups together and have the reporters share their group’s findings. Each group should add only the points not mentioned by previous. List group responses and compare them with the notes made in Before Exploring.

Together, analyze the findings and students’ responses to them. Ask: What is significant about what you have found? Should all broadcasters have all the qualities listed? Do we have different perspectives of the qualities we expect from males and females? What role do controversy or ratings play in how successful a broadcaster is? Why? How does the broadcaster sometimes become the news? What is a newsmaker? What is the relationship between the news and the newsmaker?

Students can analyze and give examples of the tone, level of language, techniques, and ethics of a broadcaster (or broadcasters) on a radio or television news program of their choice. Students can share their findings in a brief report.