Discourses of Domination: Racial Bias in the Canadian English-Language Press

Nanette Morton teaches English at McMaster University in Hamilton.

This clear, yet scholarly examination of racial bias in the Canadian
media looks at the way The Globe and Mail, the National Post, and other
newspapers view such issues as immigration, crime, and employment equity
through the distorted and covertly racist lens of “common sense.”
Starting with a theoretical framework influenced by the work of Stuart
Hall, Michel Foucault, and others, the authors argue that “the media
are critical sites for the production, reproduction, and transformation
of ideologies.” Since the media outlets examined are owned by the
country’s cultural elite, they become mouthpieces for the perceptions,
assumptions, and values of their owners.

Henry and Tator examine the racial bias revealed in the coverage of the
Avery Haines controversy, the National Post’s ongoing coverage of
immigration, and other contemporary issues. Columnists at the National
Post, for example, regularly allege that most refugee claims are
“bogus” and that refugees, out to defraud the system, threaten
Canada’s social order. Henry and Tator reveal, however, that the facts
are misrepresented and otherwise distorted to promote a campaign against
nonwhite immigration. Examining how the media represents them, and
playing a larger part in controlling that representation, empowers
minority groups in Canada.

Discourses of Domination is essential reading for anyone interested in
media and cultural studies.