Mass Media Reporting of Canadian Supreme Court Decisions: Mapping the Terrain

TLDR: A three-year study by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from across Canada on media coverage of Supreme Court decisions as mentioned in this paper describes the changing role of the Supreme Court in Canadian public life and the role of media as both a vehicle for publicizing decisions and a check on the Court's power.

Abstract: This research report describes a three-year study that is being undertaken by an interdisciplinary team of researchers from across Canada on media coverage of Supreme Court decisions. The report describes the changing role of the Supreme Court in Canadian public life and the role of the media as both a vehicle for publicizing decisions and as a check on the Court's power. The study will explore media reporting from a number of vantage points-direct observation at the Court and in newsrooms, interviews, an in-depth study of how a number of important cases were reported, and an analysis of a year in the life of the Court. Workshops with members of the legal and journalistic communities and with citizens are also a crucial element in the study. Resume: Ce rapport de recherche decrit une etude de trois ans sur la couverture mediatique de decisions prises par la Cour supreme. Une equipe interdisciplinaire de chercheurs d'une part a l'autre du Canada a mene cette etude. Ce rapport decrit le role changeant de la Cour supreme dans la vie publique canadienne et le role des medias dans la diffusion des decisions de la Cour et la capacite des medias de restreindre les pouvoirs de celle-ci. Cette etude a recours a plusieurs approches differentes pour explorer la couverture mediatique: l'observation directe de la Cour meme et de salles de redaction d'informations; des entrevues; une etude en profondeur de la maniere dont plusieurs cas furent couverts; et l'analyse d'un an dans la vie de la Cour. En outre, des ateliers avec des membres des communautes juridiques et journalistiques et avec des citoyens sont des elements cruciaux de l'etude.