You are now in the main content area
Marsha Barber

Marsha Barber

Professor, Graduate Program Director
Education
   
Master's in Adult Learning, University of Toronto (OISE)    
Honours B.A. in English Literature, McGill    
Courses
   
JRN 800/JN8401: TV Documentary (Fall 2023 and Winter 2024)
   
JRN 412: Documentary Survey (Winter 2024)    

Marsha is a Professor in the School of Journalism. Her research interests include media bias, and gender issues.

Marsha spent many years at CBC, where she was a senior producer at CBC's flagship newscast: the National. Before that she was a documentary producer at The National, specializing in investigative pieces for which she won several awards. Marsha also worked as a producer for The Journal.

Before joining CBC, Marsha worked for CTV and TVOntario and did freelance work for the Globe and Mail, Canadian Press, the Toronto Star, and other outlets. Marsha trains reporters and producers for broadcast networks in Canada and also runs journalism training and media training workshops internationally

  • Dean’s Teaching Award, The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University
  • Best Faculty Paper, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
  • Two New York Festival International Film and Video awards
  • Bronze Medal and one Bronze Worldmedal RTNDA documentary award
  • Dan McArthur Award for Investigative Journalism
  • Golden Sheaf Award, Yorkton Film Festival
  • Columbus International Film and Video Festival: 2 honourable mentions
  •  Gemini awarded to The National for best newscast/news special, when Marsha was part of the senior editorial team
  • McConnell Memorial Scholarship, McGill University (Other awards attained from McGill include the Wolvin Scholarship, Peterson Scholarship, Shakespeare Scholarship, Dora Forsyth Prize (for top female graduate in the faculty) and Chester MacNaughten Prize. 

Nearly two dozen writing awards include first place prizes from The Ontario Poetry Society and on the winner's list of the FreeFall Poetry Contest and the William Henry Drummond Poetry Contest. Marshs's poetry, which sometimes deals with journalistic themes, has also been longlisted for the national ReLit prize and shortlisted for the international Bridport Poetry Prize and the Montreal International Poetry Prize.

  • Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
  • Electoral Coverage
  • Media Bias
  • Gender Issues
  • Fake News
  • CAJ
  • CJFE
  • LCP

Featured Work

Prof. Marsha Barber's Love You to Pieces
Love You to Pieces. Ottawa: Borealis Press, 2019
Prof. Marsha Barbers What is the Sound of Someone Unravelling
What is the Sound of Someone Unravelling. Ottawa: Borealis Press, 2011
Prof Marsha Barbers All the Lovely Broken People
All the Lovely Broken People. Ottawa: Borealis Press, 2015

Barber, M., Levitan, J. & Kappler, M. (2018) Gender Representation on Canadian Television News during Provincial Elections: A Longitudinal Study. The International Journal of Diverse Identities.

Barber, M.& Levitan, J.(2015) Balancing the Books: How Student Employment During the Semester Affects Academic Achievement. The International Journal of Adult, Community and Professional Learning. 21(3-4), 13-19.

Barber, M. & Levitan, J. (2013) Not Seen, Not Heard: Gender Representation on Canadian Television News during the 2011 Federal Election Campaign. The International Journal of Diverse Identities, 12(2), 1-8.

Barber, M. (2012) Not All Cut From the Same Cloth: Learning Styles and Curriculum Delivery in Higher Education. The International Journal of the Humanities, 9(9), 223-232.

Bernier, M.F. and Barber, M. (2012) The Professional Creed of Quebec’s Journalists in Canada. In D. H. Weaver and Lars Willnat (editors.), The Global Journalist in the 21st Century. New York: Routledge, 333-347.

Barber, M. (2011) Understanding University Students’ Learning Styles: A Canadian Perspective. Social Sciences Today, 31-41.

Barber, M. (2009) Getting The Picture: Airtime and Lineup Bias On Canadian Networks During the Federal Election. Canadian Journal of Communication, 33(4),) 621-638.

Barber, M., & Rauhala, A. (2008) The Canadian News Directors Study: Professional Role Conceptions of Television Newsroom Decision Makers. Electronic News: the Journal of the Association for Education in Journalism and Media Education, 2(1), 46-60

Barber, M. (2007) Reassessing Pedagogy in a Fast Forward Age. The International Journal of Learning, 13(9), 143-149.

Barber M. (2006) Educating Journalists Within the Academy. International Perspectives on Training and Learning, 131-136.

Barber, M., & Rauhala, A. (2006) The Faces Behind the Scenes. The International Journal of Diversity, 5(3), 190-204.

Barber, M., & Rauhala, A. (2005) The Canadian News Directors Study: Demographics and Political Leanings of Television Decision Makers. Canadian Journal of Communication. 30(2), 281-292.

Barber, M. (2004) Cross-cultural Education in Cambodia: Reaching Across the Divide. The International Journal of Learning, 11(1), 109-114.