Started in the Spring of 1984 as a yearly publication by the School of Journalism, it became a twice yearly publication in 1995 with Spring and Summer editions. In 2011 it switched to summer and winter editions. In 2013 the RRJ began publishing only one edition again. The editors of the journal are all Ryerson Students.
In May of 2021 a renaming committee recommended that the names of both the Ryersonian and the Ryerson Review of Journalism should be changed. The School Council unanimously approved these motions. Ryerson was removed from the name of the magazine. The Spring 2022 edition was the first with the new name "Review of Journalism".
These changes are in line with the University's announcement of its intention to change the name of the University, which occurred in Spring 2022 - Toronto Metropolitan University. This change was one of 22 recommendations put forward by the Standing Strong Taskforce whose mandate was to to develop principles to guide commemoration at the university and to respond to the history and legacy of Egerton Ryerson within the context of the university’s values.