Token Effort
Newsroom managers say they can't afford to do more about diversity. For journalists of colour, that argument holds no water
Newsroom managers say they can’t afford to do more about diversity. For journalists of colour, that argument holds no water
Why are we still talking about diversity?
“Is it Fateeema?” asked two editors interviewing me in a boardroom much too big for a three-person meeting. I tried to impress them with three story ideas: something about transit, something about local politics and something about immigration. They asked follow-up questions about the third one—How did I think of the story? What are the main issues? […]
BuzzFeed’s search for marginalized writers is progressive, not racist
White men effectively control Canadian journalism. But recent events have shown that’s not enough: any challenge to their dominance must be condemned. On February 18, BuzzFeed senior writer Scaachi Koul tweeted a call for longform writers, particularly those who aren’t white or male. This was a commendable step toward breaking down barriers preventing people from entering, and then […]
#JournalismSoWhite
Hashtag decrying the whiteness of journalism trends on Twitter
On Friday night, #JournalismSoWhite trended across the United States and Toronto. The hashtag, a spinoff of #OscarsSoWhite, takes aim at demographic uniformity in journalism. This is a much needed discussion, and one that I tried to add to with my November 2015 article, “The Unbearable Whiteness of Canadian Columnists.” There is more to come from the Ryerson Review […]
Canadian MLK Day reporting ignored King’s legacy
Why did coverage focus on Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau’s vocal performance?
Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day is meant to commemorate the life and achievements of the famous civil rights leader. This day often provokes intense debate regarding what King actually stood for, as well as how much (or little) progress has been made in the fight against racism since King was assassinated. These debates often act as […]
