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Fallout from the Field

Toronto, April 16, 2019 - After witnessing the horrors of war, natural disasters or local crime stories, journalists must often cope with emotional trauma, moral quandaries and PTSD. How can reporters—and newsrooms—manage the personal impact of covering stories that involve human cruelty or suffering? How do these experiences shape future reporting?

To discuss these issues, join our speakers: Anthony Feinstein, University of Toronto psychiatry professor, who is a pioneer in the study of mental health trauma among journalists; Paul Hunter, Washington-based correspondent for CBC News; Peter Akman, investigative correspondent for CTV’s W5; Ioanna Roumeliotis, senior reporter with CBC News; and Patrice Roy, host of En Direct on Radio-Canada. The moderator is three-time Toronto Star National Newspaper Award winner Michelle Shephard, now a freelance journalist, author and filmmaker.

CJF J-Talk - The Fight for Truth: Political Journalism in 2019

Ottawa, April 9, 2019 - If journalism is about holding power to account, then journalists on both sides of the border are on it. But how does the political climate in each country affect reporting and coverage—or does it?

Join our speakers: Vassy Kapelos, host of Power & Politics on CBC News, Sarah Kendzior, St. Louis, Missouri-based op-ed columnist for The Globe and Mail and co-host of the Gaslit Nation podcast,; and Tonda MacCharles, senior reporter with the Toronto Star's Ottawa Bureau, in conversation with Alison Smith, host of Perspective with Alison Smith on CPAC.

CJF J-Talk: New Media, New Models

Who says it’s all dire news for the media industry? Consider these recent arrivals. The West End Phoenix is a community news monthly just launched in Toronto—ad-free and in print. The Conversation Canada is an edition of the Australian website that turns academic research into accessible articles. Discourse Media is an independent, Vancouver-based website finding success in its collaborative approach to journalism. Then there’s The Athletic, a subscription sports website expanding across major North American cities. In an environment where media outlets are struggling, what does it take to launch something new? And what does it take to sustain it?

Join our speakers: David Bidini, founder and publisher of The West End Phoenix; Saleem Khan, emergent platforms, science and technology editor with The Conversation Canada; Erin Millar, editor-in-chief and CEO of Discourse Media; and James Mirtle, editor-in-chief of The Athletic in Canada. Catherine Wallace, the former executive producer of the Montreal Gazette’s iPad 6 pm edition who explored alternative sources of civic news as the 2016-2017 Atkinson Fellow in Public Policy, moderates.

CJF J-Talk - The Media as Opposition: Covering Trump in a Post Truth Era (Part 2)

May 24, 2017 - They are among the world’s most unrelenting truth seekers. Renowned, award-winning journalists and authors discuss the need to apply constant, critical pressure on an American president who threatens the very fabric of democracy, journalism, civil society and the truth.

In the second discussion of this two-part Toronto event, Matt Taibbi, author of the recently published Insane Clown President: Dispatches from the 2016 Circus and contributing editor to Rolling Stone, was in conversation with David Walmsley, editor-in-chief of The Globe and Mail, on journalism’s response to this ongoing circus and chaotic presidency.

In the first discussion (separate broadcast), featured speakers were Amy Goodman, host and executive producer of Democracy Now!; Juan González, co-host of Democracy Now!; Glenn Greenwald, Pulitzer-prize winner and co-founder of The Intercept; Jeremy Scahill, war correspondent and co-founder of The Intercept, and Vicky Mochama, national columnist with Metro News. Their conversation was moderated by Hannah Sung, video and podcast producer for The Globe and Mail.

What To Be, or Not To Be: The Public News Broadcaster's Dilemma

Toronto, April 20, 2017 - In an increasingly fractured, crowded and competitive media environment, what is the role of the public broadcaster when it comes to news? This discussion explored the challenges faced by public broadcasters on both sides of the pond, featuring James Harding, director of news and current affairs for the BBC; Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor-in-chief of CBC News; and Michael Oreskes, senior vice-president of news and editorial director for NPR, in a conversation moderated by Simon Houpt, senior media writer with The Globe and Mail.

CJF J-Talk - Finding a Way Forward: The Changing Ways Canadians Get Their News

Toronto, Jan. 26, 2017 - How are Canadians getting their news, and whom do they trust to provide it? How do perceptions differ between social media and mainstream news organizations? Does the government have a role in aiding struggling news outlets? The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF), in partnership with the Public Policy Forum (PPF), explores Canadians’ attitudes towards the media in a public opinion poll, conducted by Earnscliffe Strategy Group for PPF’s study THE SHATTERED MIRROR: News, Democracy, Policy and Trust.

To explore what the results mean for the future of news in Canada, Christopher Waddell, associate professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University and a member of the CJF Board, was in conversation with Edward Greenspon, president and CEO of the Public Policy Forum; Allan Gregg, principal with Earnscliffe Strategy Group; and April Lindgren, associate professor at Ryerson University School of Journalism and principal investigator for the Local News Research Project. 

CJF J-Talk - Media Evolving: A Look at Changing LGBT Coverage

Toronto, Apr. 5, 2016 - How are media coverage and newsroom culture changing when it comes to LGBT issues? Speakers included Kamal Al-Solaylee, author of Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes and associate professor of journalism at Ryerson University; Susan Marjetti, executive director of radio and audio for CBC English Services; and Lauren Strapagiel, social news editor with BuzzFeed Canada, and moderator Kevin Newman, co-host and correspondent for CTV's W5 and co-author of All Out, a memoir he wrote with his son.

CJF J-Talk: John Stackhouse and Craig Silverman

Toronto, Nov. 12, 2015 - John Stackhouse’s three-decade career with The Globe and Mail—including five years as editor-in-chief—spanned a period of massive digital disruption to traditional journalism. In his latest book Mass Disruption: Thirty Years on the Front Lines of a Media Revolution, Stackhouse recalls how the Globe and other news outlets experimented with different delivery models as the Internet, social media and digital upstarts fragmented audiences and ad dollars. At the same time, the goal of mainstream news organizations to provide authoritative coverage of news events was challenged by new, agile competitors. Among them: BuzzFeed, which aims to create viral content by covering news with unabashed humour—its listicles and videos key drivers of stories via social media. Earlier this year, BuzzFeed established a Canadian presence with Craig Silverman—best known for a career built on media accuracy—as its founding editor. In a conversation covering current challenges to the media and lessons learned, Stackhouse and Silverman discussed the future of journalism from their distinct perspectives.

CJF J-Talk - Mohamed Fahmy in conversation with Michelle Shephard

Toronto, Nov. 2, 2015 -  Mohamed Fahmy was the Egypt bureau chief of Al Jazeera International when he was arrested in 2013, charged by the Egyptian government of conspiring with the Muslim Brotherhood and fabricating news to serve the fundamentalist group’s agenda. Incarcerated in a maximum security jail for more than 400 days, Fahmy was recently pardoned by the Egyptian government. Fahmy was in conversation with Michelle Shephard, national security reporter for the Toronto Star. This event was a partnership with the Toronto Public Library.

CJF J-Talk - Ceiling, Cracked? News Women in Charge

March 2, 2015, Toronto - How do women who hold top spots in the media see their role when it comes to news coverage, workplace culture, and management issues? Elena Cherney, Canada bureau chief and global resources editor for The Wall Street Journal, Jane Davenport, managing editor with the Toronto Star, Wendy Freeman, president of CTV New, Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor-in-chief of CBC News and Centres, and moderator Dawna Friesen, anchor and executive editor of Global National, discussed women in journalism.