This Isn’t Normal So Change It

I attended the section of the teach-in titled “This isn’t normal”. This section of the event featured four working journalists conversing with their audience about how to keep focus and remember what is important in a time that is extremely challenging in a journalistic and personal sense. Andrea Houston, interim managing editor at the Torontoist, Shree Paradkar, columnist and digital editor at the Toronto Star, Matt Braga, technology reporter at CBC News, and Lenny Carpenter, program manager of the the Indigenous Reporters Program at Journalists for Human Rights, each had a turn in the spotlight sharing their view on the the journalistic world we are living in and how they are handling the challenges they are facing.
At the beginning of this talk, the section was referred to as a “pep talk” and that’s exactly what it was. It was so refreshing to be listening to these journalists who have had to deal with the problems and challenges we are facing in the real world outside of school and see that they still have hope for change and that they are working hard to make a difference and give a better name to the journalism community.
The issues the journalists shared ranged from personal to national and even international. Andrea Houston drove home the importance of smaller independent news sources like NOW magazine and the Torontoist. She said that it’s important that we keep them alive because they give people who wouldn;t normally have a voice in the media find that voice and amplify it. Journalism, according to Andrea Houston, is all about amplifying voices that need to be heard.
Shree Paradkar shared some of her personal emails with the audience. The way she was being spoken to in those emails was heartbreaking. Her response to them, however, was empowering. She told the audience that she doesn’t care about them. She went on to say that when you’re dealing with the controversial matter in your writing or just telling the truth there are some people reading your work that are going to disagree.
Matt Braga brought to light the dangers of living in such a connected and technology driven world. He warned the audience that if anyone, like hackers or police or even the government, wants your information, they can get it. That includes traveling across the border or even staying within Canada and having to protect your information from other countries. Protecting sources is important for the integrity of journalism but also the safety and well-being of the sources in the story. The technology blocks and encoding that Matt Braga talked to the audience about is integral to keeping those sources safe.
Lenny Carpenter reminded the audience that there are issues and problems we are facing now that leave the country but there are also big and important problems here within Canada that need just as much attention. Indigenous people within Canada do not get nearly enough or fair media coverage. Lenny Carpenter really focused on the importance of educating yourself on indigenous issues and the history of indigenous people in Canada.
This talk empowered me to speak out on issues no matter their subject matter if I am passionate about them and if I feel they need coverage then it is my job to make those voices heard.