The Latest
Pride & Politics
In the summer of 2024, thousands gather in downtown Toronto for Canada’s largest Pride celebration. The crowd surges forward, and for a moment I lose myself in the sea of colour, pressed shoulder to shoulder near Church-Wellesley Village. It’s then I see rainbow flags waving high in the air and hear the raucous cheers of spectators growing louder and louder. The parade has started. The air hums with excitement as performers in extravagant costumes twirl and dance on the floats. Food vendors and community booths line the streets, serving everything from rainbow popsicles to pamphlets on 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and resources.
Paranoid of the Android
It’s early October 2024, and the Toronto Star’s conference room is abuzz with anticipation. Stephen Ghigliotty, a marketing strategist with expertise in artificial intelligence, is preparing to host a five-hour learning session on the impacts of AI on journalism. The space is warm and welcoming, but beneath the surface lurks an undeniable undercurrent of fear. Ghigliotty can feel it when he steps into the conference room.
Barred from the Story
If Brandi Morin had to place a bet on where she might get arrested, her home Treaty Six territories in Edmonton, Alberta, wouldn’t even make her shortlist. The moment the Indigenous journalist later described as “one of the darkest chapters” of her career began while Morin was covering an Indigenous-led homeless encampment on a cold, harsh winter night.
Don’t Read the Comments
“Okay, ma’am,” a crackling voice interrupts the caller. “Ma’am, can I talk?” Minutes into her report to the Ottawa Police hotline, journalist Rachel Gilmore feels exasperated. She is reporting a violent email sent to The Hill Times’ Erica Ifill—a name-dropping salad of verbal abuse such as “woke,” “cunt,” and racial slurs—including death threats.
Baseball, Birding, and Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Looking back, where did I get the audacity to do that?” asks Emma McIntosh, reflecting on her early days as a journalist in high school. “There was this quote that went along the lines of ‘Mr. V. declined to comment, stating a desire to keep his professional life and community work separate.’ I was crazy.”
2025 Diversity Report
The Review of Journalism strives to create a workplace and publication that reflects the diversity of both our readers and the stories we tell. Every year, our masthead publishes an anonymous breakdown of the race, gender, sexuality, and disability representation of our staff. This annual summary allows us to track progress over time and compare our newsroom’s diversity with other Canadian journalism organizations, as tracked by the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ).
Chill Out, Journalists
In Canadian newsrooms, a silent force is shaping which stories get published and which ones don’t. It’s not editorial standards, audience metrics, or a lack of reporting skill—it’s fear. “The legal risk in journalism has always been a cost of doing business,” says Josh Lynn, a public relations manager at Animal Justice and a former journalist.
