On June 2, 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released 94 calls to action, the outcome of its six-year inquiry into Canada’s residential school system, that provided a blueprint for how to redress the effects of those schools and move Canada toward reconciliation. In three calls, the TRC challenged Canadian media to confront its contribution to the Canadian public’s ignorance and misconceptions of Indigenous peoples and issues.
Toward Reconciliation is Discourse Media’s response to this challenge.
Since September 2015, Discourse Media has been researching how the journalism industry can support reconciliation. We consulted dozens of Indigenous and non-Indigenous journalists, community leaders and youth to better understand how we, as journalists, could improve our work. They told us:
- Canada needs sustained, in-depth reporting on how, if at all, our governments, institutions and communities are delivering on their pledges to address the issues raised by the TRC, and what approaches are working.
- Canadian journalists need to improve how they represent Indigenous people and issues in their reporting on all issues of importance.
- Indigenous perspectives, especially stories and perspectives from isolated parts of the country, need to be amplified in national dialogue about the future.
Read “Reconciling Journalism” for more on what we’re learning.
On May 27, 2016, at the Canadian Association of Journalists national conference, we launched Toward Reconciliation. The project ― a collaboration between journalists, media outlets and other organizations working to contribute to reconciliation ― aims to be a hub of sustained, high-quality, forward-looking journalism about how Canada is responding to the challenges of reconciliation. We will publish investigations into how our country is changing as we attempt to revitalize relationships between Indigenous peoples and all Canadians. We will track governments’ and institutions’ pledges to change and hold them to account. We will share stories of communities and individuals who are working on solutions.
Toward Reconciliation also aims to convene a conversation within our industry and share resources as we work on improving our reporting. It is a growing consortium of partners, both media outlets and other types of organizations, dedicated to addressing the TRC’s challenge to journalists. If you or your organization want to help us facilitate a fundamental shift in public dialogue about the challenging but critical issues surrounding reconciliation, we would like to hear from you. Contact us at [email protected] and read this post to learn how we collaborate.
Get involved
We’d love to hear your stories. How are you impacted by the issues we’re reporting on? What solutions do you see? Who is inspiring you? Are you a reporter interested in collaborating? Get in touch at [email protected]. Read this post to find out how we work.
Steal our stories
We invite news outlets and other media of all kinds to republish much of our content. Are you an editor interested in republishing our stories or participating in future collaborations? Get in touch at [email protected].
Funding
Discourse Media does not rely on advertising to fund our work. Our journalism is funded by organizations or individuals who share our values and and believe public interest journalism has a role in social change. Their support does not imply endorsement of our journalism, and they have no influence whatsoever on what we publish. Maintaining journalistic integrity is critically important to us to stay focused on creating journalism that is in the public interest.
If you believe in the work we are doing and want to contribute to its continued development, please contact us at [email protected].
Toward Reconciliation journalism fellowships
We are creating fellowships for journalists at multiple media outlets to pursue stories of reconciliation. If you are interested in participating in or supporting a fellowship, please email [email protected]
Reporters
Contributors
Executive editor: Erin Millar | @erinmillar
Managing editor: Rachel Nixon | @rachelnixon
Contributing editor: Daina Lawrence | @DainaCLawrence
Digital & data editor: Caitlin Havlak | @caitmillar
Community engagement editor: Brielle Morgan | @briellemimi
Contributing editor: Ian Gill | @Gillwave
Social media coordinator & copy editor: Chloe Sjuberg | @chloesjuberg
Partnership director: Debbie Douez | @ddouez
Partners
About Discourse Media
Discourse Media is an independent media company that produces and enables in-depth journalism about complex issues. Our work is collaborative, inclusive and driven by intentional impact.
Join the conversation and follow Toward Reconciliation on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.) Sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on our progress. [end]
