Tell Our Stories, news edition
FRIENDS is working hard to keep Canadians calm and uplifted while we fight the pandemic by sharing great Canadian content. Help us share these gems with even more people and support Canadian artists during the pandemic. Become a patron today.
What do we lose when newspapers are forced to shut down? Or when TV networks have to axe local news programming? What happens to the stories that go untold? Since the pandemic began, local news outlets have been struggling to keep their lights on, and Canadians like us get fewer and fewer reports on what's happening on the ground. More than 2,000 journalists have been laid off or had their freelance work severely slashed. But we know they're still digging up important local stories that every Canadian needs to know about. Thanks to the generous FRIENDS supporters who donated to our Giving Tuesday Now campaign, we were able to commission these original news stories from across Canada for Tell Our Stories. Through interviews via video chats, personal webcams and drone cameras, these Canadian journalists show us what life is like under COVID-19 in their communities.
Alberta restaurants can now legally reopen—but should they? Ethical questions abound in the midst of a global pandemic, with restauranteurs doing much self-reflection on how to safely reopen their businesses, and when. Calgary restaurants were given the go-ahead to reopen this week, but some are sticking to delivery and curbside pickup only. Calgary food journalist Elizabeth Chorney-Booth speaks to Stephen Deere, owner of Modern Steak and Modern Ocean, about how “there’s no win in being first,” and the steps he’ll take to ensure a positive and safe experience for staff and guests when he reopens his dining rooms.
Follow Elizabeth Chorney-Booth on Twitter.
Branchez-vous à votre culture en vous abonnant aujourd'hui!
Isolation doesn't have to be isolating. Sign up and be part of the movement.
Halifax has an incredible number of sports leagues: professional soccer, basketball and lacrosse; as well as junior and university hockey teams. Willy Palov has been covering local sports for the Chronicle Herald for 25 years. But in March, he was one of thousands of professional Canadian journalists forced off their beats when COVID-19 decimated advertising revenues. He still has many local news stories in mind — in-depth, long-form stories that are going untold. Here he talks about his daily life as a furloughed reporter, and the real impact of newspaper layoffs on his community.
Follow Willy Palov on Twitter.
Caring for the mental and emotional wellbeing of frontline workers is as essential as the service they provide for their communities. In this intimate portrait, filmmaker Taina da Silva profiles her mother, Judy da Silva, the Environmental Health Coordinator for Grassy Narrows First Nation in Northern Ontario. Because of the pandemic, Judy must find the balance between keeping important services open for her community and preserving her own mental health through traditional practices and daily rituals. Taina previously directed Revitalizing Untold Stories of Indigenous Foods for our Tell Our Stories documentary series.
Music fans are well aware of how badly the pandemic has destroyed the live events calendar for 2020. Retail record shops have also been closed, and the annual Record Store Day has been moved from spring to fall. But the Canadian music industry has found innovative ways to stay in business. Toronto music journalist Karen Bliss talks to Noble Musa of Microforum Services, the largest vinyl manufacturer in Canada, about pivoting from pressing records to producing face shields and other personal protective equipments (PPE) for frontline workers.
Follow Karen Bliss on Twitter.
“My highest goal is to preserve health and save the lives of First Nations people,” says RoseAnne Archibald, Ontario Regional Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. In her interview with Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith, a Saulteaux writer, editor, and freelance journalist from Peguis First Nation, Chief Archibald talks about the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous communities in Ontario and delivers a powerful message of hope for the rest of Canada.
Follow Christine Miskonoodinkwe Smith [on Twitterhttps://twitter.com/miskonoodinkwe).