Doctoral researcher selected as second J-Source/CWA Canada Reporting Fellow

Sabrina Wilkinson has been selected as the second J-Source/CWA Canada Reporting Fellow.

She will be working on an ambitious survey of newsrooms, faculties, and other workplaces across Canada to find out what strides women, transgender and gender-diverse journalists have made.

Wilkinson will take an in-depth look at the complexities of journalism workplaces, including promotional paths, length of employment and the kind of jobs women, transgender and gender-diverse people hold.

The survey will also provide a benchmark that our industry can look to as managers seek to improve hiring practices and that J-Source can later revisit to measure progress.

“I’m thrilled to be working with J-Source on this timely project and look forward to furthering the dialogue about journalistic work and equity in Canada,” said Wilkinson.

Wilkinson is a doctoral researcher at Goldsmiths, University of London, where she investigates the politics of internet policy in Canada.

Prior to her doctoral studies, Wilkinson completed her master’s degree at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication. Her thesis examined the state of the news media in Canada with a particular focus on journalistic labour.

Alongside her studies, Wilkinson is a freelance writer and researcher and has contributed to several policy interventions related to communication regulation in Canada, including for the Canadian Media Concentration Research Project, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

J-Source obtained arm’s-length funding from CWA Canada, a national union representing media workers, to support the fellowship. The editorial focus and content control falls to J-Source’s team of editors and publisher.

“We’re very grateful to CWA Canada for stepping up to sponsor the fellowship,” said J-Source publisher Christopher Waddell. “This series wouldn’t have been possible without their generosity.”

Wilkinson’s research will be published on J-Source.ca and on CWA Canada’s website.

Abdullah Shihipar was selected in August 2017 to be the first J-Source/CWA Canada Reporting Fellow. The Toronto-based freelancer has been exploring journalist-led change in the troubled media industry. In May, he reported on experiments in reader-supported journalism in this country.

(This is an edited version of an article that was first published on the J-Source website.)