Immigrant voices in the media

Credit to Author: Ramya Ramanathan| Date: Tue, 04 Oct 2022 00:34:55 +0000

Integrating internationally trained immigrant journalists in Canadian newsrooms

“I pitched stories to many newspapers in mainstream media, but they never got back to me,” says Pradip Rodrigues, who worked as a  journalist for over a decade with the English newspaper Times of India before he arrived in Canada in 2000. But questions about his English writing abilities came up when he shared work samples with editors.

Pradip Rodrigues

“They asked me if I have translated these stories,” he says.

It was then that Rodrigues realized that the editors were “clueless” about Times of India being among the top 10 English newspapers in the world. He said that coming from a country where English is not the first language, “they just assume I don’t have fluency in English.”

Rodrigues took on a job in the insurance sector, but his love for journalism never died. He found a job with an ethnic newspaper in 2012 and continues to take on other freelance opportunities.

But despite all his efforts, Rodrigues says he experiences the “imposter syndrome”, a feeling that he’s not fit for the industry. (Loosely defined, this syndrome involves feelings of self-doubt that persist despite your education, experience and accomplishments.)

The numbers tell the story
Rodgrigues’ story is just one of many. A study released in 2022 by the New Canadian Media (NCM) Collective on the socioeconomic conditions of first-generation immigrant and refugee journalists found that while many immigrants come with years of experience in the media from their home countries, and quite a few have gained international recognition, most have struggled to break into the Canadian media industry.

The report, “Breaking into the Canadian media industry: economic and social barriers for first-generation immigrant and refugee journalists,” revealed that less than one-third of immigrant and refugee journalists work in the Canadian media industry. And over one-half of these journalists make less than $40,000 a year.

The study also found that only two out of five immigrant and refugee journalists work as freelancers in the media industry or other “gig” economy sectors.

Another survey released in 2021 by the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) found that white journalists tend to hold more senior positions – with 82 per cent in supervisor roles and 80 percent in top three leadership positions. In addition, 90 per cent of outlets that participated in the study have no Latin, Middle Eastern or Mixed-Race journalists on staff.

In a press release following the study, CAJ chair and survey lead Zane Schwartz acknowledged the gap. “The typical Canadian newsroom is not representative of the Canadian population,” says Schwartz. “Almost half of all Canadian newsrooms exclusively employ white journalists. Where journalists of colour and Indigenous journalists are on staff, they tend to work in a handful of very large newsrooms.”

As the diversity of Canada grows, these studies are a wakeup call for mainstream media to incorporate the unique perspectives and experiences of new Canadian media professionals.

Creating their own niche
A number of immigrants journalists are also finding their own paths. Broadcast journalist Gerard Keledjian who immigrated from Dubai is a living example of someone who did exactly that.

Keledjian launched his own TV show and web-based series, New Canadians, offering information to newcomers to help with their settlement in Canada. He does say that the media industry landscape is in transition worldwide, including in Canada, with the emergence of livestreaming platforms. This is leading to more opportunities for collaboration and outsourcing.

“With technology becoming accessible and affordable, internationally trained immigrants with a background in media can come up with creative solutions,” says Keledjian.

Another example is New Canadian Media (NCM) which has tapped into the reservoir of immigrant journalists with various backgrounds. Over 200 individual contributors known as NCM Collective produce multimedia news coverage to a professional standard. Through relationships with mainstream media and a creative commons license, the stories on the portal are being picked up by mainstream media. A number of journalists have also be able to find jobs, thanks to their work with NCM.

And then, there’s Canadian Immigrant magazine. (Yes, the one you’re reading right now). This was founded by Indian-born immigrant Nick Noorani working out of his basement and paying for the magazine printing bills on his credit card. He painstakingly grew the magazine for seven years, at which point he felt it was time to leave “his baby” behind in the hands of dedicated staff and move on to new adventures.

What the future holds
So how can immigrant journalists be better integrated into the Canadian media landscape?

Recommendations from the NCM study include opening up more permanent staffing positions for ethnic reports (83%), mentorship opportunities (76%), and more internships geared toward international students and immigrants. Some of the journalists also mention that the Canadian government should invest in concrete financial and language support to facilitate their entry into the media industry.

Ginella Massa

In a conversation on First Generation, Canadian Immigrant’s 2021 Podcast Series, journalist, news anchor and Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award winner Ginella Massa, says that there is a lot of work that needs to be done, not just in front of the camera, but behind the scenes and in management positions. But she is “seeing a willingness to shift.”

“Any kind of change takes time – if a certain way of thinking is entrenched in the institution, it can be difficult to unlearn and undo some of the things that have been done a certain way for decades,” says Massa, who made history as the first Afro-Latina Muslim news reporter in North America to wear a hijab on air in 2015.

Massa acknowledges the barriers caused by being foreign educated, with different accents and ethnic sounding names but asks immigrant media professionals to continue to create contacts, advocate for themselves and remain persistent.

Massa says she had to be her own advocate. She recounts her experiences of looking for her first on-air job and being rejected three times over a period of two years before she succeeded. She says it was persistence, building relationships with the hiring managers and asking them, “what can I do better next time?” that landed her the position.

“It’s not always the most talented who get the job but a lot of the time it’s the ones with the most gumption, the ones who are the most persistent and the ones who are just the go getters,” she says.

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