In December 2019, I sat in an office with senior leaders at Global News to pitch an idea I’d been thinking about for several weeks: I wanted to create a page on GlobalNews.ca that focused on in-depth BIPOC storytelling.
I got dressed up for the pitch, opened my laptop and launched the twelve-slide presentation I had prepared. I spoke about the growing diversity of Canada’s population,–according to Statistics Canada, by 2031, about 30 per cent of the country’s population could belong to a racialized community–as well as why more inclusive content was so desperately needed, referencing examples of previous BIPOC-based Global News stories. Still, I thought there were stories news organizations were missing out on or not taking the time to really dig into, including here at Global News.
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I told Global’s senior leaders I wanted to call this project Perspectives.
They supported the idea from the beginning.
Events of the past year helped bring the need for this project into sharp focus: We saw an outcry from different racialized and marginalized groups, including members from Black communities, Indigenous peoples, Asian communities and more, calling for inclusion, equality and an end to racism.
Over the course of a year, I, along with support from colleagues, turned this idea into a reality.
What really brought me joy about this project were the opportunities it could create for journalists of colour (JOCs) to tell stories about their own communities and increase the diversity of voices.
Perspectives is one way we will seek to create conversations impacting racialized communities and cover diverse stories through an array of topics, ranging from politics, lifestyle, pop culture, business, health, climate, education, social justice, food and more.
Welcome to Perspectives. This is just the beginning of where our stories unfold.
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