J-Topics

Six Ryerson journalism students contributed to the research and reporting of a three-part  series published recently in the Toronto Star which detailed troubling practices in some Ontario high schools. The first story, by Robert Cribb, documented how some Ontario high school students are getting into university with inflated grades purchased from some privately run, for profit schools.  The second story, was a first-hand account by a reporter, Jennifer Yang,  who posed as a summer student at a school alleged to be handing out credits and grades for a fee. The third story provided comments from students who admitted benefitting from what was essentially a black market for high school grades.

Marta Iwanek. one of the Ryerson students who helped with the series, and her teammates reflect on how the story developed, what they learned from pursuing it, and offer advice to other students interested in investigative reporting. 

After the earthquake in Haiti last year, plenty of organizations rushed in to help. One of those was former U.S. president Bill Clinton's foundation, which promised to build several "hurricane-proof" shelter/school duos. However, in a recent investigation published by the Canadian Centre for Investigative Reporting two journalists discovered promises that look good on paper don't always look great on the ground. This week, we talk to reporters Isabel Macdonald and Isabeau Doucet on how they got the story, what it was like reporting in Haiti, and sharing a byline.