• Stack of newspapers in foreground of office

    Changing public perceptions of mental illness

    Allison Garber was diagnosed in her early 20s, with obsessive-compulsive disorder and general anxiety disorder. Garber was a university-educated, middle-class woman working a prestigious internship in Toronto. On the inside, though, she felt broken and lost. “I was terrified, I was panicked,” she says. “I didn’t have anyone else to talk to besides my family.…

  • Vanishing City Hall

    Dale Bass started her 45-year journalism career in 1973 at the London Free Press. She remembers a bustling newsroom of 185, with two or three city hall reporters. Bass would sometimes be sent to the municipal Committee of Adjustments, which dealt with “neighbourhood squabbles”, when city hall reporters were busy with more important work. Bass recently retired…

  • Despite newsroom layoffs, great photojournalism can still be seen. Here’s why. Photo courtesy of Patrick Fulgencio.

    Down, but not out of the picture

    By Patrick Fulgencio for The Signal When Canon Inc. announced one of its higher-end cameras in 2013, the advertising campaign sought to catch the attention of amateur photographers. Nearly every advertisement and product description had two recurring elements. The first was crisp images of the camera. The second was a slogan that read: “Revoke your…
  • Journalists struggle to get Canada’s prison agencies talking. Photo courtesy of Julianne Steeves.

    The right to remain silent?

    By Julianne Steeves for The Signal Early to rise, hard labour and frequent beatings – that was an inmate’s life at the Kingston Penitentiary during the 1840s. Prisoners – men, women and children – were silent 24 hours a day. Breaking the silence could lead to a beating. Food was scarce, partly because the kitchen…
  • The 13 per cent of adults who don’t follow news at all are almost four million people. By Francesca Handy.

    The worrisome 13 per cent

    By Francesca Handy for The Signal Midafternoon on a Tuesday, the food court in Scotia Square shopping centre in Halifax is full of people sitting alone. Professionals working in the area are on their lunch breaks. If they aren’t only focused on their food, they’re holding a newspaper or cellphone. Some are looking at news apps or online…

  • War correspondents face a lack of mental health resources. Photo courtesy Victoria Walton.

    Untreated trauma

    By Victoria Walton for The Signal Too few journalists are informed of the mental health impacts they may face on the job. War correspondents have almost all taken hostile environment training, says the Globe and Mail’s Latin American Bureau Chief Stephanie Nolen, who has worked internationally for over two decades. This aims to prevent physical…
  • mackay-hp-header-1.jpg

    How can journalists regain society’s trust?

    By Delaney MacKay for The Signal It was the Saturday afternoon following June’s referendum, when British citizens voted to leave the European Union. Lamenting the vote – stretching hundreds of meters while blocking traffic lanes – over three thousand protestors marched through central London. Watching the rally live from the CBC News World Network studio…