Discourse Media expands with new hires in editorial, business development and marketing

Discourse Media is excited to announce multiple new hires, including president Ian Gill and managing editor Lindsay Sample.

“We’ve enjoyed significant growth this year, our third, despite the troubled Canadian media landscape, and I’m delighted to bring on board new talent and experience that will contribute much to Discourse’s continued growth,” says Erin Millar, editor-in-chief and CEO. “Our momentum is attracting smart people who share our vision of a new digital media company dedicated to serious, impactful journalism rooted in communities. And we’re just getting started.”

Ian Gill joins the team as president, bringing his experience founding Ecotrust Canada and deep knowledge of the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors. Gill spent over 20 years as an award-winning journalist at the Vancouver Sun and CBC, and in his native Australia. Most recently, Gill spent a year studying journalism innovation in Canada and beyond as a Senior Fellow of the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation. His book No News Is Bad News: Canada’s Media Collapse — And What Comes Next will be published by Greystone Books in September. Gill will lead long-term business strategy as Discourse strives to make a significant impact on the media landscape in Canada.

“Discourse’s talented, visionary and hardworking team embodies all that is hopeful about today’s new journalism,” states Gill. “I was tremendously fortunate to detour out of reporting into the nonprofit world for a number of years, but I feel even luckier to have found my way back into journalism with a team that shares my belief that harnessing the power of the story lies at the heart of positive social transformation.”

Lindsay Sample joins the team as managing editor. She brings a wealth of experience from her time at CBC where she worked on national investigations with Marketplace, produced in-depth radio for CBC’s The Doc Project and contributed to a range of other programs. Sample has reported abroad through the International Reporting Project and the Global Reporting Centre. 

“I was drawn to Discourse because I’m passionate about investigative journalism and the impact that reporting can have when people build relationships with communities,” says Sample.  “Working with this talented team to tackle big topics while exploring innovative ways to communicate them is really exciting.”

Gill and Sample are just part of the expanded Discourse team. “We believe there is the opportunity for new players at this tumultuous time for the Canadian journalism sector,” says Millar. “And we’re positioning Discourse to take advantage of that by strengthening both our editorial and business teams.”

With this expanded capacity, Millar’s role shifts to editor-in-chief and CEO, allowing her to focus on building a new model of impact-driven digital journalism at the helm of a talented team.

Debbie Douez, who has worked with Discourse as a consultant for the past year and a half, deepens her role on a permanent basis as vice president of strategy, bringing over 20 years of experience in business planning, marketing and project management.

Caitlin Havlak moves into an executive role as director, digital and data journalism, signalling the importance of digital and data journalism strategy to Discourse’s future.

Coming from the social innovation sector as a RADIUS fellow and founder of Fusion Kitchen, Sonam Swarup joins Discourse as marketing coordinator.

Finally, German journalist Daniel Stahl joins the team as a summer fellow to learn more about solutions journalism and immigration in a Canadian context for the next two months. This opportunity was made possible through the Arthur F. Burns Fellowship.