Child Welfare

Foster care systems in Canada are frequently presented in the context of conflict and crisis, without clear solutions. The episodic news cycle pits politicians against advocates, provincial bureaucrats against regional bureaucrats, parents against the system. It casts families as broken and hopeless. Stories are triggered by tragedy. Youth perspectives are largely left out.

Our mission in covering child welfare is to break down this complex system by considering and communicating the impacts of colonization, engaging youth and families in our process, investigating your questions, and connecting people around powerful stories and possible solutions.

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Data

At Discourse we aim to use data as a way to drive our storytelling. The way data is presented to the public makes a big difference in how it’s interpreted. We want to leverage data responsibly, using it to tell meaningful stories by incorporating it throughout the entire reporting process, from false starts to post-publication.

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Education for Tomorrow

Our world is undergoing massive change and education systems haven’t kept up. Students need more than book knowledge to thrive today. Schools everywhere are struggling to adapt. How do we talk about success in childhood, and beyond, without getting trapped in disabling conversations about politics and conflict?

Discourse Media is developing a neutral space for discussions about education in Canada. What do we want our society to be like and how can we prepare our kids for that? Learn more.

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Gender and Identity

Public conversations about discrimination and inequality often lack the nuance required to move beyond victim-blaming narratives and make constructive change.

We aim to produce solutions-focused journalism that shifts national narratives about the lived experiences of Canadians of all genders, as well as broader conversations around gender and identity. This means producing media content that’s driven by data and highly responsive to the voices of traditionally underrepresented communities.

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Health

What are the significant issues impacting the health of Canadians? Our mission in covering health is to uncover buried information, deepen our understanding of the complex systems associated with health and tell stories that lead to meaningful change.

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Journalism Innovation

Journalism is essential to the healthy functioning of democracy, but around the world the practice faces enormous challenges. In Canada, thousands of journalists have lost their jobs. One-sixth of our newspapers have closed in the past five years. Where and how will Canadians get news and information they can trust?

Our journalism innovation coverage is designed to reveal what’s working in digital journalism, including our own. What are the ethics and best practices in community-based reporting? How do we deepen connections with our audience and include you in what we do and how we do it? We regularly share what we are learning, and invite you to join the conversation.

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Power Struggle

Two billion people lack reliable access to electricity. That means one fifth of the world's schools, hospitals and homes are often in the dark. How can everyone get access to clean energy without hastening climate change?

Power Struggle is a collaboration of journalists around the world who are investigating how energy poverty affects people in their regions — and what solutions are emerging.

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Toward Reconciliation

On June 2, 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released 94 calls to action, the outcome of its six-year inquiry into Canada’s residential school system. The moment felt like a historic reckoning, but will our country follow through on calls to build a more equitable relationship with Indigenous peoples?

Toward Reconciliation is a sustained body of journalism about how governments, institutions, communities and individuals are responding to the challenges of reconciliation. Our reporting aims to track the journey to change, hold Canadians to their pledges and share stories about successes along the way.

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Urban Development

Eighty per cent of Canadians now live in cities. That has huge implications for the nature and quality of Canadians’ lives and livelihoods. How do we pay for and build successful cities? How do we remain connected to the rural areas that feed us and fuel our growth? How do we share the wealth?

One answer among many is that data journalism can help us make sense of our cities. In the midst of a highly politicized transportation referendum in Metro Vancouver in 2015, our award-winning Moving Forward project enabled more than 1.3 million people to access in-depth material that went behind the headlines. This is what we mean by public interest reporting.

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