By Tiffany Mboyo Mongu

2021 CJF-CBC Black Journalism Fellow

I was at a rough time in my career path when I got accepted for the Canadian Journalism Black Fellowship Program. This was exactly what I needed and as a believer, I knew that this was the path God wanted me to take on, because ever since being one of the three first recipients of the program, I’ve grown as a journalist.

I started off with Canada Tonight and spent about five weeks there with a great team of producers. I did some TV producing as an associate producer but quickly learned it wasn’t quite my niche. Don’t worry, it’s ok and completely normal to not like something you’re doing. This was part of the experience I needed and I’m glad I got that opportunity.

Fast forward to my third placement in November, I was an associate producer on Gill Deacon’s Here and Now afternoon radio show and that’s where I believe my love for producing grew fonder. The team was truly exceptional — they always welcomed my fresh ideas and some original pitches to the show which made it easier to show up at story meetings.

I never ceased to impress the team at Here and Now with local community stories and BIPOC ones as well. I was able to produce several stories with Black voices and produce big projects as well. The team at CBC News Toronto trusted me to produce a Black History Month project titled Leading Black Voices during my time as a fellow, which led other producers to trust my work and journalistic potential.

My producer Tania Mehta always made sure I critically thought about my pitches and writing for the show. Tania along with Gill really helped me grow, and I believe when I first entered the program I didn’t have as much knowledge as I did when I finished it. I’m eternally grateful for the team of judges on CJF that accepted me into this program, the CBC News Toronto team, and Mark Mietkiewicz for always being a guide.

The experience was definitely worth it, even though most of it consisted of working from home, due to the pandemic. I managed to learn a lot as an associate producer, and I believe that this experience will open more doors for me.

Featured work: 

“Black Canadian women may be under-screened for cancers,” Here and Now with Gill Deacon, CBC Radio One (February 16, 2022)

Details on the 2022 CJF Black Journalism Fellowship Program.