CJF Black Journalism Fellowship Final Report

When I started working for the Investigative Journalism Bureau my first thought was to make a noticeable impact. That sounds self-explanatory but an investigation, a single story, can take over a year to complete and the fellowship was only half that time. I was also curious how I’d fit in. Before stepping through the IJB doors, I’d never done investigative work, I was a culture, sports and music reporter and podcaster. I’d done work in multiple mediums and written features, but this was a different scale.

 

Clearly, there was a vision for my skills before I even arrived. Working with the Investigative Journalism Bureau for six months was an exercise in malleability and dynamism. Throughout the six months I had the opportunity to edit podcasts, reconstruct the IJB newsletter, create TikTok’s, and most importantly publish an investigation. In 2025, rarely do you get the opportunity to produce slow investigative work or have such large influence over multiple projects and yet the IJB provided that stomping ground. 

 

Although the IJB’s model of journalism is collaborative, the IJB rewards those with high agency. Each week that passed was an intersection between the reporters to exchange ideas while allowing the breadth to follow your story according to your curiosity.  

 

During my time I worked on a nursing investigation that delved into the unnerving conditions that nurses withstand during their shifts. I stretched every journalistic skill I had and expanded them: research, FOI filing, interviewing, anonymous sourcing, gathering expert opinions and long form writing. The result, a front page story with the Toronto Star. Since I started my journalistic journey I already knew I was a good writer but the IJB has further honed my abilities to be a great journalist.

 

Featured work

 

 

 

THANKS TO THE GENEROUS SUPPORT OF FOUNDING SPONSOR