In this episode, kicking off our second season, Sam Jolin sits down with the Co-Directors of the Community Podcast Initiative, Brad Clark and Meg Wilcox. This spring, they co-hosted the Planning Your Podcast event that took place in the Riddell Library at Mount Royal University. 

Podcasting has become incredibly popular over the years, and both of our guests have extensive experience in making them. Whether you're a seasoned podcaster or just starting out, Brad and Meg have invaluable insights to share about the planning process that goes into creating a successful podcast. We discuss everything from finding your niche and developing your content to selecting the right equipment and promoting your show. They provide you with the tools and strategies you need to get started in this exciting and quickly changing space.

To learn more about the Community Podcast Initiative, you can visit the website at thepodcaststudio.ca or on social media at @communitypodyyc.

In a first-of-its-kind textbook for journalism students, Duncan McCue sets out to demonstrate how integral reciprocity is raising the standards of coverage of Indigenous communities.

This episode features a conversation with McCue, Anishinaabe journalist and a member of the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, and host Gabriela Perdomo, Editor-in-Chief of J-Source. Tune in to hear them discuss McCue's latest book, Decolonizing Journalism: A Guide to Reporting in Indigenous Communities (2023), and what kinds of changes need to be made to improve reporting on and relationships with Indigneous communities.

This episode is a collaboration with J-Source; you can find the full article here: https://j-source.ca/how-reciprocity-solutions-and-rethinking-objectivity-can-help-decolonize-journalism/

To learn more about the CPI, visit our website at thepodcaststudio.ca or find us on social media at @communitypodyyc.

In this episode, we take a look back on The Second Gen series produced by Karina Zapata, the CPI’s first Podcaster-in-Residence. 

The Second Gen offers a glimpse into the experiences faced by the children of immigrants. The episodes explore different topics that affect first-generation Canadians — like discussions on being the eldest child to the sometimes polarizing experiences in the LGBTQ2S+ community. As a daughter of immigrants herself, Karina brings her background and experience to each part of the series.

Host Sam Jolin talks to Karina about the series, what inspired it, and how it all came together.

To learn more about the Community Podcast Initiative, you can visit the website at thepodcaststudio.ca or on social media at @communitypodyyc.

This episode explores the behind-the-scenes work that goes into producing a CPI series: the Canadian Mountain Podcast.

As the Canadian Mountain Podcast completed its fourth season in Spring 2022, the series had officially spent half of its time recording remotely in a pandemic. What the team hoped would be a temporary means of production became a well-oiled machine over the past two years, with the podcasting team producing at least a dozen podcast episodes over the past two years that have reached thousands of listeners in more than 100 countries worldwide. For the podcast team’s outgoing senior students, the vast majority of their work was remote since joining the team in Summer 2020. In this podcast episode, they reflect on the technical and editorial skills learned in developing and producing a podcast in a pandemic, the role of podcasting in knowledge mobilization, and the unexpected ways they’re using their remote skills outside of making podcasts.

To learn more about the Community Podcast Initiative, you can visit the website at thepodcaststudio.ca or on social media at @communitypodyyc.

Panelists

Meg Wilcox (senior producer, roundtable host)

Meg Wilcox is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University and co-director of the Community Podcast Initiative.

Kyle Napier (senior producer)

Kyle Napier is a Dene/nêhiyaw Métis university instructor, media-maker, researcher and PhD student from Tthebacha, Denendeh beyé (Fort Smith, Northwest Territories).

Gabrielle Pyska (research assistant & podcast producer)

Gabrielle Pyska is a graduate of MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media program and is currently working as MRU Library’s Podcasting and Media Support Specialist.

Eric Tanner (research assistant & podcast producer)

Eric Tanner is a graduate of MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media program, currently freelancing in journalism and audio production.

Ethan Ward (research assistant & podcast producer)

Ethan Ward is a graduate of Mount Royal University’s Journalism and Digital Media program and currently working as a research assistant at MRU, investigating COVID-19’s influence on Canada’s park systems.

This episode explores the behind-the-scenes work that goes into producing a CPI series: the Canadian Mountain Podcast.

Since its third season, the Canadian Mountain Podcast has strived to share perspectives of both Ancestral Indigenous Knowledge Holders and settler science research conducted through the Canadian Mountain Network, all while exploring issues and topics that affect Canada's mountain ecosystems. In this roundtable discussion, you'll hear from the series' undergraduate research assistants about their two years producing the podcast, as well as how they undertook to prepare a series land acknowledgement. Around the land acknowledgement discussion, both senior producers for the podcast then discuss the roles of Indigenous intellectual property and copyright within the production of the series, and outline their goals for the show’s fifth and final season.

To learn more about the Community Podcast Initiative, you can visit the website at thepodcaststudio.ca or on social media at @communitypodyyc.

Panelists

Meg Wilcox (senior producer, roundtable host)

Meg Wilcox is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at Mount Royal University and co-director of the Community Podcast Initiative.

Kyle Napier (senior producer)

Kyle Napier is a Dene/nêhiyaw Métis university instructor, media-maker, researcher and PhD student from Tthebacha, Denendeh beyé (Fort Smith, Northwest Territories).

Gabrielle Pyska (research assistant & podcast producer)

Gabrielle Pyska is a graduate of MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media program and is currently working as MRU Library’s Podcasting and Media Support Specialist.

Eric Tanner (research assistant & podcast producer)

Eric Tanner is a graduate of MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media program, currently freelancing in journalism and audio production.

Ethan Ward (research assistant & podcast producer)

Ethan Ward is a graduate of Mount Royal University’s Journalism and Digital Media program and currently working as a research assistant at MRU, investigating COVID-19’s influence on Canada’s park systems.

In an oversaturated podcast landscape, the strongest connections are made with authentic voices. In this episode, the CPI presents a workshop hosted by Media Girlfriends, an award winning podcast production company based out of Toronto.

The three co-founders of Media Girlfriends— Garvia Bailey, Hannah Sung, and Nana aba Duncan — created this workshop to help podcasters gain a better understanding of their own voice as a storyteller, as well as how to feel more confident in front of a microphone. 

To learn more about the Community Podcast Initiative, you can visit the website at thepodcaststudio.ca or on socials at @communitypodyyc 

Panelists

Garvia Bailey

Garvia Bailey is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of the award winning podcast production company Media Girlfriends, which aims to amplify underrepresented voices in media. Garvia has a career in media spanning close to two-decades as a producer, host and columnist for the CBC and JazzFM.  Garvia is the recipient of the 2019 RTNDA award for opinion writing and a 2017 Silver Medalist at the New York Radio Awards. Garvia’s work is centered on inclusion, care and excellence in journalism. 

Hannah Sung

Hannah Sung is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of the award winning podcast production company Media Girlfriends. Previously, she worked at the Globe and Mail, MuchMusic, TVO and was the Asper Fellow in Journalism at University of Western Ontario in 2020. She is the creator of At The End Of the Day, a weekly newsletter and podcast with a people-first perspective on the news. She lives with her partner, two children and a hamster in Toronto, Canada.

Nana aba Duncan

Nana aba is an award-winning journalist and co-founder of the award winning podcast production company Media Girlfriends. Nana aba started Media Girlfriends as a podcast. For 15 years, was a host and producer at CBC Radio, with her last position being the host of Fresh Air, a weekend morning show. Currently, Nana aba Duncan is an associate professor and the inaugural Carty Chair in Journalism, Diversity and Inclusion at Carleton University's School of Journalism and Communications. Her research is focused on launching the Mary Ann Shadd Cary Centre for Journalism and Belonging, a centre which advocates, supports and participates in inclusive and belonging-focused journalism in Canada.

Mount Royal University Library faculty member, Sara Sharun, has started to see a growing interest across campus in using podcasting for class assignments. The MRU Library has recently been redesigning its audio rooms to give students and faculty a space to create these podcasts, videos, and other multimedia projects. However, using these spaces can be challenging for students and faculty without the proper guidance or experience. 

In this episode, Gabrielle Pyska, the CPI’s associate producer, met up with Sara to discuss what podcasting can look like in an academic setting, as well as how audio assignments can create a way for students to engage with big ideas and mobilize knowledge.

In this episode, the Community Podcast Initiative (CPI) presents a panel discussion on emerging career paths in digital audio, and how this can promote a space for more authentic storytelling. The three panelists share their experiences in different forms of audio production, how it makes space for under-represented voices, and how their work today might not have been the career path they imagined when they first started their studies. The panel is moderated by the CPI’s Brad Clark, a professor in the Broadcast Media Studies program at Mount Royal University. 

The Panelists: 

Kyle Napier

Kyle Napier (Northwest Territory Métis Nation) is Dene/nêhiyaw Métis, with Gaelic and French connections. Kyle is a sessional instructor with the University of Victoria’s Certificate in Indigenous Language Revitalization program. He’s involved in graduate research at the University of Alberta, where he earned an MA in Communication and Technology, and supports education across Nunavut in a variety of IT roles. Kyle is a co-consultant with Tatâga, and is the Communication Manager and an audiovisual technician with Calgary Show Services. Kyle oversees the release of multiple podcasts and podcast cohorts with partnering universities. He is also co-chair with Native Land Digital maps, as well as a video game designer creating Indigenous language resources for the South Slave Divisional Education Council.

Grace Heavy Runner

Poksikainiaki Grace Heavy Runner is from the Kainai Nation in Treaty Seven Territory. For the last several years she has worked at CJSW as a producer and podcaster hosting Indigenization Across the Nation, and Treaty Nation Music. More recently she was the host and narrator for Survivors, a series on residential schools. Grace is also a fourth-year student in MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media program. 

Hadeel Abdel-Nabi

Hadeel Abdel-Nabi is an assistant producer with CBC Podcasts in Toronto. A Calgary-born journalist and poet, and a graduate of MRU’s journalism program, she has bylines in HuffPost, VICE, Avenue Magazine, The Sprawl, Muslim Girl and more. She also launched, hosted and produced Muslim Girl's podcast, which she premiered live at SXSW in Austin, TX, with an interview from congresswoman Rashida Tlaib. Hadeel's passion has always been to bring underrepresented voices to the forefront of the conversation. She is most interested in stories about social inequity, the first-generation Canadian experience and politics.

In this episode, Ginella Massa, a Canadian television journalist and news anchor on CBC’s Canada Tonight, is interviewed by the CPI’s associate producer Gabrielle Pyska, and Lexi Freehill, a student in MRU’s Journalism and Digital Media Program. Together, they discuss issues of inclusivity in the media sector including representation, allyship and self-advocacy. This interview was a part of Mount Royal University’s fourth annual International Women’s Day Event, where students and faculty spoke to a variety of female voices and leaders.

GUEST: Ginella Massa

Ginella Massa is a Canadian Screen Award-winner best known as Canada's first hijab-wearing television news reporter, local anchor, and national host. She is currently the host of CANADA TONIGHT WITH GINELLA MASSA airing weeknights at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on CBC News Network. 

Massa made history in 2015, believed to be the first television news reporter in North America to wear a hijab on-air when she was hired as a Video Journalist for CTV News in Kitchener, Ontario. She made international headlines again after anchoring the evening newscast at CityNews Toronto in 2016. 

With over a decade of experience in news, behind-the-scenes and on-air, Ginella has worked for both local and national news outlets, in television and radio. Her on-air credits include CTV News, CityNews, Newstalk 1010 and Rogers TV. Her writing has been published by The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Chatelaine, and Refinery29 Canada. 

Raised in Toronto, Massa graduated with an Honours BA in Communication Studies from York University, and has a diploma in Broadcast Journalism from Seneca College.