Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 115
Date: April 9, 2024

Participants: Sheila Webster, Noura Saad, John Webster, Cameron Earnshaw and Elise Webster
Guest: Mirko Petricevic

Start Times and Segments:

[0:00:35] What’s On Your Mind: Another in our travel series, this time with Noura Saad taking us to her experiences in Naples – an incredible city to visit. They love their soccer, including star Diego Maradona. She visited the oldest opera house in the world, with its intricate and beautiful designs. She ate a Margarita pizza at the same place Liz visited in Eat Pray Love, the visited Popeii.

[0:9:42] Expanding Minds Interview: [Social Wellness] We interview Mirko Petricevic. On Episode 99, he explained how local journalism acts as a community watchdog on behalf of the public, as a public service. It’s ability to be a watchdog has been hit hard in the past 15 years. In addition to the industry taking a hit, individual journalists are being harassed and threatened, which provides another reason why people less included to become journalists. A 2021 study of 1,100 journalists had disturbing results. A majority experienced harassment, many on a daily basis. There were death threats, threats of sexual assault. 99 had been physically attacked. It’s outright intimidation. Ink-stained Wretches runs a film festival in Kitchener-Waterloo to support journalism. It’s designed partly to increase the awareness of World Press Freedom Day o May 3. This year it’s on April 28, 2024. After a movie showing, a panel will explore the question, “What can we do to create a culture of appreciation for quality journalism?”.

[0:27:42] Adventures of the Starving Artist: Cameron’s Shania Twain cover band was having a good time coming up with ideas for the band. It was just Twain fun.

[0:31:53] Move That Body: It’s spring yard work time, which is a great way to work the core and get in some great movement. It’s good hard work.

[0:37:08] Running Popup: Some recent good news was uplifting and made a run feel easy. It’s amazing how emotions can affect physical exercise.

[0:38:30] Flipside of the Coin: With inflation so high, it’s affecting our choices about what we do, e.g. whether we go out for dinner. That means inflation is having an impact on things like social and other areas of wellness.

Guest Information: Mirko Petricevic is the founder and co-ordinator of Ink-stained Wretches, a grassroots advocacy group working to build a culture of appreciation for quality journalism. Mirko worked at the Waterloo Region Record for 28 years, starting as a photographer, then moving on to work as a reporter and copy editor before deciding to leave the newsroom — because of the precarious nature of the news sector — a decade ago. Since then, he served as director of communications and public affairs for Martin Luther University College in Waterloo and, most recently, as senior communications strategist for one of the local cities.

Ideas — many of them free — on how each of us can support local news: https://www.ink-stainedwretches.org/resources.html

Journalism Film Festival: journalismfilmfestival.com

Revenue is flowing to producing more journalism in Australia as a result of the government’s news media bargaining code (2021): https://www.poynter.org/business-work/2022/australias-news-media-bargaining-code-pries-140-million-from-google-and-facebook/

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Thanks for joining us,
(-(-_(-_-)_-)-)   Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle, Noura and Julie