All of the journalists and news executives interviewed for this research recognised the importance of including diverse views in their coverage. Despite this recognition, the empirical evidence (as detailed above) suggests the Canadian news media has considerable work to do when it comes to reflecting the diversity of the multicultural country. There are some glimmers of progress. The wide range of ethnocultural and multilingual programming does a better job than the mainstream media reflecting multicultural diversity. Similarly, the APTN focuses on and highlights stories about Canada’s First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. CBC News’ Indigenous Digital Unit focuses on news content about Canada’s first people.
Most journalists interviewed for this research described ad hoc processes to ensure diversity in their coverage: “This is something we talk about internally”, one reporter said, adding, however, that it “depends on the particular reporter”. While some reporters described informal internal “counting exercises”, whereby editors tracked the representation of diversity in coverage, many reporters talked about personal efforts to better reflect the diversity of Canada. One reporter stressed the importance of “getting the best sources”, while acknowledging an effort to avoid filling stories with “old white guys”. In the summer of 2020, inspired by the international Black Lives Matter movement, both CBC/Radio-Canada and The Globe and Mail faced internal concerns over the diversity of their newsrooms. At CBC/Radio-Canada, reporters expressed apprehensions that the corporation’s Journalistic Standards and Practices policy might restrict journalists from voicing their personal views and critical experiences amidst the global protests sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. There was strong among the journalists that the public broadcaster’s Journalistic Standards and Practices was not truly inclusive (Press Progress, 2020). On June 11, 2020, Unifor, the union representing The Globe and Mail employees, issued an internal statement noting the “lack of diversity among employees” and expressing the need to make The Globe and Mail “a more diverse workplace”. The statement was not public, but it was released on social media by several of The Globe and Mail’s journalists.
