By Megavarshini G. Somasundaram
A new way to delve into Indigenous journalisms was explored by project partner MEDIA INDIGENA, in collaboration with UBC professors and project researchers Candis Callison and Mary Lynn Young.
The founder and host of the MEDIA INDIGENA podcast, Rick Harp, worked with Callison over the summer of 2023 to create an audio book club based on the book she co-authored with Young, Reckoning: Journalism’s Limits and Possibilities (Oxford University Press, 2020).
Reckoning addresses key questions about what is good journalism, how is it defined, and who does it serve.
“We found this path through; we come from our own experiences. Mary Lynn has a deep and abiding interest in start-ups, and I am interested in Indigenous issues,” said Callison.
For her, the podcast series was a way of putting words around the book.
“We were wanting to guide our readers to think about what Indigenous journalists were already doing”, she said.
“They were already thinking about systems and countering the way mainstream media had continually narrativized Indigenous people.”
Eight episodes on Indigenous journalisms
Over eight episodes, Harp and Callison focus on the issues raised in the penultimate chapter of Reckoning on Indigenous journalisms.
I hope the series resonates with those who make up an ever-expanding universe of Indigenous journalisms of every size and stripe
Rick Harp
“This series was a joy to pull together,” said Harp. “The opportunity to commune over its insights with veterans of the craft only added to my appreciation for all the hard work Callison and Young put into the book, and it allowed us to weave together the theoretical with the practical.”
Among the issues addressed in the series were how Indigenous journalists have engaged with the emergence of new technologies, self-representation, and the long history of lack of representation in the media.
For the series, Harp and Callison were joined by guests Anishinaabe journalist, author, and speaker Tanya Talaga, and Indian Country Today editor-at-large, Mark Trahant.
“I hope the series resonates with those who make up an ever-expanding universe of Indigenous journalisms of every size and stripe,” said Harp.
Listeners can catch up with the summer series of MEDIA INDIGENA’s podcast reflecting on Indigenous journalisms on all major podcasting services.
MEDIA INDIGENA is a weekly roundtable focusing on Indigenous issues and events in Canada and beyond, funded by audiences.