Further Proof That I Continue to Do Journalism

I'll be perfectly blunt here, folks. I had writer's block when brainstorming ideas to write about this week. There's only so many times I can point to the complete collapse of coverage when it comes to Palestine. COVID, too, makes a regular appearance. But if I wanted to cover those two topics infinitum, the sad truth is that this work would lose its potency.

It shouldn't, but as a newsletter focused on dissecting news industry coverage, rather than geopolitics or health, unless something new needs tackling, these topics don't lend themselves to analysis that consists of repeating of the same points.

As always, I will direct you towards reporting outlets like Al Jazeera, Mondoweiss and Middle East Eye to gain insight into the ongoing genocide of Palestine done by Israel. These outlets, like all others, don't provide the complete story, but their reporting is crucial in understanding the day-to-day struggle of Palestinians.

This writer's block could have been overcome, perhaps, if I was healthy enough to work on it. When I woke up this morning, ready to tackle the last day of my internship, I quickly learned what my muscle aches, upset stomach and dry throat told me: I'm sick.

After a COVID test, it came back negative (for whatever that's worth), but the pain was there all the same. It was a remote day for my internship, so I plowed through it in order to reach the finish line. But it became increasingly apparent that this was the limit of my work.

So instead of a news analysis piece, I'm going to direct you towards two solid pieces that I've been working on that were published this week.

Decrease in Overdose Mortality After Implementation of Supervised Consumption Sites

The first, done during my time as an intern at the Investigative Journalism Bureau, considers a new study that followed supervised consumption sites in Toronto from 2017 to 2019. It found a 67 per cent decrease in overdose mortality in neighbourhoods that implemented these sites, with the effect being felt up to 5km away.

Here’s what happened to overdose deaths in Toronto neighbourhoods with safe consumption sites

Study in The Lancet shows dramatic results within 500 metres of supervised consumption sites after they opened.

Toronto StarScott Martin and Declan Keogh, Investigative Journalism Bureau and

I have seen some on the right try to claim that this is a disingenuous framing, as overdose deaths increased in certain areas beginning in 2020. This didn't seem like it was necessary to mention in the piece why a health research study stopped collecting data before 2020. But you can read the paper yourself to find out why:

"[T]he end date was selected to ensure that the effects of service changes and restrictions as a result of COVID-19 did not influence study outcomes."

Shocker.

Bell Media and Canadian Governments Don't Actually Care About Journalism

The second piece, which is more analysis focused (so if you like The Catch, I have good news) delved into the recent Bell Media layoffs. This one was published in Ricochet, so if you were wondering why a newsletter focused on the Canadian news industry hadn't tackled this subject yet, here's why.

At the very least, it's worth a read to see how I insert "surface-to-air stinger missiles" in a discussion of Canadian news media.

Journalism isn’t safe in the hands of companies like Bell Media | Ricochet

When shareholders come first, everyone else loses

Ricochet

And that's it. I still plan to do The Catch-all this Saturday, I have some free time this week, so while I definitely will be taking it easy, I don't plan to lay in bed or on the couch and not read the news. I'm only human.

Thanks for indulging me this time. I'll try not to do it again.