October 15, 2022 - Barrie Community Media has been focusing on important civic issues related to women, minorities, environment, homelessness and drug crisis among others. Our coverage of these issues, constant presence at related events and interaction with leaders including Mayor Jeff Lehman has been increasing the discussion, influencing decision makers by keeping the pressure and strengthening the community.
On a number of occasions, community and political leadership have thanked our coverage of these issues. Deepak Bidwai, Local Journalism Initiative reporter, has also received positive feedback from residents about Barrie Community Media’s board of directors and their work in the city has helped him establish deeper and meaningful relationships in the community, which he is relatively new to.
Women and Minorities in Politics -
Barrie municipal elections are scheduled for Oct 24. Currently, there are only two women council members and no black or Indigenous person out of 11. To understand the challenges women and minorities face in running for public office, two stories were done - a panel discussion with Engage Barrie members and an interview with the founder of Uplift Black. The coverage received over a thousand views on Instagram, YouTube and the website combined. “Shelly I would really like to connect with you and cause,” wrote a Barrie resident on Instagram to Shelly Skinner, an activist, community leader and the president of Uplift Black organization.
Environment -
Deepak Bidwai, Local Journalism Initiative reporter, according to our best knowledge and confirmed by one of the organizers, was the only reporter present to cover the Bike the Night event. The event was aimed at encouraging more Barrie residents to ride bikes for work and shopping, hoping more people on bikes would compel the City to build more bike lanes and enact bike friendly initiatives. The coverage of the event helped create dialogue about active transportation.
Drug Crisis in Barrie -
Barrie Community Media has been covering the drug crisis in Barrie and its impact. On August 31, we Local Journalism Initiative reporter Deepak Bidwai covered International Overdose Awareness Day organized by Ryan’s Hope and Moms Stop the Harm. During the morning main event, Barrie Community Media (BCM) was the only organization covering the event. Having a presence at important events that deeply affects the community is very important to create awareness and generate dialogues and we are proud to do so. We have also been running a podcast, Life Stories with Ryan’s Hope, to tell our audience about the impact of the drug crisis on people especially Indigenous. Having a strong relationship within the community has helped us to know that this important event was taking place.
The coverage received good traction in the city, especially the video of a poem reading by Indigenous women, Cheryl Offord, in memory of her daughter, who died of drug overdose.
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About LJI
LJI Impact is the section of commediaportal.ca where the journalists and their organizations participating in CACTUS' Local Journalism Initiative can share their greatest successes.
Through the written stories, photos and videos you see in the LJI Impact section, you'll be able to read first hand accounts about how the presence of a community journalist is making a difference in communities across Canada through the Local Journalism Initiative and the Community Media Portal.
The Community Media Portal is a gateway to the audio-visual media created by community media centres across Canada. These include traditional community TV and radio stations, as well as online and new media production centres.
Community media are not-for-profit production hubs owned and operated by the communities they serve, established both to provide local content and reflection for their communities, as well as media training and access for ordinary citizens to the latest tools of media production, whether traditional TV and radio, social and online media, virtual reality, augmented reality or video games.
The Community Media Portal has been funded by the Local Journalism Initiative (the LJI) of the Department of Canadian Heritage, and administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) in association with the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec (the Fédération). Under the LJI, over 100 journalists have been placed in underserved communities and asked to produce civic content that underpins Canadian democratic life.
