CBC Manitoba launches community advisory board to broaden coverage of underrepresented communities
CBC News | Posted: January 26, 2022 11:00 AM | Last Updated: January 26, 2022
Board is made up of 19 Manitobans from various walks of life
CBC Manitoba is launching a community advisory board to help inform how it covers news and issues in the province — the first of its kind for CBC.
The board is made up of 19 members who reflect the ethnocultural, socio-economic, geographic and political diversity of Manitoba.
Though they will not oversee editorial decisions, they will provide general feedback to the Winnipeg newsroom on programming and advice on specific reporting projects, and may be called upon as a sounding board during breaking news events.
"As we think about reflecting our community and engaging our community, it's one more way for us to add to the number of voices that we hear and the perspectives that we get," said John Bertrand, CBC's senior managing director for the Prairies region.
The hope is that the initiative will help CBC Manitoba better reflect the communities it serves and the changing nature of Canada, Bertrand said.
"We're here to serve our community. We're here to serve Manitobans, and by extension Canadians," which is why it's important to hear "their voices and perspectives and lived experiences," he said.
"The more we listen and the more we hear about what matters to people and why it matters and how it affects their lives, it has to enrich our storytelling and broaden our storytelling and make us more relevant."
Unique approach
The board is a pilot project and a first for CBC, but the concept isn't new.
Other newsrooms across the globe such as BBC, National Public Radio in the United States and privately owned U.S. companies such as McClatchy Newspapers and the San Diego Union-Tribune have adopted the community advisory board model as well.
While some newsrooms in Canada have formed advisory boards in the past, CBC Manitoba's is unique in how it draws on a broad range of people from different lived experiences to give feedback to the newsroom year-round, says a community engagement consultant and instructor.
Anita Li, who worked with CBC to develop the board, says this could help CBC Manitoba better connect with the audiences it serves, which has broader implications as well.
"It's filling in gaps in coverage so that you have a holistic understanding of the entire province, and it's also a way to support local democracy too," she said.
"To me ... the end goal is actually engaging people in the democratic process by reflecting their lives in journalism."
The members of the board are:
- Seid Ahmed, a former journalist from Ethiopia who works as the director of (re)settlement and integration support for Manitoba Association of Newcomer Serving Organizations.
- Dieth Aquino de Leon, a Filipino, non-binary health-care worker who is passionate about social work and mental health issues.
- Jennifer Brisson, who works with inmates across Manitoba through her role as program manager with Initiatives for Just Communities.
- Amy Chegus, a mother of four who has lived in various parts of Manitoba.
- Patty Douglas, an education researcher at Brandon University and mother of a son with autism.
- Anna Marie Gobenciong, a former journalist for the Manila Broadcasting Company in the Philippines.
- Izzeddin Hawamda, a teacher who was raised in the West Bank and a co-founder of Gaser-Bridge (a Palestinian/Israeli interfaith dialogue group).
- Alia Harb, a longtime community volunteer.
- Doretta Harris, who currently serves as the interim regional director for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority/Shared Health Indigenous Health Program.
- Shannon Huynh, who was born and raised in Winnipeg.
- Kristine Janz, a school division trustee who hopes to bring a rural perspective to the board.
- Paula Keirstead, a community advocate/activist and woman living with a disability.
- Naomi Ruth Letkemann, a lifelong Winnipegger who has worked with many non-profit organizations in the city after leaving a career as a teacher.
- Raj Maniar, who has been in the bar and restaurant industry for 25 years.
- Garret Munch, who has a background in biochemical engineering and works for the Public Health Agency of Canada.
- Felicita Ovadje, a lawyer and beauty entrepreneur.
- Allan Pineda, one of the founders of the non-profit organization Kultivation Festival FAMD (Food, Art, Music, Dance) and a member of the Filipino and cannabis communities in Manitoba.
- Bobbi Thompson, a volunteer and organizer of several initiatives in northern Manitoba.
- Brandi Woodhouse, an Anishiniaabe Ikwe from Pinaymootang First Nation who is the owner and founder of RezGal Lashes Inc.