Episode Description
In journalism, expertise is often presented as something simple: A title, a degree, an institutional affiliation. But behind every expert quote is a series of decisions. Who answers the phone. Who can explain something quickly. Who producers and reporters already know.
In this episode of Pull Quotes, Mark Henick explores how experts actually end up in the news, and why the voices we hear most often may not always be the ones closest to the problem.
Frontline physician Dr. Naheed Dosani explains how healthcare coverage can miss the lived realities of people navigating the system. Emergency nurse and health equity advocate Amie Archibald-Varley examines how hierarchy inside medicine shapes whose knowledge is treated as authoritative. And health reporter Kelly Grant and CBC producer Colleen Ross explain the practical realities reporters face when trying to find credible sources under deadline pressure.
The result is a system where credibility can grow through familiarity. Over time, the same experts are quoted again and again. And it’s not necessarily because they are the only experts, but because they are the ones journalists know how to reach.
This is part one of a two-part episode.
In part two, we’ll explore what happens after those expert voices reach the public, and how audiences decide whether to trust them.
Music Credits
“Into the Unknown” by Jonathan Grow via Retrorama APM
About Pull Quotes
Pull Quotes explores how journalism works behind the scenes, from the way stories are framed to the voices that shape public understanding.
Hosted by Mark Henick and Dylan Kulcher.
Podcast art by Matthew Konhauser
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About the author
Mark Henick is the bestselling author of So-Called Normal: A Memoir of Family, Depression and Resilience (HarperCollins, 2021). His hundreds of television appearances have included CTV, Global, CBC, ABC, NBC and CBS. His bylines have included CNN, CNBC, USA Today, and The Chicago Tribune, among many more. PEOPLE Magazine called Mark “one of Canada’s most prominent mental health advocates.” He is currently the nationally syndicated mental health columnist for CBC Radio, appearing on more than two dozen stations across Canada each week.
