The Magazine - The Review of Journalism

A photo of the ctrl, alt, delete buttons on a keyboard

April 25, 2025April 20, 20252025, Quick Reads, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

Why Does Everyone Hate Us?

We are not the “enemy of the people,” we swear! I open my eyes to a beautiful morning. Despite my better judgment, […]

A cheese platter and champagne glasses with a 'The Walrus' tag on it

April 25, 2025April 21, 20252025, Featured, Long Reads, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

How to Survive a Publishing Apocalypse

The evening begins in a cheery reception room. Lined with appetizers and sparkling wine, and framed by tall ceilings, it seems much too formal and well-orchestrated for a magazine event. It’s December 2, 2024, and the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto is welcoming attendees to The Walrus Talks, a national event series hosted by The Walrus.

April 25, 2025April 21, 20252025, Featured, Long Reads, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

Sharp Pen, Soft Heart

In August 1999, Karlheinz Schreiber sat in a corner of a bustling Toronto hotel restaurant, gesturing enthusiastically to National Post reporter Philip Mathias about an instant spaghetti cooking machine he was promoting. It was a strange scene for the German-Canadian businessman, whose name was synonymous with high-stakes deals involving planes, tanks, and whispers of political intrigue. Mathias, who had initially broken the story that connected former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney to the Airbus probe, listened carefully for the possibility that Schreiber might let something slip.

A blue sky with painted white clouds is illustrated as the background, green grass is pictured on the bottom of the image. A white rabbit is at the centre, with three black lines behind it signifying the rabbit jumping from the right to the left. The rabbit is leaping towards a patch of grass, that has objectivity written in yellow text, against a black block. The rabbit holds a notepad in its right paw, and yellow pencil in its left.

April 25, 2025April 21, 20252025, Quick Reads, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

Down the Rabbit Hole of Objectivity

Can journalism be objective in a complex world—and should it? Objectivity, as it’s commonly understood in newsrooms, is often considered a cornerstone […]

Four shadowed out figures are positioned around a brown-colored stage, with black curtains framing two sides of the image. A large golden trophy with a question mark is at the centre, and four headlights at the top of the image.

April 25, 2025April 22, 20252025, Quick Reads, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

Behind the Curtain

Have you ever nominated yourself for a journalism award and started second-guessing whether you made a typo? What exactly goes into picking a winner, anyway? Who decides? What does the competition look like? When will I receive my cash prize?

A woman in distress reading social media comments

April 24, 2025April 17, 20252025, Featured, Long Reads, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

Don’t Read the Comments

“Okay, ma’am,” a crackling voice interrupts the caller. “Ma’am, can I talk?” Minutes into her report to the Ottawa Police hotline, journalist Rachel Gilmore feels exasperated. She is reporting a violent email sent to The Hill Times’ Erica Ifill—a name-dropping salad of verbal abuse such as “woke,” “cunt,” and racial slurs—including death threats.

A man looks out at a sinking ship while on a rowboat

April 24, 2025April 17, 20252025, Featured, Long Reads, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

Lost at Sea

August 26, 2024, was one of the worst days of Pam Sword’s working life. The paper where she had been the web editor for over a decade—The Chronicle Herald, Halifax’s 150-year-old daily broadsheet—had been sold to Postmedia, Canada’s national news behemoth.

Blurry image of a police officer looking into the camera.

April 24, 2025April 20, 20252025, Featured, Long Reads, Press Freedoms, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

Barred from the Story

If Brandi Morin had to place a bet on where she might get arrested, her home Treaty Six territories in Edmonton, Alberta, wouldn’t even make her shortlist. The moment the Indigenous journalist later described as “one of the darkest chapters” of her career began while Morin was covering an Indigenous-led homeless encampment on a cold, harsh winter night.

A robot looms over a scared man and his keyboard

April 24, 2025April 21, 20252025, Featured, Long Reads, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

Paranoid of the Android

It’s early October 2024, and the Toronto Star’s conference room is abuzz with anticipation. Stephen Ghigliotty, a marketing strategist with expertise in artificial intelligence, is preparing to host a five-hour learning session on the impacts of AI on journalism. The space is warm and welcoming, but beneath the surface lurks an undeniable undercurrent of fear. Ghigliotty can feel it when he steps into the conference room.

April 23, 2025April 17, 20252025, Featured, Long Reads, Spring 2025, Stories, The Magazine, Under Attack

Baseball, Birding, and Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Looking back, where did I get the audacity to do that?” asks Emma McIntosh, reflecting on her early days as a journalist in high school. “There was this quote that went along the lines of ‘Mr. V. declined to comment, stating a desire to keep his professional life and community work separate.’ I was crazy.”