Being Part of the Globe and Mail’s Postal Code Project

Though the pandemic re-directed my fourth year of journalism school online, my time at the j-school equipped me with the drive to continue reporting on important stories, even if it had to be from home. I began my journalism career with the intention of telling the stories of marginalized and often overlooked communities, and a highlight of 2021 for me was being able to do that with The Globe and Mail. 

The Globe’s special project  (external link) focused on the L6P area code located in Brampton, Ont., a neighbourhood that is one of the most impacted by COVID-19. The Globe reported L6P as an area that has consistently seen one of Canada’s worst coronavirus positivity rates, often more than 20 per cent. L6P is also home to thousands of essential workers. 

The Globe sought out journalists with language skills. I was able to communicate with residents in English, Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu. Along with reporting, I did written translation work for printed flyers which were distributed to homes in the L6P area, telling residents in their native languages about the Globe’s project, encouraging them to contact us to tell their stories. The Globe generated over a dozen stories as part of the project, and offered many of them in residents’ native languages.

The main story I reported on featured a salon owner’s experiences, who worried about the future of her business post-pandemic. Her long-time clients told her that if she refused to serve them (which during the lockdown meant breaking the law), they would go to her competitors who had been flouting provincial orders to run underground salons. My piece, As beauty businesses stay shuttered, Brampton salon owners face losing clients to the underground economy (external link) , was featured on the front page of the Globe’s Report on Business and made the main Globe and Mail website. 

I worked closely with Nicole MacIntyre and Dakshana Bascaramurty, both incredible journalists who headed the project, who made it an ideal process and helped to tell all these stories. 

I learned a lot working with this incredible team, being able to share such important narratives. Most of all, it solidified my passion for reporting in marginalized communities and bringing their stories to light. I look forward to the prospects of working with the Globe in the future and am immensely glad that such an influential outlet prioritized telling these stories, setting precedents for strong reporting, with journalists equipped to handle reporting in these communities responsibly.