Welcome Our New Instructors for Fall 2025

Journalism at The Creative School welcomes two of the new instructors joining us for the fall 2025 semester.

From small town newspapers to national radio and television news, Philip Lee-Shanok (external link)  has covered events big and small with the same passion for storytelling.

Since graduating from TMU more than three decades ago, Philip's work has been at major daily newspapers, including the Toronto Sun and the Edmonton Journal, as well as broadcasters Global TV Edmonton (formerly ITV News), CBC Toronto and CBC National News.

He's now a Senior Reporter with CBC National News. You can not only hear him on CBC Radio One, but also see him on The National and read his stories on CBC News online.

He's also won awards for crime reporting, newsroom awards for covering big events, including 9-11 and October 7th,  and as a motorcycle columnist.

Lee-Shanok is teaching a section of JRN 270 (opens in new window) : Producing the News this semester.

How does it feel to now be teaching in the same program you graduated from?

It definitely brings back memories walking these halls. I remember rushing to get assignments stamped by a time clock near the front entrance to beat midnight print deadlines. Being in an editing suite for hours, cutting together a final TV documentary project.

Now, I'm here because I have learned a lot since I've left these halls -- and I want to share.

They say that: "When you teach, both parties learn."

Is there anything specific you hope your section takes away from your teaching?

When I share what I do with my students, it also makes me question how I do what I do.

It forces me to see through the fresh eyes of my students and answer questions about practices I take for granted, but shouldn't. And it opens an opportunity to take a critical look at how I do my job, which makes me a better journalist.

So, you could say I'm here not just to teach, but to learn.

Khawla Nakua (opens in new window)  is a freelance criminal justice reporter. She mainly covers stories about prison conditions, the treatment of people of colour in prisons and juvenile justice. Her stories have been published in Mother Jones Magazine, Slate Magazine, Truthout Magazine and Scalawag Magazine.

Nakua is teaching JRN/NNS 507/JN8410: Justice and the Courts (opens in new window)  this semester.

What’s an interesting fact about yourself?

An interesting fact about myself is that I love art! I love film, television, literature, and plays. I don't just love watching it, I love dissecting it. I love to understand how the sausage is made.

I love to critically analyze what the piece is telling or showing me. I love thinking through certain philosophical ideas or thoughts that spring up when consuming a piece of art. I go really deep, a little too deep. But I love it. 

How did you get your start in journalism?

I have wanted to become a journalist since I was 13 years old. What motivated me to become a journalist was after witnessing journalists covering the US invasion of Iraq, and being unsettled by the dehumanization and flat-out lies. It led me to want to become a journalist who changes the narrative. After I graduated [from Sheridan College], I started a podcast telling the forgotten stories of history, and then I started freelancing and covering the criminal justice system and prison conditions. 

A moment in your career you're proud of? 

A couple of years ago, I worked on a story about these two Muslim men who were formerly incarcerated, who, after leaving prison, experienced homelessness and struggled to find a transitional housing/halfway house that would support their housing and religious needs. So, they decided to build their own halfway house for Muslims leaving prison. After I published this story, a group of lawyers at the University of Texas Religious Legal Center approached me and told me that my piece inspired them so much that they decided to offer legal services to Muslims leaving prisons and the two men who established the Muslim-focused halfway houses.

What are you looking forward to the most this school year?

What I look forward to most this school year is teaching students a better way to cover stories in journalism. The criminal justice system and the courts have always been areas in journalism that haven't been properly covered. I am really looking forward to teaching this course, which hasn't been taught in a long time and better prepare students who would like to cover the courts or criminal justice system.