TMU Journalism students projects nominated at COPA
Five student projects from Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)’s School of Journalism have been nominated as finalists for the Canadian Online Publishing Awards ( (external link) COPA).
Two out of the five nominations for Best Podcast in the Academic category are TMU students: 2025 graduate Martha Gai’s podcast “The Pill and Beyond” (external link) for Reimagining News and Season 3 of We Met U When, a podcast produced by students in Professor Shari Okeke’s JRN 801/JN8407 class both received a nod from the judges.
Gai said she was at work when she got an email from her JRN 843 professor, Nicole Blanchett, that her podcast was nominated. She was delighted at the recognition.
“I wanted to do [a podcast] about a topic that I liked. It never really was about, ‘oh, this is where it could go. I could get an award for it,’” Gai said.
Blanchett had encouraged Gai to apply for the award, as she saw the effort Gai had put into the individual project over the course of the semester to tackle an important topic.
“I think that it’s important for students to sort of put themselves out there,” Blanchett said.
Gai is also listed as a nominee for her work on Season 3 of We Met U When.
“I feel so proud of these students,” said Okeke. “We Met U When… Season 3 producers really pushed themselves to cover challenging stories while also prioritizing duty of care, bringing this podcast to a whole new level.”
Gabrielle McMann, a 2025 graduate who worked on the second episode of the podcast said it was “very exciting” to learn their project had been nominated for a COPA.
“During production, students are putting so much passion, hard work and dedication into their individual episodes. We Met U When is definitely a labour of love—and I think the work of all the students should be celebrated,” she said.
For Best Patriotic Story (Free) under the Academic category, graduate Rex Astorga’s piece for On The Record (OTR), “The Resurgence of Canadian Pride” (external link) also received a nomination. On The Record also received a nomination for Best Photo Journalism, thanks to Laviza Syed’s powerful photograph (external link) of a Toronto rally in support of Lebanon and Palestine — a photo which also won Photo of the Year at the JHM Awards last year.
“I’m never surprised by the quality of the work coming out of OTR semester after semester,” said Angela Misri, assistant professor at TMU and OTR’s coordinator. “I’m always delighted when it’s recognized because I also see who our students are nominated with, and I am impressed with all the students across the country creating amazing journalism.”
Misri said she takes an approach in the OTR masthead where she’s less of a lecturer and instead, where she pushes and guides her students to hone their strengths in an environment that simulates a real newsroom.
One of last year’s largest student projects, TMU Votes, was a collaboration between the School of Journalism and RTA’s School of Media to bring coverage to Ontario’s snap provincial elections. TMU Votes is also a nominee at COPA — but not in the Academic category. It’s going up against the best in the business under the Media category’s Best Video Content award.
“I knew that night that something special was happening,” said Blanchett, who had served as the live broadcast’s executive producer.
“I think, students in some ways, often underrate the value of their work and what they have done,” she said. “Having the acknowledgement from a national award that ‘this really was something special’ [...] is something that the students should be really proud of.”
Each of the professors who helped guide their students’ success stressed the importance of the recognition students receive early in their careers.
“Early recognition helps students understand that their voices matter now, not someday in the future,” Misri said.
With fingers crossed that TMU journalism students take home the win in each of their nominated categories, part of the victory is in having produced something great in the first place, Blanchett said.
“It's an absolutely invaluable experience that regardless of whether an award is won, those are skills and experiences that they're going to take with them through their entire careers,” she said.
Professor Okeke said in a message to the students who’ve been nominated, “The powerful stories you’ve published are getting much needed attention and the people you featured are being heard - that matters. Journalism needs you!”
The COPA party to announce the winners is on Feb. 12, 2026.