TORONTO (June 11, 2019)—Journalist Sarah Lawrynuik will use the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary to explore the recent monumental political shifts that have led to the erosion of various freedoms in several Eastern and Central European countries.

The Gordon Sinclair Foundation awarded the bursary at its annual meeting, in Toronto on June 10. Lawrynuik, 27, is a Calgary-based multimedia journalist and a University of King’s College graduate who has worked across multiple platforms, filing stories to the CBC, The Narwhal, The Sprawl and New Scientist, among others. Since graduating, Lawrynuik has worked at the CBC in numerous roles including a six-month stint as a one-woman pop-up bureau in Lethbridge, Alta. As a freelancer she has published stories from eight countries, including Iraq. She focuses on in-depth storytelling across multiple platforms, especially radio and is currently pursuing a Master of Science degree in Global Energy and Climate Policy from the University of London.

As a Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter, Lawrynuik will examine the current political shifts in Eastern and Central Europe and how those shifts are resonating in Canada. She will engage with the sizeable diasporas of Hungarian, Ukrainian and Polish Canadians on the ground in Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto before flying abroad to track the story there. Austria will be included in her travels, where Michael Ignatieff and the Central European University was recently relocated after having been thrown out of Hungary.

“The changes in Hungary echo those seen in the days following the final shots of World War II as Soviet forces took hold,” Lawrynuik says. “State control of the media, banning work of civil society groups, the detention of refugees—all seen then and now.”

“I want to bring this story home to Canadians and compare everyday people’s views with what the international narrative of the changes has been.”

The Roving Reporter Bursary was created in memory of Gordon Sinclair, who made his name reporting around the world for the Toronto Star in the 1930s. The bursary replaced a university scholarship for journalism students that was been given out annually since 1986 by the Gordon Sinclair Foundation, established by friends of the remarkable journalist, author, radio commentator and television personality who until his death in 1984, was one of Canada’s most enduring celebrities. He earned that celebrity during a career that included periods with the Toronto Star, CFRB radio and as a panelist on CBC’s long-running news quiz program Front Page Challenge.

“I want to thank the Gordon Sinclair Foundation for this opportunity to pursue in-depth international journalism,” Lawrynuik added. “It’s a chance rarely afforded to early-career journalists. I’m thrilled to represent the foundation in this way.”

At a time when most news organizations have cut back on travel, the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary is meant to support a major research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist who has within the past five years graduated from one of Canada’s university-level journalism programs. The purpose of the $15,000 bursary is to encourage a young journalist to get off the beaten track and to spend a considerable period—a minimum of six weeks – away on a reporting assignment.

In recent years, bursary winners have used the award to document stories anywhere from the Middle East to Northern Canada.

In 2018, Katrina Clarke used the Roving Reporter bursary to report on Indigenous education in Australia and Canada. The results of her reporting were published by the Toronto Star, CBC and The Daily Gleaner and provided an international context to Canada’s efforts at truth and reconciliation.

In 2017, award-winning investigative reporter Annie Burns-Pieper travelled to Madagascar to report on US President Donald Trump’s reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule—which bans foreign aid to groups that perform or promote abortion—and how it has impacted global health programs, specifically family planning and women’s health services.

Applicants to the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary were invited to submit a proposal to travel abroad or to a region of Canada that is not usually well covered by the media and to research and then prepare a substantial body of journalistic work on an important issue.

Two of Sinclair’s former employers—the Toronto Star and the CBC—have undertaken to provide mentorship by senior editors to the bursary winner and to consider the work for publication or broadcast.

For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Brett Popplewell
Executive Director
Gordon Sinclair Foundation
brett.popplewell@carleton.ca
416-826-0542

Sarah Lawrynuik
sarah.lawrynuik@gmail.com
204-698-0414

TORONTO (June 12, 2018) — Journalist Katrina Clarke will use the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary to investigate the failures and successes of Indigenous education across Atlantic Canada and abroad, providing an international context to Canada’s efforts at truth and reconciliation.

The Gordon Sinclair Foundation awarded the bursary today at its annual meeting, in Toronto. Clarke is a 30-year-old reporter based in Fredericton where she writes for The Daily Gleaner. A former Toronto Star reporter, Clarke has contributed to the CBC and National Post. She covers education and politics in New Brunswick specializing in stories on Indigenous issues, inequality and mental health.

Her Roving Reporter project stemmed from interviews with Indigenous youth who expressed pain for what Canada’s residential school system did to previous generations and confusion about how specific cultures fit into our education system today.

“Indigenous issues in Atlantic Canada remain underreported,” said Clarke. “As an education reporter, I see firsthand how the divide between culture and classroom negatively affects Indigenous youths’ mental health and academic development. I will investigate how governments are attempting to incorporate Indigenous culture into the classrooms, why students struggle when they leave home to attend school and what is lost when a flown-in outsider teaches in a remote community.”

2018 bursary winner Katrina Clarke
(Photo: Harriett Dedman)

As a Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter, Clarke will travel across Atlantic Canada and to Australia, where she will report on the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School (MITS), a public-private school for Indigenous youths from communities thousands of kilometres away.

The Roving Reporter Bursary was created in memory of Gordon Sinclair, who made his name reporting around the world for the Toronto Star in the 1930s. The bursary replaces a university scholarship for journalism students that has been given out annually since 1986 by the Gordon Sinclair Foundation, established by friends of the remarkable journalist, author, radio commentator and television personality who until his death in 1984, was one of Canada’s most enduring celebrities. He earned that celebrity during a career that included periods with the Toronto Star, CFRB radio and as a panelist on CBC’s long-running news quiz program Front Page Challenge.

Clarke is a graduate of the Master of Arts in Journalism program at Western University where she was named Best Broadcast Journalist in her program. She also has a BA in Political and Global Development Studies from Queen’s University. A seasoned reporter and successful freelancer, she has experience working abroad having previously won an IDRC International Development Journalism Award that took her to Thailand where she spent seven months writing for the Bangkok Post.

She has proven her ability to cover stories of local, national and global interest in a variety of beats and across multiple platforms. Through recent Freedom of Information requests, she exposed how teachers are secretly disciplined by New Brunswick school districts. As a Roving Reporter, she will mine for health data on suicide and depression rates among Indigenous youth, education statistics on Indigenous youth literacy, math and science scores vs. region-wide scores, and international reports on outcomes of education programs targeting Indigenous youth.

The legendary Gordon Sinclair

At a time when most news organizations have cut back on travel, the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary is meant to support a major research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist who has within the past five years graduated from one of Canada’s university-level journalism programs. The purpose of the $15,000 bursary is to encourage a young journalist to get off the beaten track and to spend a considerable period – a minimum of six weeks – away on a reporting assignment.

In recent years, bursary winners have used the award to document stories anywhere from the Middle East to Northern Canada. Last year’s recipient, award-winning investigative reporter Annie Burns-Pieper travelled to Madagascar to report on US President Donald Trump’s reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule – which bans foreign aid to groups that perform or promote abortion – and how it has impacted global health programs, specifically family planning and women’s health services.

Applicants to the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary were invited to submit a proposal to travel abroad or to a region of Canada that is not usually well covered by the media and to research and then prepare a substantial body of journalistic work on an important issue.

Two of Sinclair’s former employers – the Toronto Star and the CBC – are associated with the bursary and have undertaken to provide mentorship by senior editors to the bursary winner as he prepares for his reporting trip and then to consider the work for publication or broadcast.

– 30 –

For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Brett Popplewell
Executive Director
Gordon Sinclair Foundation
brett.popplewell@carleton.ca
416-826-0542

Katrina Clarke
katrinaclarke24@gmail.com
647-221-8377

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How a White House reversal affects a village in Madagascar
On an island where 10 women a day die from complications from pregnancy and childbirth, the funding cutoff by USAID because of its new abortion rules can have serious consequences.

Read Annie Burns-Pieper’s full report for the Toronto Star. 

 

TORONTO (June 12, 2017) – Journalist Annie Burns-Pieper will use the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary to travel to Madagascar to report on US President Donald Trump’s reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule – which bans foreign aid to groups that perform or promote abortion – and how it has impacted global health programs, specifically family planning and women’s health services.

The Gordon Sinclair Foundation awarded the bursary today at its annual meeting, in Toronto. Burns-Pieper, a 31-year-old investigative reporter who has worked as a producer with CBC’s Investigative Unit, CTV’s W5 and Global 16×9, plans to use the $15,000 bursary to examine how the loss of USAID funding has impacted women, their families as well as aid organizations in Madagascar. The Canadian government has pledged $20 million to sexual health and family planning initiatives to try to offset the loss of USAID funding. Burns-Pieper will follow Marie Stopes International and other groups which have recently lost funding as a result of the Mexico City Policy, or Global Gag Rule.

“The reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule has brought Canadian attention to the issue of reproductive health aid,” said Burns-Pieper. It’s estimated that from 2017-2020 USAID funded programs in Madagascar would have prevented more than one million unintended pregnancies, and averted almost 340,000 abortions and more than 2,200 maternal deaths.

The Roving Reporter Bursary was created in memory of Gordon Sinclair, who made his name gallivanting around the world for the Toronto Star in the 1930s. The bursary replaces a university scholarship for journalism students that has been given out annually since 1986 by the Gordon Sinclair Foundation, established by friends of the remarkable journalist, author, radio commentator and television personality who until his death in 1984, was one of Canada’s most enduring celebrities. He earned that celebrity during a career that included periods with the Toronto Star, CFRB radio and as a panelist on CBC’s long-running news quiz program Front Page Challenge.

Burns-Pieper is a graduate of the Masters of Journalism program at Ryerson University, in Toronto. She also has an MSc in Global History from the London School of Economics and a BA from Dalhousie University.

Burns-Pieper has proven her ability to take the lead on stories of national interest as reporter and producer on Canada’s top investigative broadcast teams. In recent years she has led investigations into alleged mistreatment of pregnant women in Canadian delivery rooms, dangerous building materials used in schools and other public buildings and the Alberta wild horse cull. In 2015, she led a cross-platform investigation into inpatient suicide in Canadian hospitals for CTV W5.

At a time when most news organizations have cut back on travel, the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary is meant to support a major research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist who has within the past five years graduated from one of Canada’s university-level journalism programs. The purpose of the $15,000 bursary is to encourage a young journalist to get off the beaten track and to spend a considerable period – a minimum of six weeks – away on a reporting assignment.

In recent years, bursary winners have used the award to document stories anywhere from the Middle East to Northern Canada. Burns-Pieper is a seasoned young reporter who also has experience living and working abroad. Prior to her studies in journalism she worked in both Guatemala and Morocco and has travelled extensively around Latin America and Asia.

Applicants to the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary were invited to submit a proposal to travel abroad or to a region of Canada that is not usually well covered by the media and to research and then prepare a substantial body of journalistic work on an important issue.

Two of Sinclair’s former employers – the Toronto Star and the CBC – are associated with the bursary and have undertaken to provide mentorship by senior editors to the bursary winner as he prepares for his reporting trip and then to consider the work for publication or broadcast.

 

– 30 –

 

For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Brett Popplewell, Executive Director – Gordon Sinclair Foundation

brett.popplewell@carleton.ca  / 416-826-0542

Annie Burns-Pieper annieburnspieper@gmail.com   / 416-262-2393

 

ARSAL, LEBANON—A frigid wind rips across the mountaintop as Col. Ahmed Assir, a commander in the Lebanese Army’s Ninth Infantry Brigade, peers into the valley below. The restive town of Arsal lies at the bottom, inside an army cordon set up two years ago after a brief Daesh takeover.

By Corbett Hancey
Special to the Star
Jan. 29, 2017

Read Corbett Hancey’s full report for the Toronto Star. 

Corbett’s dispatch appears just as the Gordon Sinclair Foundation launches the competition for the 2017 Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary. The $15,000 bursary was created in memory of Gordon Sinclair, who made his name gallivanting around the world for the Toronto Star in the 1930s. At a time when most news organizations have cut back on travel, the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary is meant to support a major research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist who has within the past five years graduated from one of Canada’s university-level journalism programs. The purpose of the $15,000 bursary is to encourage a young journalist to get off the beaten track and to spend a considerable period – a minimum of six weeks – away on a reporting assignment.

TORONTO (June 16, 2016) – Journalist Corbett Hancey will use the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary to travel to Lebanon to explore how the country is coping with the influx of refugees and the pressures of the Syrian civil war.

The Gordon Sinclair Foundation awarded the bursary today at its annual meeting, in Toronto. Hancey, who has worked for Vice Media and the CBC since completing his studies, plans to use the $15,000 bursary to examine such issues as the challenges faced by the health and education sectors in Lebanon because of the presence of millions of Syrian refugees.

“Lebanon’s small size and huge number of refugees means it’s arguably under more strain than any other refugee-hosting country,” Hancey said. “Canada made a specific commitment to help lessen that burden and stabilize the country. So for me this is a chance to look at the impact Canada can have in a country whose ability to help an extremely vulnerable group is stretched to the limit.”

“Without this bursary, a trip like this just wouldn’t be possible for someone in my position,” Hancey added. “The extended stay allows me to get a feel for the place and the stories in a way reporters who stay just a few days don’t get the opportunity to experience. For a young journalist, it’s the chance of a lifetime.”

The Roving Reporter Bursary was created in memory of Gordon Sinclair, who made his name gallivanting around the world for the Toronto Star in the 1930s. The bursary replaces a university scholarship for journalism students that has been given out annually since 1986 by the Gordon Sinclair Foundation, established by friends of the remarkable journalist, author, radio commentator and television personality who until his death in 1984, was one of Canada’s most enduring celebrities. He earned that celebrity during a career that included periods with the Toronto Star, CFRB radio and as a panelist on CBC’s long-running news quiz program Front Page Challenge.

Hancey is a graduate of the Bachelor of Journalism program at King’s College, in Halifax, the city where he grew up. He also has a BA from McGill and a Masters in Intelligence and International Security from the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London.

As a journalist, Hancey is just completing a one-year stint as a researcher for Vice Media. At Vice he researched and developed eight 30-minute episodes for a new TV documentary series called Cyberwar. He also worked for several years as a producer with CBC’s News Now.

At a time when most news organizations have cut back on travel, the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary is meant to support a major research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist who has within the past five years graduated from one of Canada’s university-level journalism programs. The purpose of the $15,000 bursary is to encourage a young journalist to get off the beaten track and to spend a considerable period – a minimum of six weeks – away on a reporting assignment.

For the last few years, bursary winners have used the award to document stories in Canada. Hancey is the first recipient in some time to travel abroad. (And for that matter, Hancey is the first bursary winner to have been a contestant on the quiz show Jeopardy).

Applicants to the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary were invited to submit a proposal to travel abroad or to a region of Canada that is not usually well covered by the media and to research and then prepare a substantial body of journalistic work on an important issue.

Two of Sinclair’s former employers – the Toronto Star and the CBC – are associated with the bursary and have undertaken to provide mentorship by senior editors to the bursary winner as he prepares for his reporting trip and then to consider the work for publication or broadcast.

– 30 –

 

For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Brett Popplewell, Executive Director – Gordon Sinclair Foundation
brett.popplewell@carleton.ca  / 416-826-0542

Corbett Hancey  Corbett.Hancey@gmail.com   / 416-993-3784

The board of directors of the Gordon Sinclair Foundation meets in Toronto on Thursday, June 16 for the foundation’s annual general meeting and to announce this year’s winner of the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary.

The Roving Reporter Bursary was created in memory of Gordon Sinclair, who made his name gallivanting around the world for the Toronto Star in the 1930s. The bursary replaces a university scholarship for journalism students that has been given out annually since 1986 by the Gordon Sinclair Foundation, established by friends of the remarkable journalist, author, radio commentator and television personality who until his death in 1984, was one of Canada’s most enduring celebrities. He earned that celebrity during a career that included periods with the Toronto Star, CFRB radio and as a panelist on CBC’s long- running news quiz program Front Page Challenge.

At a time when most news organizations have cut back on travel, the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary is meant to support a major research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist who has within the past five years graduated from one of Canada’s university-level journalism programs. The purpose of the $15,000 bursary is to encourage a young journalist to get off the beaten track and to spend a considerable period – a minimum of six weeks – away on a reporting assignment.

Applicants to the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary were invited to submit a proposal to travel abroad or to a region of Canada that is not usually well covered by the media and to research and then prepare a substantial body of journalistic work on an important issue.

Two of Sinclair’s former employers – the Toronto Star and the CBC – are associated with the bursary and have undertaken to provide mentorship by senior editors to the bursary winner as she prepares for her reporting trip and then to consider their work for publication or broadcast.

Another great piece of work by 2015 Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter bursary winner Jodie Martinson has been broadcast on the CBC-Radio program Tapestry.

Jodie used the bursary to follow singer Khari McClelland’s journey in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Detroit as he sought music that could help him understand more about the lives of escaped slaves, such as his own great-great-great grandmother Kizzy.

In a proud moment for the Gordon Sinclair Foundation, an amazing piece of journalism from Jodie Martinson – the 2015 winner of the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary – will air tonight on CBC’s The National.

The 9-minute documentary marks the culmination of singer Khari McClelland’s journey. Jodie used the bursary to follow the singer in Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Detroit as he sought music that could help him understand more about the lives of escaped slaves, such as his own great-great-great grandmother Kizzy. In the piece airing on The National, we see the final build-up to the big moment when McClelland shares the songs he found – and what they mean to him –  with a live audience.

On the weekend, on CBC Radio One Tapestry we’ll hear more about Khari’s personal journey to find those songs in another report by Jodie. Still to come, a documentary slated for broadcast this summer that ties the performance and the personal journey together.

Jodie’s remarkable work is going to air just as the Gordon Sinclair Foundation launches the competition for the 2016 Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary. The $15,000 bursary was created in memory of Gordon Sinclair, who made his name gallivanting around the world for the Toronto Star in the 1930s. At a time when most news organizations have cut back on travel, the Gordon Sinclair Roving Reporter Bursary is meant to support a major research and reporting trip by an early career Canadian journalist who has within the past five years graduated from one of Canada’s university-level journalism programs. The purpose of the $15,000 bursary is to encourage a young journalist to get off the beaten track and to spend a considerable period – a minimum of six weeks – away on a reporting assignment. 

You can find full details of the bursary competition at www.gordonsinclairfoundation.ca