Why Was Chloe Brown Neglected by Canadian Media?
Let's Unpack That -
(For those who live outside of Toronto, remember if this is happening in Canada‘s most diverse city — what’s happening in yours? )
Wait, What's Happening?
On Monday, Olivia Chow beat out 101 other people for Mayor of Canada's largest and most diverse city, Toronto – but that's not what we want to talk about right now.
We want to talk about the person who came in seventh in this election and third when she ran against John Tory in 2022: Chloe Brown.
We want to talk about how, despite doubling the number of votes that Brad Bradford got and coming close to Mitzie Hunter's total votes, Chloe Brown did not receive a fraction of the media coverage that anyone else in the top 8 received.
Who is Chloe Brown?
"The 33-year-old Policy Analyst plans to leverage the knowledge of the people who work on the frontlines of city life to inform city policy.
She wants to empower communities by including them in the decision-making process because she recognizes that a stronger Toronto can only be realized through collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity". - Via Rabble.ca
“It’s Such A Deeply Unserious Issue” - a leader after our own heart!
Too often, politicians cater to the people they think will cast a vote (people with more privilege) - rather than speaking to what the cities needs to do to support our most vulnerable.
Chloe literally speaks to precisely what so many people in the city - particularly younger people - felt when this exhaustive bike lane debate occurred amid Toronto's cost of living crisis.
AKA she did not cater to privilege - she spoke the truth of the people.
Chloe Brown doubled the number of votes that Brad Bradford received — despite getting a fraction of his media coverage.
Which makes us wonder:
If Chloe could come in 7th without fair and equitable coverage in corporate legacy media - how well would she have done with the same coverage as a mediocre white man?
So why was Chloe Brown neglected by Canadian Media?
In our opinion, it was a combination of these factors being experienced consistently by Chloe Brown.
1) Ageism: Chloe is a young woman; she isn't a seasoned politician. People talk a lot about the ageism seniors and older generations experience - and this is completely true - but younger generations face a lot of ageism too.
(2) Anti-Black Racism: This isn't just racism - it's anti-Black racism that runs rampant in our country, stemming from our colonial origins and white supremacy as a system of oppression, both of which continue to this day
(3) Classism: Chloe isn't wealthy and well-resourced like other candidates.
(4) Sexism: Brad Bradford is only a couple of years older than Chloe. Misogyny runs rampant in politics.
(5) White Supremacy Culture: White Supremacy Culture is normalized in our society but doesn't mean it's morally right. There are several characteristics that are normalized around us - like the right to comfort, professionalism, and paternalism - which uphold gatekeeping, Hierarchical Structures, Creditialism, Policing of Behaviour and the Status Quo.
Major Canadian Media Centers Whiteness Despite Canada’s “Multicultural” Identity
This whole situation with Chloe speaks to how the vast majority of media outlets in Canada - especially corporate (with $$$) media - have a conscious or unconscious bias embedded into their organizations that causes them to be systemically ageist, sexist, racist, anti-Black, classist and uphold white supremacy culture. (Etc.)
To be clear - this doesn't mean every journalist working in Canada is these things. We have a deep respect for the majority of journalists/producers/etc. - particularly those from QTBIPOC and other marginalized communities.
Our issue is with the parent companies of the media organizations and senior decision-makers who likely have never set foot in a newsroom before and don't need access to publicly funded services like the TTC because they're paid BIG money.
Being an edu-media account calling news-media bias is uncomfortable AF, but necessary
On Canada Project, saying corporate news media is a space that upholds white supremacy culture while trying to scale our educational media organization and social impact consulting work is risky - because there is a chance those in positions of power in these spaces will be offended by this post and deem us "too political" "too opinionated" "too direct" (actual things we've been called by organizations and people with influence, power and resources across Canada 🫠).
But we genuinely aren't trying to offend you; we're trying to invite you to know better and do better by reflecting on this mayoral race in Toronto.
Please sit with the fact that failing to cover Chloe Brown, might have cost us Toronto's first truly working-class mayor (she's a fellow renter!!!).
And push past the urge to say, "This was an anomaly" because it's not; it is a symptom of a chronic and terminal issue in our systems— one we must address to protect our media landscape and our country from the rise of fascism.
Reflections and an Opportunity for Growth
There are many organizations, including our consulting arm, that can help you bring an anti-oppressive critical lens to your essential work in journalism. And a gentle reminder that this isn't about assigning blame - it is about knowing better and doing better.
Because — if we're being real — it's clear that whatever tokenistic, corporate-mandated DEI training that was done after the public murder of George Floyd wasn't sufficient.
Canada is in desperate need of media landscapes that are more accurate, inclusive and reflective of proletariat realities and experiences of marginalized communities.
On Canada Project's Starting Point Reflection Q's for CDN Media:
Reflect on what made you deem Chloe not worthy of a seat at the table
Consider what leaders were okay with excluding her.
What "qualifying" metrics did she fail in your eyes (but clearly not in the eyes of the people in Toronto)?
What "rules," "practices," and "procedures" need to be reviewed since they failed you here?
What could individual journalists, producers, hosts, managers, etc. have done to push your orgs ‘status quo” (and is it safe to speak up)?
From Samanta Krishnapillai, On Canada Project Founder:
I reflect a lot on Donald Trump's Republican Primary Race - when 101 people were running for the Republican nomination and how Trump's antics got a lot of coverage because it brought in the ratings (and $$$) for media.
But this inequitable coverage of Trump-for-ratings played a big part in getting his hate messaging out there, securing him the nomination and the presidency - that ended with an insurrection he fueled.
Since then, I've thought about Canada's media landscape, which is same same but different.
What role does the news media play in mitigating anti-human rights discourse?
Bc, this "neutral" (read: upholding of whiteness) reporting of QTBIPOC is perpetuating "good people on both sides" bullshit when one side is prone to violence and the other just wants fundamental human rights in a system designed to neglect them - isn’t it.
"Omg On Canada Project is so Ontario-centric"
"We promise you; we want to be able to bring our uniquely conversational, compassionate, cheeky, no-nonsense energy to our human rights and anti-oppression perspective across Canada.
The problem? We're only three years into On Canada Project; we are completely bootstrapping (which, as women of colour, is very different from what you're taught in class). So please, help us help you– while keeping On Canada Project paywall-free.
Go to OnCanadaProject.ca/Together to support our work - be it personal financial contributions (Buy Us A Coffee), hiring our social impact consulting arm or advising us on fundraising, scaling and telling our story."
- Samanta Krishnapillai, On Canada Project Founder
