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Announcement

Meet Eric Wickham, PressProgress’ New Ontario Reporter

Eric Wickham believes “good journalism is a public service”

For Eric Wickham, journalism is all about helping other people.

“Journalism has many roles,” Eric says. “Journalism is a way to hold power accountable, but I also feel like it provides people with context and information necessary to make informed decisions in their lives.”

“Good journalism is a public service. I’d like my work to serve people living in Ontario who are trying to get a better understanding of the place they call home.”

Eric will have an opportunity to serve the people of his province in his new role as PressProgress’ Ontario reporter, covering issues of inequality and affordability in a province that is feeling the social and economic impacts from Doug Ford’s conservative government over the last several years.

In addition to producing PressProgress’ award-winning Sources podcast, Eric has previously worked as a production assistant on CBC Radio’s Cross-Country Check-Up, as a local news reporter for Parry Sound’s 103.3 Moose FM and more recently as a data journalist with a Toronto-focused independent non-profit outlet called The Hoser.

At The Hoser, Eric earned headlines for a data journalism project called the “Hoser Grocery Tracker” that combined his background in web development with public service journalism:

“The Hoser Grocery Tracker is a project I worked on for the past calendar year, where I collected the price of specific food items from over 90 grocery stores in the Toronto area on a weekly basis. It was probably the most ambitious data project I’ve ever been a part of.”

“Originally, I wanted to show how prices on specific food items change over time, and what sort of impact that can have on an individual living in the city. As time went on, I realized that this sort of price data could be utilized by people trying to save money on their grocery bills.”

One thing that makes Eric’s journalism unique is the way it incorporates data and digital technology. After graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University, Eric received a diploma from Humber College’s print and journalism program and then later another diploma in web development.

“I think my background in data journalism and coding will help me tell stories found in datasets that connect to issues impacting people in Ontario,” Eric says. “You can learn so much about an issue from data when it’s paired with expert voices, traditional reporting methods and analysis.

“Data journalism and coding can add another layer to a story, much like photography or video. I think if you can use a tool to help people understand something in a more complete way, as a journalist, you should.”

Eric plans to use that background to shine a light on issues like “housing, healthcare and food security” all while keeping a watchful eye on “what’s happening in Queens Park.”

But most of all, Eric says he is looking forward to “joining an award-winning team with a mandate to cover important stories that affect the people residing in the province I’ve called home my entire life.”

“Honestly, this job is a dream come true.”

 

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We’re an award-winning non-profit news organization that covers topics like social and economic inequality, big business and labour, and right-wing extremism.

Help us build so we can bring to light stories that don’t get the attention they deserve from Canada’s big corporate media outlets.

 

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PressProgress is an award-winning non-profit news organization focused on uncovering and unpacking the news through original investigative and explanatory journalism.

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