The Canadian Race Relations Foundation and The Walrus are pleased to partner on the launch of the inaugural CRRF Fellowship for Emerging Indigenous, Black, and Racialized Journalists at The Walrus. Colby Payne was selected as the top candidate among applicants from across Canada. With the generous support of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Colby will fact-check print and online stories, attend editorial planning sessions, and shadow-edit articles that The Walrus publishes.
The one-year program provides an emerging media professional from a diverse and equity-deserving background with the opportunity to gain on-the-job experience at a national media outlet by working with, and receiving mentorship from, The Walrus editorial team.
“I am beyond excited and honoured to have been selected for the CRRF’s first fellowship! I look forward to honing my fact-checking and editorial skills, learning from the incredible team at The Walrus, and contributing to journalism focusing on the issues and communities that are important to me.”—Colby Payne, CRRF Editorial Fellow, The Walrus.
As part of the fellowship, Colby will have access to seminars led by the editors and staff of The Walrus, including in-depth training in fact checking and sessions on topics ranging from copy editing and long-form editing to circulation and nonprofit management. In addition to gaining from journalistic training, the editorial fellow has the opportunity to participate in other aspects of the organization, such as working with the events and digital teams.
“These fellowships are a win-win. When audiences see themselves, their concerns, and their experiences reflected in the media, they are more likely to engage with the information they receive. This is how we build trust and bridge the gap between journalists, the media, and communities. At the same time, a more diverse cadre of trained journalists is a gift to Canada’s newsrooms, helping them provide more accurate and nuanced perspectives from communities across the country.”—Mohammed Hashim, Executive Director, CRRF.
The Walrus thanks the Canadian Race Relations Foundation for its support of emerging journalists. Colby joins seven others in The Walrus Fellowship program. The fellowships are an essential part of The Walrus’s equity and inclusion work, ensuring Canada’s conversation and newsrooms represent a diversity of perspectives.
Colby Payne is a writer and editor based in Vancouver. She recently graduated from the University of British Columbia, where she was a senior staff writer for the Ubyssey’s culture section and co-editor-in-chief of The Garden Statuary undergraduate literary journal. She has previously worked in education and communications and as a research assistant on the 2022 Broadview Press edition of A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison.
Social Media:
Facebook: /thewalrus
Twitter: @thewalrus
Instagram: @thewalrus
LinkedIn: /the-walrus
TikTok: @thewalrusca
For more information, contact:
Monita Mohan, Marketing Manager, The Walrus at monita@thewalrus.ca
About The Walrus
The Walrus provokes new thinking and sparks conversation on matters vital to Canadians. As a registered charity, we publish independent, fact-based journalism in The Walrus and at thewalrus.ca; we produce national, ideas-focused events, including our flagship series The Walrus Talks; and we train emerging professionals in publishing and nonprofit management. The Walrus is invested in the idea that a healthy society relies on informed citizens.
About the Canadian Race Relations Foundation
The Canadian Race Relations Foundation is a Crown Corporation committed to fighting racism in Canada. We work to strengthen the social fabric of our society by supporting, enabling and convening community groups and organizations through our grants, services and network of public, research and community partners.
