Two Young-ish Writers

Martin Bauman is a Victoria-based journalist who has written for the Globe and Mail, Calgary Herald, the Canadian Premier League’s official website, among many other places. As host of the “Story Untold” podcast, which features in-depth conversation with artists, athletes, and adventurers from across the world, his multimedia work extends well past the world of writing. He is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and Fanshawe College. In 2020, he also graduated from the University of Victoria with a Master’s of Fine Arts degree.In this episode, we discuss his 2016 bike ride across Canada in support of mental health, travel writing, interviewing and the interviewing process among much more. You can follow Martin on Twitter at @martin_bauman

Spencer Colby is the photo editor at Carleton University’s independent student newspaper, The Charlatan, and at The Pigeon. Based in Ottawa, his work specializes in news, sports, and events—specifically, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, his past projects include chronicling lockdown measures in both Ottawa and the Netherlands. Last month, Spencer was awarded as 2021 Student Photojournalist of the Year by Canadian University Press.In this episode, we discuss how Spencer got into photography, the challenges and misconceptions of the medium, and the mentorship he has received at Room Up Front—a Canadian photojournalist mentorship program for Black, Indigenous, and Peoples of Colour. We also chat about his work covering lockdown measures due to COVID in Canada and the Netherlands, and the differences in covering a news event rather than a sports game from a photo perspective. You can follow Spencer on Twitter (@Spencesphotos) or Instagram (@spencesphotography).

Bailey Martens is a Features Editor at The Ubyssey, the University of British Columbia’s student newspaper. Previously, she’s worked at the Huffington Post, and written for outlets including the National Post, the CBC, and Canadaland. She is also one of three nominees for “Student Journalist of the Year” at the John H. McDonald Awards at the annual country-wide NASH student journalism conference on February 21st. In this episode, we discuss her reaction to being nominated as student journalist of the year after working in student print for years, misconceptions about student journalists, the importance of Twitter for young writers, and her work reporting on vulnerable communities and sharing her own story as someone living with a chronic illness. You can follow Bailey on Twitter at @Miss_BaileyMae

Anderson Haigler is an award-winning journalist and 2020 graduate of the University of San Diego. He’s written for the San Diego Union-Tribune, and spent three years at his student paper, The USD Vista, where his sports and news reporting was recognized for awards four times by the California College Media Association and San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. Currently, he’s a Communications Assistant at USD Athletics where he covers a variety of college sports for the University of San Diego. In this episode, Anderson breaks down what its like graduating and freelancing during a pandemic, and having first first freelance piece, "Senior Moments Denied," get published at the beginning of COVID-19 in a newspaper he grew up reading as a child. We also discuss how serving as an arts and culture editor at his student paper helped him become a better all-around journalist, the differences between Communications/PR writing vs. Journalism, and his hometown San Diego Padres baseball club. You can follow Anderson on Twitter at @ahaigler5

Samantha McCabe is a Vancouver-based freelance writer who has written for a variety of outlets, including the Globe and Mail, the Walrus, and the Tyee. A 2019 graduate of the University of British Columbia, and alum of the Ubyssey, she won Student Journalist of the Year at the 2019 National Student Journalism Conference. Outside of university, she’s also worked as a reporter for the Southeast Asia Globe in Cambodia, and at the Globe and Mail—where, in the run up to the 2019 federal election, she pitched and developed the idea for the Globe’s election newsletter. In this interview, Sam and I discuss her work reporting on sexualized violence, how a three-part investigative series came to be in 2018 examining UBC's sexual assault policy, and many of her other articles in her young (but incredibly brilliant!) journalism career. You can follow Samantha on Twitter at @sam_mccabage

Candace Buckner is a reporter focusing on the intersection of race, gender, and diversity issues within the world of sports at the Washington Post. A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Candace has covered everything from high school sports to the Indiana Pacers for the Indy Star and Portland Trail Blazers for the Vancouver Columbian over her 20 plus years as a journalist.In this episode, Candace and I discuss the intersection of race in sports, and how her new position as a reporter on the issues of diversity within the world of sports came to be this summer. She mentions the differences of this role from her previous job as Washington Wizards beat reporter, along with how she got into the print journalism industry. You can follow Candace on Twitter at @CandaceDBuckner

Gabrielle Drolet is a graduate of Western University in London, Ontario, and freelance writer based in Nova Scotia. She’s written for the New York Times, Toronto Star, and The Walrus among many other publications. She’s also created illustrations for The New Yorker and the CBC, and writes various other comics on her Twitter account. Currently, she’s a graduate student studying creative writing at the University of Guelph. In this episode, Gabi and I talk about a recent piece she wrote for The Walrus, "The Mental Health Toll of a Pandemic Winter", and her reporting for The New York Times . Gabi shares the pitching and writing process for those pieces, and we dive into her reporting style—specifically when discussing vulnerable topics—with subjects. We also discuss what it's like to freelance at large, the challenges, working other jobs, and she shares her own freelance tips and tricks. Gabi also talks about her illustrations, how it's always been a hobby of hers, and the difference between pitching illustrations and writing pieces for media outlets. Finally, we end with a discussion on Twitter, and it's relevance for young writers. You can follow Gabi on Twitter @gabrielledrolet

Jesse Dougherty is the Washington Nationals beat reporter for the Washington Post. He graduated from Syracuse University in 2016, and joined the Post in February of 2017 after he briefly covered the NHL for the Los Angeles Times. He hopped on the Nats beat in 2018, and became the lead writer for Nationals coverage in 2019—the year the Nationals won their first World Series title. Jesse is also the author of Buzz Saw, the story of how the 2019 Washington Nationals won the World Series. In this episode, Jesse and I talk about navigating that post-university graduation period and finding a full-time job. Diversity in journalism, sports journalism in particular, and the internship process. We also discuss how he landed at the Washington Post, and what it's like writing about a team year round—162 regular season games, the off-season, and Spring Training. Jesse dives into searching for untold stories, and finding a new angle on a team that plays for seven to eight months throughout the year. We end on discussing nerves in the press box about writing a game recap, Jesse's advice on looking at a blank screen as an opportunity rather than a burden, the process he took writing his book and how it differed from his regular reporting, and some coverage he did on COVID-19 as sports were on pause earlier in the spring.

Emily Fagan is a 2020 graduate from the Writing department at the University of Victoria, and was Editor-in-Chief of The Martlet, UVic’s independent student newspaper, from 2019 to 2020. She led a team of student-journalists that won two national journalism awards last year, and oversaw the editorial production of the bi-weekly newspaper that reported on news on campus and the surrounding Victoria area. Currently, she’s a freelance reporter based in Victoria, and has written various articles for large publications such as VICE, the CBC, and The Tyee.In this episode, we talk about Emily's recent freelancing, and specifically a story she wrote for The Tyee about a community group building showers for the unhoused in Victoria. Emily discusses how that story came to be, what it was like taking her own pictures for it, why she decided to pitch it to The Tyee, along with her passion to write about social issues. We also dive into Emily's work at The Martlet, a place where she and I started writing together at in 2016, and reminisce about stories when we started there, the challenges and lessons learned of being the Editor-in-Chief, and winning two national student journalism awards last year. Finally, we talk about what inspired Emily to pursue a writing career, a couple favourite pieces she's written so far, and some other young writers she looks up to.You can follow Emily on Twitter @thatemfagan

Elizabeth Moore is a student-journalist at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and is currently an Investigative reporter and Senior Writer on the City & State Desk for The Daily Tar Heel, UNC’s student newspaper. In August, through filing a public records request and reading a bunch of emails, she uncovered faculty dissent and warning signs sent to UNC administration from medical experts about the likelihood of COVID-19 outbreaks at the university prior to them moving instruction online for the fall. In this episode, we discuss how that story came to be, what it was like to read thousands of emails, organizing that information into a multi-article series, and her reaction from the New York Times sharing it. We also talk about her work outside the Daily Tar Heel, such as how she landed an internship at The Eastern Beacon by cold-calling their editor. Finally, Moore shares how she first fell in love with writing, and why attending a summer camp when she was younger helped her discover a passion for non-fiction writing. You can follow Elizabeth on Twitter at @elizltmoore

Safiya Hopfe is a Creative Writing student in the University of Victoria’s Fine Arts department. She’s been a Work Study Student at the prestigious Malahat Review literary journal, and written for Exclaim! — a monthly Canadian music magazine. Her latest essay, “A Mind I Trust”, is going to be published in Room Magazine's upcoming Neurodivergence issue. In this episode, Saf highlights how "A Mind I Trust" grew from being a workshop assignment at UVic—initially called "My Room"—to a final piece in Room this year. She also discusses what inspired her to pursue a writing career, her experience battling concussions and how that impacts her creative process. What it's like to be published in the Vancouver Sun in Grade 6, and her interest in music journalism.

Jeff Pearlman is the New York Times bestselling author of nine books, he's also written for Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His latest book, Three Ring Circus: Kobe, Shaq, Phil, and the Crazy Years of the Lakers dynasty, is going to be released on Sep. 22. In this interview, Jeff talks about the inspiration behind writing this book, his writing style adapting and changing as he's gotten older, how he chronicled the 1996-2004 Lakers teams without speaking to Kobe Bryant, and having that same burning passion and excitement for this Three Ring Circus coming out as he did when his first book was published. You can follow Jeff on Twitter @jeffpearlman and order his book on Amazon or wherever books are being sold.

Tyler Lowey is the University of Victoria Vikes Sports and Information Director, where he manages the Vikes athletics social media accounts, and produces content for the various Vikes varsity teams. He's also been a sports editor at the Strathmore Times, interned at Global News, and worked as an associate producer at CBC radio. Currently, he's also the co-host of Give and Go Vikes — a podcast dedicated to giving insight the lives of UVic student-athletes. In this episode, we discuss how working multiple jobs helped Lowey gain the experience needed to land the UVic SID job, the pressure of covering four national championships in his first year on the beat, and some of his favourite memories so far at UVic. We also discuss his baseball career at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., and how his hard work and determination from sports translated into journalism. You can follow Tyler on Twitter @tlowey9Listen to Give and Go Vikes on Apple Podcasts, or where you get your pods!

Noah Wolf is a broadcasting student from Ohio University. He's entering his final semester this fall, and specializes in broadcasting. He's called games for Ohio's basketball, soccer, and field hockey teams, and was a broadcaster for the West Coast League's Bend Elks in 2018 and spend 2019 as the Voice of the Elks. In this episode, we discuss a recent Medium article Wolf wrote detailing his decision to stay at home this fall while he course moved online, how he decided to become a broadcaster, his memorable calls (and one he'd like back), the importance of chemistry in a booth, along with his future goals.

Leah Vann is a journalist from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in biology, but ultimately opted to pursue a career in writing instead of medicine. She's got her official start in the journalism industry by working for her campus newspaper, The Daily Texan. She's also worked as a sports editor at the Steamboat Pilot & Today in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and sports reporter at the Globe Gazette in Mason City, Iowa. In this episode, we discuss how Leah's always been passionate about sports, about how she had her story woven prominently through a Sports Illustrated feature on a running back from her high school, Johnathan Gray, and the backstory to her first nationally published piece for NBC News last weekend.

Andrew Favakeh is a journalist from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. He's a reporter for Butler's university newspaper, the Butler Collegian, and covers Butler's men's basketball team for the IndyStar. Favakeh's work has appeared in SB Nation's Liberty Ballers and FanSided's the StepBack. Earlier this month, Favakeh published a profile for FanSided about former number two overall NBA draft pick Derrick Williams — where he chronicles his trials, tribulations, and how Williams reinvented himself in basketball in Europe. In this conversation, we discuss the inspiration behind the Williams profile, his writing style, and why he decided to pursue a career in journalism after not knowing what he wanted to do coming into university.

In this introduction, host Josh Kozelj discusses his reasoning for starting this podcast, the highs and lows of writing, and how he hopes to learn more from other "young-ish" writers about why they decided to pursue a career in this crazy profession.