Career Options
Levelling the playing field"I used to joke that when I started in the business, I was my own role model," says Toronto journalist Hamlin Grange. |
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 [ 2002-04-24 ] |
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That was more than 25 years ago, when Grange was first cutting his teeth in the industry, and when, as he puts it, "all of this city's black journalists could fit around one restaurant table."
The profession has evolved significantly since then; the news and views today are brought to us by people from a wider range of backgrounds.
But, according to Grange, the fight for cultural diversity within the mainstream media is far from over.
"The field has become a little less choppy," he says. "But I like to see them as opportunities as opposed to obstacles, and to determine how I can use those opportunities to my advantage."
It was this passion to initiate change in the profession that has been the driving force behind a dynamic career path that has seen him take on several roles: print reporter, newspaper editor, television broadcaster, teacher and, above all, advocate for Canadian black journalists.
The journalism bug hit quite by accident, when the Jamaican-born, Toronto-raised Grange was preparing to write his law exams at the University of Colorado.
He received an unexpected call from someone at the local Rocky Mountain News inquiring whether he'd be interested in working part time on the overnight crime desk.
"There was a professor of mine who worked as an editor part time, and he liked me and spread the word, and before I knew it a phone call was made," Grange says. "It was my opportunity to do something I'd never done before."
A law career quickly faded into the background as Grange enjoyed being able to inject his own sense of social justice within this new capacity.
"There's a sense in both cases that you're looking out for the little guy," he explains. "I think we (journalists) all have the superhero syndrome: we're normally mild mannered, and then suddenly we become reporter, and become this champion, and there's a transformation that takes place."
Grange quickly poured his energy into his newfound passion. After completing a bachelor of science in journalism from the University of Colorado, he returned to Toronto where, from 1978 to '79, he worked as the managing editor of Contrast, a weekly paper that served Toronto's black community.
He went on to become a general assignment reporter at the Toronto Star, and hit a career milestone while covering the notorious Jamaican national election of 1981, in which 800 people were killed in election-related violence.
By the mid '80s, Grange was seeking a way to take his career to the next level.
Despite a self-confessed shy streak, he sought out opportunities in television reporting, and in 1983 became a news reporter for Global Television.
Four years later he joined CBC Television in Ottawa, moving through the ranks from assignment editor to municipal affairs reporter, eventually becoming host of two current affairs programs: Work Week in 1993, which examined labour issues, and later, More To The Story, which focused on a particular news story in depth.
Indeed, for Grange, there is always more to the story than just the facts. He says taking a hands-on approach is critical to good journalism.
"I believe as journalists we shouldn't simply be observers -- sometimes we have to get in there and get our hands dirty, and truly understand the people we do stories about," he says.
That, according to Grange, means constantly keeping your finger on the pulse of the community you work in.
"I've known too many colleagues who've disconnected from the community.
Their belief is that their job is to shave, get into the car, drive to the office, and report on the news of the day," he says. "When they go out and report on the latest shooting, or abused wife, or abused kid, they're look in a clipping file as opposed to making contacts."
In addition to that, he says, being innovative and persistent will also take you a long way.
"I always say work hard, and work smart -- there's no substitute for that," he says. "You have to come to the table with good story ideas every day, that are fresh, interesting and break ground. You have to work harder than the next person."
Clearly Grange practises what he preaches, and he has worked very hard to elevate the status of black journalists, and the black community in general.
In 1982, he co-founded the Harry Jerome Awards, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of blacks in Canada. And in 1996, he helped to establish, and became vice-president of, the Canadian Association of Black Journalists, of which he is currently president.
He has also found time to teach journalism part time at Ryerson University, to guest lecture at schools and organizations about race relations and the media, and to do volunteer work.
His work has garnered him numerous awards, including a Gemini, a B'Nai Brith Human Rights Award for Journalism, and the African Canadian Achievement Award.
Two years ago, Grange stepped it up yet another notch and established ProMedia International, a not-for-profit company that produces documentaries, develops TV programs and consults media organizations about cultural diversity.
May 16 and 17, the company will host Innoversity, an event that will see 750 international media workers come under one roof to discuss cultural diversity in the industry.
While there are still steps to be taken in Canadian journalism, Hamlin Grange himself has come a long way, from a journalism graduate looking for a role model to an accomplished, award-winning journalist who now mentors others.
"I have a passion for communication in all its forms," he says. "For me, communication is getting information out to people, understanding where they are coming from, and giving them an opportunity to explain themselves."
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