The award-winning journalist and staff reporter at The Tyee Christopher Cheung discusses his new book Under the White Gaze: Solving the Problem of Race and Representation in Canadian Journalism (Purich Books, 2024), with Joseph Planta.

Under the White Gaze: Solving the Problem of Race and Representation in Canadian Journalism by Christopher Cheung (Purich Press, 2024). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Under the White Gaze

Text of the introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, British Columbia, at TheCommentary.ca.

One of the best books of the year is the new book from Christopher Cheung: Under the White Gaze: Solving the Problem of Race and Representation in Canadian Journalism. A lot of us would like to think that the newsrooms in Canada are reflective of the country’s multiculturalism, or at the very least hip to representing the country’s population in the news that the media covers. Mr. Cheung, who joins me now, points out that a lot of the journalism in this country seems to present people of colour as clichés, and rarely as complex individuals. There’s the painting with broad brushes as to what communities there are in this country, what they look like, what they eat, what they celebrate, and what concerns them. Chris dismantles a lot of that thinking, and provides great examples of recent, as well as some local stories that perhaps missed the mark. There are some stories he cites that I thought were reflective of a group or community, but got me thinking about how they weren’t necessarily accurate, and how some might have been done better. Chris is not immune from his critical and probing eye. He looks at stories he’s framed in the past and looked back at how different they might be with the skills he also shares in the book. One will find ways in which we, who consume the media, might read, watch and listen to the journalism around us better, and even critically. The idea that intersectionality is critical to combatting stereotypes is one of the important aspects of the book. And whether you’re an aspiring or seasoned journalist, you’ll want to read this book for perhaps a new perspective. I’ll also ask Chris about how he’s handled criticism he’s received for his work, some of it not so constructive, even nasty. Christopher Cheung is a staff reporter at The Tyee, who previously wrote for Metro and the Vancouver Courier. He is highly acclaimed for his reporting on urban culture, inequality, and life in Metro Vancouver’s diasporas. He’s received two Jack Webster Awards, and holds as Master of Journalism from the University of British Columbia. This new book is published by Purich Books, which is an imprint of UBC Press. We spoke last week. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Chris Cheung; Mr. Cheung, good morning.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (24.9MB)

Subscribe: RSS