They stopped bullets

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  • They Stopped Bullets is an online video and radio campaign for New Canadian Media. In an era of divisiveness and disinformation, a strong, diverse, free press is vital to the health of public discourse. But immigrant views are not adequately reflected in Canadian media. As an active advocate for good journalism and a strong free press, New Canadian Media strives to correct this diversity deficit by showcasing immigrant/ethnic journalists. This brings New Canadian perspectives to the forefront and more effectively serves the one-fifth of Canadians who are immigrants. The immigrant journalists of the New Canadian Media Collective provide Canadians with nuanced immigrant perspectives on politics and society that are essential for understanding our diverse world. 

    However, mainstream Canadian grossly under-appreciates (and under-employs) these important voices. It devalues the integrity of these journalists,  their experiences and exposure, in favour of a homogenized voice that represents a Canada already decades in the past. How to fight this bias? Canadian journalism operates in a bubble of privilege. Canada is #18 on the 2019 World Press Freedom Index. In contrast, Hong Kong is ranked 77, Philippines 134, India 140, Pakistan 142 and China 177; these are risky places to be a journalist. Mainstream Canadian media isn’t fully aware of the dangers immigrant journalists faced in their countries of origin. Our strategy: celebrate the high calibre of the New Canadian Media Collective by focusing on the grit and bravery of its member journalists. 

    We use the humble reporter’s typewriter to emphasize the courage it takes to face down dictators and authoritarian anti-free-press regimes. We shine a bright light on the integrity of these journalists and their commitment to the truth, even at great risk to themselves. In so doing, we emphasize the quality and diversity of the immigrant journalism found in the Collective and invite others to recognize and support it.

  • Summits: Best of Show (radio), 2 Golds for TV/video and 3 Top Agency Awards.
    Marketing 2020: 1 Silver, 1 Merit