Under the White Gaze

Blending research with a reporter’s journey through the industry, Under the White Gaze takes a pointed look at how people of colour are routinely missing, marginalized, or misrepresented in Canadian journalism, and explores what can be done to make our media more inclusive.

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Canada’s multiculturalism stops where most newsrooms begin. Despite recent efforts to increase diversity, stories about people of colour are often presented as clichés – from model minorities to keepers of exotic cultures – rather than individuals with complex stories.

For aspiring and seasoned journalists alike, and the schools shaping them, Under the White Gaze is a candid investigation into the state of race in Canadian media today. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about media representation, including all aspiring and practicing journalists.

Journalist Christopher Cheung wants newsrooms to stop treating racial and cultural coverage like a missing ingredient, to go beyond hiring racialized reporters to cover the “diversity beat,” and to instead change how all journalists tell stories.

Under the White Gaze shows, in the Canadian context, why reporting on race is necessary, how the language is evolving, and why intersectionality increasingly matters in these stories. This book will change the way people think about the stories we create, read, watch, and listen to about Canadian society.