Episode description

Andrew Wilkinson and former media editor-in-chief Farhan Mohamed founded Overstoy Media Group (OMG) on the promise of revitalizing local news. But after the firing of four star journalists on January 30th, Mohamed admits the company was losing money on hard journalism - and that moving to a ”community” focus would save them.

Current and former staff have expressed concern at the direction of the company - and some allege that OMG executives tried to interfere in editorial content. They paint a picture of a workplace where failed expectations of growth often lead to layoffs.

Cherise Seucharan and Jonathan Goldsbie examine the fallout at OMG, and what it means for journalism, hopeful tech millionaires, and the state of democracy overall.    

Credits: Cherise Seucharan, Jonathan Goldsbie, Tristan Capacchione, Annette Ejiofor

Further reading:

• A Bold Experiment in Local Journalism Hits the Rocks, The Tyee, Feb. 3, 2023
• Capital Daily staff refused to promote the boss’ company. Then they got fired, Ricochet, Feb. 10, 2023
• Fifty new outlets, 250 journalists: Canadian startup unveils plan to revive local news, The Guardian, May 3, 2021

Sponsors: Rotman Executive Programs, HelloFresh

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.  

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.