By Jena Lynde-Smith
Washroom access should not be a privilege — it’s a human right.
This is the view that just won Olivia Robinson, recent master of journalism graduate, the Fraser MacDougall Award for Best New Canadian Voice in Human Rights Reporting.
Robinson wrote her piece, Raising a stink about public washrooms in Ottawa: Why you should care about toilet privilege, for Capital Current 2018, the flagship online publication of Carleton University’s journalism program.
“In this country’s capital, I’m still dismayed by the number of people who are unable to attend to their basic sanitary needs because public washroom access is so scarce,” said Robinson. “Washroom access should not be a privilege — it’s a human right.”
The MacDougall is an annual prize granted by the National NewsMedia Council in partnership with Journalists for Human Rights. It recognizes an exceptional piece of human rights-focused journalism published in campus-based media. Robinson is the first Carleton student to have won the award and will accept it on Nov. 25 at the Journalists for Human Rights Gala, Night for Rights.
“I’m quite honoured that my story was selected for this year’s Fraser MacDougall Award for Best New Canadian Voice in Human Rights Reporting,” said Robinson. “I’m so grateful to Capital Current and Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication for their guidance throughout the entire editorial process.”
Robinson is no stranger to awards. In 2017, she won first prize in Historica Canada’s Votes for Women writing contest (young adult category). In 2019, she was named rabble.ca’s Jack Layton Journalism for Change Fellow. The fellowship had her master’s research project published in the form of a series – The Future of the Public Library.
Keeping up her track record, Robinson was one of the winners of the 2019 Joan Donaldson Scholarship. The Donaldson is one of the most prestigious student prizes in Canadian journalism with only eight awarded annually. It provided her with the opportunity for an intensive four-month internship at the CBC in Ottawa. She has since been kept on as an associate producer (casual) of the morning radio show.
Robinson attributes much of her success to her time at J-School.
“I wouldn’t be where I am without it,” she said. “I wouldn’t have had access to the opportunities that I have had, the support from the professors… the stories I have written. Whether that’s the toilet privilege piece or writing my master’s research project and having that posted for my fellowship, it all stems from journalism school at Carleton.”
In the future, Robinson said she hopes to keep combining her passions and training to produce various forms of journalism.
“I love print and web writing, but I also really like human-interest stories. Like if someone has a personal interesting story to tell, doing that in a unique way.”
Robinson will be giving back to Carleton by making an appearance as a featured alumna at the Faculty of Public Affairs upcoming event LinkTank: A Networking Night. The event is on Nov. 12 and is geared towards graduate students looking to meet alumni and learn more about their potential career paths. Sign up here.
You can also connect with her on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Monday, October 28, 2019 in General, Journalism News
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