Tamanna Khan
Master of Journalism student Tamanna Khan has been awarded the second annual Future of Journalism (FJI) Emerging Reporter Fund on Resettlement in Canada. Khan will use the fund to report on how first-generation immigrants cope with growing old in a country starkly different from where they came from.
The $5,000 reporting fund was made possible thanks to a generous gift from a journalism alumnus. Administered by the FJI, the Emerging Reporter Fund is available to an upper year or graduating journalism student looking to focus on an area of interest to new Canadians and/or refugees and immigrants to Canada.
Khan, a former reporter and sub-editor with The Daily Star in Dhaka, Bangladesh came to Canada in 2016 and is now in the second year of Carleton’s MJ program. Khan’s objective is to produce stories of first-generation immigrants and the challenges they face in integrating within the Canadian multicultural fabric while retaining their birth-country culture.
“As a Bangladeshi immigrant, who came here almost at the onset of 40, I faced the realities of trying to create a life in a new country,” Khan said. “Settlement is not just about finding a job, a home, a school, and a general physician. I believe that a person needs more than that to adapt to a new place.”
In her application to the fund, Khan outlined the importance of adding more news from immigrant communities to the mainstream Canadian news agenda.
“One of the reasons I want to work as a journalist in Canada is to bring out stories of smaller communities, write about issues that never make the headlines, and often remain within the pages of the community newspapers,” she said.
Meral Jamal
Khan is the second recipient of the Emerging Reporter Fund on Resettlement in Canada. Meral Jamal, who graduated from Carleton’s Bachelor of Journalism program last year, was the inaugural recipient of the fund in 2021. Jamal used the funding to produce multiple stories in Canada’s north, including a story about refugee resettlement issues and international student enrollment in Yukon.
“This award gave me the space to write stories that reflect and share the experiences of refugees, immigrants and newcomers, but specifically those living in Canada’s North,” Jamal said. “It’s been important because the North is more diverse than we think, with this diversity reflected even outside of the Indigenous communities, culture and history the region is known for.”
Both Khan and Jamal expressed gratitude for having their journalism supported via the Emerging Reporter Fund.
“International students like myself aren’t always able to access equal opportunities and support,” Jamal said. “It has been nice to receive support for more intentional, long-form journalism. As a young journalist, the whole process of pitching and writing a long-form piece can be nerve-wracking, so it’s nice to have both the financial support and mentorship for this kind of work.”
The Emerging Reporter Fund on Resettlement in Canada was created and funded by Robin Pascoe, who graduated from the journalism program in the mid-1970s.
“I want to help create a body of journalism written by students who have chosen to live in Canada,” Pascoe said.
Pascoe, a former journalist, worked with the CBC before leaving Canada as a diplomatic spouse. Along with her husband and family, Pascoe helped build Maple Bear Global Schools, a multinational education company of private Canadian bilingual schools now operating in over 30 countries.
Read more about Pascoe and the FJI Emerging Reporter Fund on Resettlement in Canada.
Monday, May 9, 2022 in General, Journalism News
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