Kathy Dobson

Biography

A journalist with over twenty years of experience, Kathy Dobson has written for every national newspaper and magazine in Canada. She also worked for the CBC, producing news stories and documentaries for Radio One.

Kathy’s research interests include the datafication of social assistance programs, media framing of marginalized communities, and the political economy of news. Her dissertation (which was awarded a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship, and Ontario Graduate Scholarship) examined how welfare fraud detection programs are used to support misleading narratives about ‘welfare cheats.’ Kathy is a researcher and member of the ALiGN Media Lab, created by Dr. Merlyna Lim, which includes working with marginalized communities and groups engaged with challenging dominant narratives.

Her first book, With A Closed Fist: Growing up in Canada’s toughest neighborhood (Véhicule Press, 2011), has received numerous awards, including the National Post Readers Choice Award and Literary Press Group of Canada Staff Pick for 2012 Award. Her second book, Punching and Kicking: Leaving Canada’s Toughest Neighbourhood, was published in 2018. Kathy is a founding member and serves on the board of directors of the LGBTQ Rainbow Umbrella in Montréal.