The Global Reporting Centre (GRC) was founded in 2016 as a not-for-profit media organization with the mission of reimagining and recentering global journalism. Based at the University of British Columbia, the GRC challenges how journalism is typically done – “parachuting” into communities, taking stories, and minimizing the contributions of those most affected by the issue. Instead, they partner with local journalists with specialized knowledge, elevate marginalized voices, and investigate stories that may otherwise go untold.
The GRC’s reporting goes beyond the headlines including an investigation into the lack of safe drinking water in Canadian Indigenous communities; the broken global medical supply-chain that put patients and health care workers in harm’s way during the COVID-19 pandemic; and most recently, the health impacts of the plastics industry buildup in Appalachia. As part of UBC’s School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, the centre also focuses on educating the next generation of global journalists. Their educational initiative, the Global Reporting Program, brings together graduate students from around the world to work on year-long investigations. The program runs like a newsroom, partnering with major media organizations so students receive practical, professional experience reporting on issues of local, provincial, national, and global importance.