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Results: Passionate, Outspoken And Tenacious -- One of Canada's Leading Journalist Dies At Age 68

Published on 02/15/2020
By: Harriet56
2371
Careers/Work
1.
1.
She was a personal hero of mine. Christie Blatchford, a powerful public voice through nearly five decades of journalism, has died after being diagnosed with cancer in November. Blatchford was one of Canada's most prominent writers, having been a leading journalist at each of Toronto's daily newspapers -- The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Sun and most recently, The National Post. She was a trailblazer for women in sports reporting, an award-winning war correspondent, and a columnist renowned for her mix of toughness and tenderness. And everything she did, she did with full-on passion and commitment. Do you know who she is?
She was a personal hero of mine. Christie Blatchford, a powerful public voice through nearly five decades of journalism, has died after being diagnosed with cancer in November. Blatchford was one of Canada's most prominent writers, having been a leading journalist at each of Toronto's daily newspapers -- The Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, The Sun and most recently, The National Post. She was a trailblazer for women in sports reporting, an award-winning war correspondent, and a columnist renowned for her mix of toughness and tenderness. And everything she did, she did with full-on passion and commitment. Do you know who she is?
Yes, and I am from Toronto
8%
199 votes
Yes, and I am not from Toronto
11%
254 votes
No
81%
1918 votes
2.
2.
Active in journalism for almost 50 years, her resume in journalism was the envy of any journalist. Were you familiar with any of her achievements?
Active in journalism for almost 50 years, her resume in journalism was the envy of any journalist. Were you familiar with any of her achievements?
Upon graduating from Ryerson University, she was named the leading journalism graduate of that year
4%
92 votes
While still in school, she began working as a reporter for the Globe and Mail
4%
90 votes
She started at the Globe and Mail full time in 1973, fresh out of journalism school, as Canada's first female sports columnist.
5%
118 votes
She changed the way journalists cover courts. She didn't just report what happened. She started telling more stories about the victims, the dynamics between the prosecutors and the judge. She openly cried during exceptionally moving court cases
6%
140 votes
In 1982, she started writing a humour column for the Toronto Sun, which was moved quickly from the lifestyle page to news section, which was a reflection of how popular and pertinent her column was
4%
92 votes
She was an award-winning war correspondent. On four separate trips, Blatchford spent weeks in the mountains of north Kandahar, Afghanistan, with soldiers who were hunting Taliban groups.
5%
130 votes
Her experiences with the soldiers and their families are detailed in one of her five non-fiction books, Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army, which won the Governor-General's Literary Award in 2008.
3%
76 votes
She was enraged when an important story she was working on wasn't getting the attention it deserved in the newspaper and she engaged with editors on the issue with little restraint.
2%
52 votes
Above all, she was a campaigner for the victims, and never, in all her years as a working journalist, ever stopped being so
4%
84 votes
All of them
3%
72 votes
None
33%
791 votes
Do not know who she is
56%
1335 votes
She was one of the leading journalist when the National Post was launched in 1998
4%
94 votes
Blatchford was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame in 2019, just after her diagnosis
3%
71 votes
3.
3.
As a champion for victims, Blatchford didn't just do her job. It extended to how she led her life. She connected with people in her stories in unconventional ways. In some cases she would hug them and befriend them beyond the confines of journalism.Here are some examples of how she led her life. Did you know about these?
As a champion for victims, Blatchford didn't just do her job. It extended to how she led her life. She connected with people in her stories in unconventional ways. In some cases she would hug them and befriend them beyond the confines of journalism.Here are some examples of how she led her life. Did you know about these?
At one extended trial, a witness became so attached to her he reached out to clasp her hand for support as he nervously walked up the aisle to testify.
4%
92 votes
An adult survivor of childhood molestation phoned her in the middle of the night after his testimony in court against his former teacher at Upper Canada College. He had become a cocaine addict after leaving home when his father didn't believe him, he had said during two days on the stand. On the phone at 1 a.m., he told Blatchford he needed money. How much, she asked. Seventy bucks, he answered. Blatchford told him her address and gave him $70 when he arrived at her doorstep.
7%
172 votes
Although notoriously seen as "tough on crime" in her copy, she also once hired John Struthers, a Toronto lawyer, to defend a man charged with serious arson. "She believed in him," Struthers said. "Christie had a very kind heart." The man was acquitted and Blatchford helped him get back on his feet and find housing.
5%
129 votes
None
31%
738 votes
Did not know who she was
63%
1482 votes
4.
4.
Being as outspoken as she was, Blatchford was naturally, very polarizing. Her willingness to dissect controversial social issues earned her a reputation for uncompromising, and often polarizing, viewpoints, most recently on the #metoo movement, which she described as "it is vicious, it is unforgiving, it is organized and it is relentless". Her articles were frank, and charged with emotion. Her perspective was unswayed by popular opinion and unvarnished. Sometimes you liked it, sometimes you didn't. But the one thing you could not do is ignore it. Do you admire this type of journalism?
Being as outspoken as she was, Blatchford was naturally, very polarizing. Her willingness to dissect controversial social issues earned her a reputation for uncompromising, and often polarizing, viewpoints, most recently on the #metoo movement, which she described as
Yes
50%
1186 votes
No
13%
306 votes
Unsure
37%
879 votes
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