Founder and Co-director
April Lindgren is a professor emerita/adjunct professor at Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism. She founded the Local News Research Project in 2008 and remains a co-director. Prof. Lindgren spearheaded the creation of the crowd-sourced Local News Map, an ongoing project that tracks the launch – and loss – of local news organizations in Canada. Currently, she is working with Professor Colette Brin at Université Laval and Concordia University’s Magda Konieczna on building a public directory that will list local news outlets in municipalities across the country.
Co-director
Dr. Nicole Blanchett is an associate professor in Toronto Metropolitan University’s School of Journalism and co-director of the Local News Research Project. Her research focuses on journalistic role performance, the use of audience data in newsrooms, and the changing boundaries and definitions of journalism, as seen in papers published in Journalism Practice and Digital Journalism. She previously worked as a news producer and writer at Citytv in Toronto.
Co-director
Angela Misri is an assistant professor in TMU’s School of Journalism and a co-director of the Local News Research Project. She was named TMU’s GenAI Fellow in support of her research on the use of AI to create content, including journalism products. Her academic work has been published in Digital Journalism, Facts & Frictions, and AI & Society. She worked for 14 years at CBC Radio and another five years as the digital director of The Walrus.
Christina Wong is the senior research assistant and GIS technician for the Local News Research Project. Her responsibilities also include research-related data analysis and content management for the Local News Map and LNRP website. She is a graduate of the Geographic Analysis program at Toronto Metropolitan University.
To contact the Local News Research Project, click here.