Catherine Zhu (MJ alumna, ’24) outlined how journalists can elevate stories about caregiving to drive meaningful change at the recent Canadian Caregiving Summit in Ottawa.
Catherine Zhu (far left) at the Canadian Caregiving Summit
The two-day summit in Ottawa was hosted by the Azrieli Foundation’s Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence. It brought together caregivers, care providers, system leaders, policymakers, and researchers from the aging, disability, and healthcare sectors to champion caregiving as a national priority. The topics covered examine media portrayals of caregiving and the role journalism can play in raising awareness and moving caregiving from the margins into the mainstream.
Elevating caregiving narratives
“I was privileged to participate alongside distinguished health reporters André Picard from The Globe and Mail and Elizabeth Payne from the Ottawa Citizen”, said Catherine.
The panel discussion, called “Care in the Media”, explored how journalists can elevate caregiving narratives to better connect with audiences and drive meaningful change. The discussion covered various key elements, including centring lived experience, navigating newsroom pressures and deciding which stories to pursue.
The central theme was understanding how elevating caregiving narratives can better connect with audiences and drive meaningful change.
Catherine spoke on the emerging platforms being used to tell caregiving stories, how to reach next-generation audiences, and how caregivers can make the most of these opportunities.
“Together, we also reflected on the broader trends we’re seeing in caregiving reporting.”
Transforming caregiving storytelling
Catherine’s interest in compassionate models of care runs deep. Last year, she wrote a story, called “What does it feel like to age and live with dementia? These simulations can show you”, for CBC Radio’s The Current. In the story, she covered the life-changing impact of empathy-building simulation tools that are being newly developed in Canada.
Catherine graduated from the Master of Journalism program in 2024. “The degree consistently encourages me to think creatively, challenge conventional approaches, and amplify stories that have been historically marginalized,” she added.
