This holiday season, I have been feeling grateful for experts.
My husband and I have been struggling with how to discipline our precocious, delightful, willful three-year-old child. The threat of taking away her favourite things was not producing the desired results. When she started offering up the items we should confiscate first, it was clear something needed to change.
Fortunately, someone recommended the bestselling No-Drama Discipline, which is co-authored by a pediatrician-psychiatrist and child development specialist. It’s a fascinating read, with insights on discipline that have already proven more effective than our earlier methods.
Experts are a wonderful thing. Their specialized knowledge helps bring order and understanding to a complex and chaotic world.
At Canadian Affairs, we are not subject-matter experts. But we strive to elevate public debate by bringing experts’ insights to readers.
In the past year alone, we have published nearly 300 original stories. Almost all of these feature the voices of multiple experts — academics, professionals, policymakers, think-tank fellows and more.
Wherever possible, our stories also feature the voices of people affected by the topics we cover. The Canadian conversation cannot rely on experts alone. I am grateful to those Canadians who allow us to share their questions, concerns and experiences with our broader audience.
Having founded Canadian Affairs a mere year-and-a-half ago, it is no small thing that so many individuals take our calls. Many will have not heard of Canadian Affairs when they received our requests for an interview. And yet, so many have generously shared their time and insights, when there is no obvious reward in it for them.
What’s more, the vast majority have been willing to have their statements attributed to them on the record. This is essential. We do not want our readers to be left wondering about the authority of a speaker or the authenticity of their claims. Anonymous journalism does not further the goal of trust in news. For this reason, anonymous sources are exceedingly rare in our publication.
In addition to feeling grateful to our sources, I also feel grateful to our readers. Our sizable and growing audience demonstrates that members of the public do value balanced, fact-based, reported journalism.
I am especially grateful to those readers who have become paid subscribers. High-quality journalism is costly to produce. The readers who financially contribute to our work demonstrate a heartening commitment to our mission.
Lastly, I am grateful to our reporters. Each week, they do the hard work of identifying undercovered stories, finding sources, interviewing them and distilling voluminous information into succinct stories that are both important and engaging to read. The final products may look simple, but the process that produces them is anything but.
In sum, I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to all those who make our work possible and purposeful. From our family to yours, have a safe and healthy holiday season. We look forward to connecting with you in 2025.
