I am a multimedia reporter at CBC. I’m currently assigned to the Ottawa radio newsroom and several times a month I produce in-depth, original and/or investigative reports. I work independently to produce these items for TV, Radio and on-line audiences. I juggle these projects with coverage of daily, breaking news for the various platforms including social media. Here are just a few of my recent projects.
The Singing Plumber:
The Singing Plumber investigation took about 8 months to complete. It required filing several Access to Information requests, tracking down witnesses and most importantly, drawing out key characters. Listen to the 22-minute radio documentary I produced for The Current. You can also read the cbc.ca article.
Covering the Idle No More Protest in Ottawa: See live twitter feed of event
100s protest with#idlenomore in the rain. Few have much confidence in today’s political mtgs.#afn #cbcott pic.twitter.com/wWnHLANA
— Julie Ireton, CBC (@JulieIreton) January 11, 2013
The Interpreter:
This is the moving story of an Afghan refugee, and some would say hero, now living in Ottawa. Mohammad Rahman worked for the Canadian Military in Afghanistan for several years. During my first (of several) interviews with Rahman and one of the Canadian officers (Steve Nolan) he worked with, I discovered this interpreter had saved the life of another officer (Mark Campbell). That changed my story. It resulted in a story that went from heart warming to heart wrenching. Listen to the 22-minute documentary I produced for The Current. Watch the interpreter’s story on The National. Read the cbc.ca article.
Asbestos Contamination and the Contractor:
After reading about some of my other investigations, Don Garrett, a BC contractor got in touch with me. He told me about his fight with the federal department of Public Works Government Services Canada. Garrett revealed documents that prove he and his workers were exposed to asbestos after doing work at a BC prison. He worries about future health issues. Read the cbc.ca story.
Lobbying the Public Service:
During my first Michener Deacon Fellowship in Investigative Reporting, I did in-depth research and stories about the Canadian public service. This is one of the stories that came to my attention thanks to a whistleblower inside Treasury Board. It came only as a tip. Through Access to Information and a lot of digging I was eventually able to identify several high level public servants who were on exchange to the federal government, yet were also listed on the Federal Lobby Registry – at the same time. This raised serious questions about the exchange program and the accuracy of the lobby registry. Read the cbc.ca story.
Startup Journalism Project 