One Dish, One Mic wins national journalism fellowship
CKTB broadcasters will spend a month at Winnipeg’s Indigenous Centre learning new skills
Two Niagara broadcast journalists have been awarded a prestigious national Indigenous fellowship that will enhance their skills and improve their weekly radio program.
Last week, the Canadian Journalism Foundation named Sean Vanderklis and Karl Dockstader, hosts of “One Dish, One Mic” on CKTB 610 AM, recipients of the annual CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowship.
Vanderklis, a Mississauga member of the Curve Lake First Nation who lives in St. Catharines, and Dockstader, a Haudenosaunee member of the Oneida, Bear Clan living in Niagara Falls, will spend a month at the Indigenous Centre in Winnipeg learning how to sharpen their reporting and broadcast skills.
“Neither Karl or I had any previous journalism experience or broadcast experience really,” said Vanderklis in an interview. “So I am hoping this will help us learn new skills to improve what we do.”
“One Dish, One Mic” started out as a local podcast that allowed Dockstader and Vanderklis to explore issues relevant to local Indigenous communities.
Vanderklis said the show is aimed at Niagara Indigenous residents as well as non-Indigenous listeners who want to learn about the issues, including the ongoing efforts at reconciliation in Canada.
About a year and a half ago, the podcast ran aground, and the pair stopped making new episodes for about six months.
But their show had caught the attention of CKTB’s host and assistant program director, Tom McConnell, who was looking for a new show for the station.
McConnell said he was immediately drawn to Vanderklis’s and Dockstader’s knowledge of the subjects, their storytelling abilities and the on-air rapport.
They are sometimes at odds on issues, he said, and that helps them explore their topics in a way that keeps listeners engaged, even those who are coming to Indigenous issues for the first time.
He said the CJF fellowship is an opportunity for the duo to access training they might not otherwise get.
“I have said it many times. I am not a journalist. I am a broadcaster,” McConnell. “I can teach them to be a great broadcaster, but the tools and skills of journalism is not something I can teach them as well.”
Said Duncan McCue, jury cochair and host of CBC Radio’s “Cross Country Checkup” in a statement, “Without any formal reporting training, Sean and Karl are doing a wonderful job providing entertaining and enlightening Indigenous content to their local community. The mentorship opportunity at CBC Indigenous will help them refine their journalism talents and further encourage their broadcast storytelling.”
The fellowship will be presented to Vanderklis and Dockstader in October at the CJF awards in Toronto.
The CJF hosts some of Canada’s top awards and fellowships for journalists in Canada each year.
Last year, The St. Catharines Standard was awarded a citation for excellence in journalism by the CJF for the All the Chair’s Men investigation into corruption at Niagara Region.
“One Dish, One Mic” airs on CKTB Sundays at 10 a.m.