Chris Allen
Toronto
Covers:
Canadian governance, institutional accountability, and education policy
Doesn't Cover:
Lifestyle, product, or celebrity content
I ask the questions your echo chamber won't.
@theoldguardian_ | Investigative journalism.
No parties. No tribes. No narrative.
Follow the 💰. Read the work ↓
Interview
What was your first job as a journalist?
The Old Guardian, which is my own platform.
Have you ever used a typewriter?
I did a typewriter class in high school.
How is social media changing news?
Creating citizen Journalism, everyone with a smartphone can record sooner than press are able to show up.
Who's your favorite fictional journalist?
Clark Kent.
What does it mean to be a journalist?
Accountability, integrity, discipline, tell the actual truth, not the comfortable narrative "truth"
What's the funniest news-related #hashtag you've seen?
How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?
Email.
What tools and software do you use to do your job?
ATI/FOI requests, Pipl, SEDAR+, Ontario Business Registry, Teranet/Ontario Land Registry, OSINT Framework, Wayback Machine, etc...
What's your favorite social network?
Substack
Who do you wish followed you?
Jesse Brown, the trillium team, the fifth estate, the line, Globe and Mail investigative desk
Why did you become a journalist?
Kinda fell into it, realized i could help contribute a better truth to the world.
Did you work for your high school newspaper? If so, what did you do there?
No, I did not.
What story are you most proud of writing or working on?
a continuing body of work regarding the Toronto District School Board and Ministry of Education take over.
What advice can you offer to aspiring journalists?
find your voice. know your value. hold your line, not theirs. Have courage.
When's the best time to pitch you?
Anytime.
What's the best pitch you ever got?
They all kinda blur into one ball of chaos, my ideas, pitches, etc... i cant pick out just one at this point.
What's the worst pitch you ever got?
Has yet to happen.
What's your favorite drink?
A treat for me is a Coke Zero.
When you're not at a computer, where are you most likely to be?
Spending time with family.
Aside from your own, what's your favorite publication to read?
Reuters, AP
What's the most common misperception about your beat?
That corruption is always everywhere. its common for sure, but not omnipotent.
Would you like to take the Muck Rack Interview?
Create a Muck Rack profile.