The journey into journalism was a difficult path but worth it

According to Pugliese’s LinkedIn profile, she is an award-winning journalist, an Auntie at Makwa Creative, a visiting professor at the Toronto Metropolitan University, a guest panelist on CBC’s Rosie Barton show and the current editor-in-chief of Canadaland as well as a co-host of the CanadaLANDBACK podcast.

Pugliese, a member of the Algonquins of Pikwàkanagàn First Nation, didn’t grow up on reserve, instead was raised in Ottawa.

“So back in the day, because my mom married a non-Native man, she lost her (Indian) status,” said Pugliese. “We were both legally by law white until I was sixteen.”

In 1985 Bill C-31 was passed, which gave First Nation women the right to reclaim their Indian Status under the Indian Act, which they had lost because they married a non-Status person.

Pugliese said growing up Indigenous in an urban setting was complicated. High school was problematic until she found the right school.

Initially, she had no desire to further her education. However, Pugliese wanted to see the world and thought being a bartender would be the way to do it.

That is until a teacher intervened and encouraged her to pursue a post-secondary education.

“It sounded so hard and so long,” said Pugliese. “I really didn’t have an idea of what I wanted to be. He said, ‘Look, you are always talking about politics, you like to write, you like to debate things, just go and sign up for journalism.’ ”

It was easier said than done.

“I got into university, not on the first try, but on the second try,” said Pugliese. “I fell in love with journalism. I loved the writing. I loved the creativity of working with audio and visuals, all of it.”

After publishing a small story in a local newspaper, she realized the power of media.

“At the time, I really didn’t know there was Native media, so I couldn’t see a way to use it for Indigenous people,” said Pugliese. “I figured that out later.”

She has worked in daily news and long-form investigations at various outlets throughout her career including, ichannel, VisionTV, and CTV.

In 2000, she became APTN’s first parliamentary correspondent then went on to become the executive director for news and current affairs.

Pugliese was also the managing editor of CBC’s Investigative Unit, overseeing the team at The Fifth Estate and Marketplace.

Prior to her current role at Canadaland, she was the editor-in-chief at the National Observer.

In 2020, she completed a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University and joined the TMU faculty.

Throughout her career Pugliese has seen many changes in her industry.

“It’s been kind of depressing over the last few years because of all the layoffs but I am hopeful,” she said.

Although legacy media is having a lot of problems there are many startups happening, which is good news for journalists especially for those interested in telling local stories.

“I would encourage First Nations journalists to really think about local; because it’s an area that is really underserved for our people,” said Pugliese. “I think if all you have to do is earn enough money to support your salary and a small staff, the barriers to entry are just gone. It’s so easy to set up a podcast or a web page and just report online.”

Looking ahead, she sees an opportunity for Indigenous journalists to thrive by serving their communities.

by JR Brass

The journey into journalism was a difficult path but worth it

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