Support Nora Loreto's COVID Journalism

Since the onset of the pandemic Nora Loreto has meticulously tracked deaths in Residential Care in Canada, by facility. Nora's work has made it possible for journalists across the country to compare and contrast between public and private facilities and has also made it possible for the public to know which companies own and operate these residential care facilities. Nora's work has been a compass for investigative journalists and the public, knowing where we might look deeper for systemic neglect of our most vulnerable.

Needless to say, Nora's important work has been utilized by public health bodies, as well as individual journalists sometimes with proper credit and many times without proper credit. Recently the National Newspaper Awards announced that Toronto Star reporters "@KenyonWallace, @MarcoOved, @EdTubb and @BKennedyStar won the @NNA_CCJ Business award for their work uncovering how death rates from COVID-19 were higher in for-profit homes than in other types of long-term care residences."

Four white men, working at the most circulated paper in the country. Shocker.

Many on social media pointed out Nora's tireless work that went unnoticed by the National Newspaper Award body (NNA). The NNA, aware of how tone deaf, how out of step with the time of racial reckoning their awardees were even released a half assed Friday afternoon video addressing their own Board's overbearing whiteness. See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17Lrgb1S6e0.

So, we wanted to show our appreciation and honour Nora's work by mounting this gofundme - both for recognition, appreciation as well as to support Nora's ongoing work. This gofundme is also designed to support Nora's latest book project - which is on how journalists are covering the COVID-19 pandemic - and to show how much her work as an independent journalist is appreciated by the people. Back in Nov, I wrote a blog post about how Black women "essential workers" are disremembered and unaccounted for. In part I wrote, "We can remember their names, we can say them, we will gather and mourn when next it is safe to do so. But remembering their names is and will never be enough. And yet, in COVID’s immediate aftermath it is all we have and all we will have."

The work Nora is doing, revelling and tracking the details of death is difficult, but it should not go unnoticed and unappreciated. Nora's work will allow us to calibrate our mourning. And help us direct our rage. That is something I can support. I got us started, if you have the means to do so, please support by joining me and sharing this far and wide.