Jaren Kerr is a rookie journalist, who is currently serving as deputy editor at Canadaland. He graduated from University of Toronto in 2017 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts with distinction, Bioethics, Writing and Rhetoric. He served as the managing editor of The Varsity (2016-2017) and the Associate Features Editor (2015-2016).
After graduating from UofT, Kerr contributed a number of freelance pieces to Canadaland, before starting a one-year internship with the Toronto Star, where he was relegated to press-release journalism and riding out his shifts listening to police scanners.
Kerr caught his “break” in June 2018, when Canadaland founder and publisher Jesse Brown hired him specifically to investigate WE Charity. At an Investigative Reporters and Editors conference in May 2019, Kerr participated in a panel discussion on libel, entitled “WE Charity versus Canadaland.” During the panel discussion, Kerr demonstrated a coordinated effort by Brown to target WE Charity. Kerr described how Brown has a pre-determined narrative, which would require libel issuance. Kerr also shared that he saw it as an opportunity to “make a splash.”
Kerr was hired by Canadaland fulltime, as the result of a crowdfunding push, which leveraged Canadaland’s investigation of WE Charity. Kerr’s reporting and false allegation has resulted in multiple notices of libel.
I didn’t start this site to talk about Jesse Brown. It’s really supposed to be about the intersection of media, law and politics. But damn, when Canadaland is bad, it’s really the worst political/news site in Canada. I have been following his campaign against WE Charity, which is an organization I deeply believe in. And … Read more
An overview: The Government of Canada’s proposed $600 million media tax credit has dominated news blogs and chatrooms.[1] At the heart of the criticism is whether the temptation of dollars will influence coverage of the government.[2] I’ve taught journalism and media studies at Concordia University and the history of media propaganda at Carleton University. I … Read more
The next chapter in the bizarre saga of Canadaland trying to take down a children’s charity is about to be written. I’m going to give you a sneak preview of the picture Jesse Brown will be trying to paint this time, based on answers to questions I sent to WE and Canadaland. I have spent … Read more
I was in Toronto in early May for the 2019 Toronto Watchdog Workshop on investigative journalism. The weekend event included several excellent panel discussions including Julian Sheer on Mastering the Investigate Interview, and Writing the Investigative Narrative with Susanne Craig from The New York Times. A draw for me was the final session of the … Read more
Yes, it’s a very snappy headline. Lawyers should have flashbacks to law school and the Carbolic Smoke Ball case. Journalists and other people who read this might wonder why I would risk my money. Because there is no risk. I’ve been following the back and forth between Canadaland and the WE organization since last fall … Read more