From Algoma University in Sault Ste. Marie to the global stage, Justin Fiacconi (BA Political Science ‘21) has carved a path that blends curiosity, passion, and purpose. After completing a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science he went on to earn two master’s degrees at Carleton University—first in International Affairs and then in Journalism. Now, as an emerging journalist with international reporting experience and a strong focus on global politics and sports, Justin is using his voice to uncover stories that matter. We caught up with him to learn more about his journey, the lessons he’s learned, and the advice he has for the next generation of storytellers.
Q. What inspired you to pursue journalism after graduating with a political science and international affairs background? How has this background informed your reporting style or the stories you choose to tell?
The most important thing for me was to find a career that I was passionate about and one where I felt I could make an important and meaningful impact – the pursuit of that has been the driving force behind my major decisions. In the back of my mind, I had always held an interest in journalism and thought it might be a career path somewhere down the road. Though I’m a very curious person and love to learn, I wanted to follow my curiosity about the world before I took concrete steps in becoming a journalist. Fortunately, I’m now in a position where I have some expertise to pair with solid multimedia journalism skills, which will help me develop my beat – at the intersection of global politics and sports. Most importantly, I’m now in a position where I feel I can build a career that I’m passionate about and that I can make a meaningful impact on the world around me.
In my journalism, I am interested in covering stories related to global politics and themes such as human rights, violent conflict, elections, corruption, diplomacy, geopolitical conflict, and the crossover between international sports and politics. My background in political science and international affairs doesn’t just inform my ability
to produce compelling and nuanced journalism related to these themes; it also enables me to translate the skills and techniques that I’ve learned throughout my previous degrees into practice.
Q. Can you tell us more about the CBC News Summer Scholarship you received?
The CBC Summer News Scholarship in memory of Joan Donaldson and Peter Gzowski is a highly sought after internship program. It awards the opportunity for recent graduates across the entire country, from a variety of academic backgrounds – though mostly journalism – the opportunity to gain invaluable hands-on experience in CBC newsrooms across the country.
This year, there were 14 recipients across the country, and fortunately, I was lucky enough to be selected as one of them.
For the months of May and June, I will be working with CBC’s Investigative Unit in downtown Toronto. Then, at the end of June I will travel to Winnipeg where I will be working with CBC Manitoba for July and August.
Q. Your journalism has taken you from Parliament Hill to a remote forest in Ghana – how have those contrasting experiences shaped your perspective in storytelling?
While very different, both experiences were incredibly rewarding and educational. With the Parliamentary Bureau, I was working amongst some of the most skilled and experienced reporters in the country in a fast-paced newsroom. In Ghana, I had just short of two days in a remote Ghanaian village interviewing people who speak a different language, and collecting enough recorded sound to put together a story for an over 20 minute long podcast. However, both experiences taught me just how collaborative and immersive journalism is. It takes a team to put together good stories; at the Parliamentary Bureau, everybody would share quotes, comments, clips, and information so that whoever was putting together a story would have everything they need and more to produce an informative and compelling story. In Ghana, I had the help of my colleagues to gather sound and hold microphones to a translator as I interviewed people in the community.
Q. What draws you to documentary filmmaking, and is there a dream project or topic you’d love to explore through film?
Before this past year, I hadn’t had much experience working on video documentary projects at all. That changed after I took one course this past winter called 25th Hour. My colleague and I made two short documentaries; one was a profile about an ice-carving duo, and the other was about demolishing the Alexandra Bridge in Ottawa. Despite braving long hours in extremely cold temperatures, I loved every minute of this because there was so much space for creative expression to complement the journalistic storytelling. I really enjoy thinking through what shots I want and where each shot fits into the story I’m trying to tell – it keeps me up at night when I’m working on projects, but I love that because it usually means I’m excited about what I’m doing.
There are lots of projects I’d like to explore through film, but it also depends on the story—some stories lend to particular mediums more than others. Ideally, I’d like to work on video projects that fit within the themes I’ve already mentioned and that would take me to different places around the world. However, I’ve barely scratched the surface yet with what I’ve done so far and what I’d like to do in the future. So we’ll see what happens!
Q. What are the successes you have had in your career so far?
Well I haven’t had many yet because my career is just getting started, but I am ready to make a big impact. I’ve worked really hard to earn my degrees and some of the opportunities I’ve been fortunate enough to have along the way. And I’m going to continue to work really hard to get where I want to go and to become the best journalist I can be. However, I’m particularly proud of how I’ve faced and overcome adversity early on in my journalism career. There are two instances specifically that show that; one in Ghana, and one in Norway.
Early on in Ghana, we listened to an assortment of radio broadcasters from across the country, informing us of what was going on in some of the isolated communities that their reach extends to. One of the broadcasters shared that in this one remote community deep inside the Ghanaian forest, there had been an outbreak of cerebrospinal meningitis, brought on by intense heat waves resulting from climate change and deforestation. I decided to report on this story, and did as much preparation as I could in advance. However, once I got to the community, there was no outbreak. Suddenly, I found myself in front of the entire community, approximately 200 people seated in a large circle around me as I interviewed the community chief, trying to find what the story was in this community. I kept my composure and continued on with the interview, asking many questions on the fly because at that point the questions I had prepared went out the window. Eventually I learned that this particular community was surrounded by other communities that had been cutting down their forests to produce charcoal – a major economic activity in the region. This community, ‘Yaara,’ had been preserving their forest, even implementing a law to forbid the cutting of trees for charcoal. The surrounding communities had all been placing pressure in one form or another on Yaara to cut its trees for charcoal as well, but they stood firm to help protect their future generations from inheriting damaged farming land and poor environmental conditions.
The other instance where I handled adversity very well was in completing my major research project for my masters in journalism degree. For this project, I travelled to Norway to report on how a small Norwegian soccer club was challenging UEFA (the football governing body in Europe) on the principle of freedom of expression; a case
which eventually went to the International Court of Sport Arbitration (CAS). The case is based on a fine levied against the club in 2024 by UEFA for the clubs supporters chanting “UEFA Mafia” – it’s a popular chant across Europe, but one that UEFA does not like at all. I travelled to Bergen for just over a week in early November 2024, and interviewed several sources for the story, though the club was waiting for the ruling from CAS which was initially expected in September 2024. The ruling kept getting postponed one month at a time, right up until the end of March. With my deadline being mid-April, I ended up having two weeks to completely restructure and re-write parts of my MRP (over 9,000 words), into a cohesive and compelling narrative. I then successfully defended my MRP in front of an examination board.
Q. As someone starting out in journalism but already making an international impact, what advice would you give other young journalists?
I think it’s really important to trust your instincts. If you really believe in a story or that there’s something worth digging into, then I say go for it. The best work I’ve done has come from a gut feeling or me believing in a story when others, including professors and editors haven’t believed in the story. So trust yourself, and follow your gut.
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