Audio

#NativeTikTok

Wiikwemkoong planned to host a virtual powwow over TikTok in the midst of in-person event cancellations during the pandemic. You’ll hear from organizers and dancers about the strong Indigenous presence on the app and why it fit with this event.

First time ‘hosting’ a radio show

Like many good origin stories, this begins with technical difficulties. Markus Schwabe, who hosts Morning North on CBC Radio One in northeastern Ontario, has been hosting from his home during the pandemic. On a morning Warren was working as the technician, Markus couldn’t connect in time for the start of the show. Here’s the impromptu segment Warren put together instead.

Marjorie Eliot's Parlor Jazz

Warren produced this award-winning* short doc for radio station JAZZ.FM91. Every Sunday for more than 25 years, Marjorie Eliot has invited the public into her Harlem apartment for free jazz shows. Patrons have traveled from around the world to attend this unique time capsule of jazz culture.

*Second place, audio storytelling, Emerge Media Awards 2018

News report: Transitional housing backlash

Sudbury councillors were excited to receive funding for a supportive housing build meant to serve those transitioning out of homelessness, a service badly needed in the north. However, the city had not told neighbours about the plans before publicly discussing them at a council meeting.

One-on-one with Jagmeet Singh

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh visited Sudbury during the 2021 election campaign. I had a one-on-one conversation with the candidate to learn about his party’s pledges for northeastern Ontario.

Employment consulting interview

This is a one-off podcast created to promote the guest’s employment consultancy services through an interview format.

Photography

A silhouetted plane nears touchdown into a dazzling sunset at Toronto Pearson Airport. — Wispy snow is racing toward the sunset as planes race for the ground before night takes hold over Pearson Airport.

An old man and his daughter, an Indigenous hoop dancer, pose at a powwow. — Franklin Odjig and daughter Lisa, a two-time world champion hoop dancer, pose at Wiikwemkoong’s annual cultural festival and powwow in 2018. Lisa visited to lead a hoop dancing workshop in her community for the first time.

Northern lights and the milky way light the sky with a car's light streaks on a road and a railway crossing in the foreground. — A moderate aurora storm called for a trip to the dark skies of Cartier. As is often the case, Canadian Pacific failed to send any trains to enhance the image, but the brilliant sky made up for it.

An odds-and-ends shop window bathed in warm light during a dark snowy night with a drift piling next to the front door. — Snow drifts are piling outside of downtown Little Current’s antique store as the shop’s warm lighting casts a pleasant glow on the diverse collection.

A mother and three young boys holding candles stand on a street during a nighttime vigil. — Jacob Cook, Tristan Cook, Jacob Pyette and Annie Ochel-Cook attended the Gore Bay vigil for fallen OPP officer Marc Hovingh. They live near to where the deadly shooting happened.

A woman runs straight toward the camera across a race finish line. — Lindsay Dantouze from Timiskaming First Nation crosses the finish line of the 2020 Wiky Road Race in Wiikwemkoong.

A bright sunset with dramatic clouds and a line of cars in the foreground, perpendicular to the camera. — This sunset only lasted briefly before heavy rain and wind returned, collapsing the pop-up stage and forcing the cancellation of that night’s drive-in double feature at the Country Fest grounds in Little Current.

A man steers a small boat in a lake by the manual tiller on the motor. Shot from the front of the boat. — Jim guides us across the mid-afternoon chop on an Ontario lake.

A man crouches in the background out of focus; a garter snake pokes its head above fall leaves in the foreground. — This garter snake hadn’t yet tucked itself away for the snow season. Then again, neither had we!

The flatiron building in Sudbury reflected in an icy puddle.

a man in Anishinaabe men's traditional regalia dances during a powwow. — A men’s traditional dancer at the 2018 Wiikwemkoong powwow. I seem to have lost his name from my old files!

Videography

International Women's Day 2018: #PressForProgress

This video features Arapaho, Pawnee and Anishinaabe-kwe Lorralene Whiteye in honour of International Women’s Day 2018. Warren scripted, directed, shot and edited this project to highlight her life experiences as part of how Humber College marked the annual celebration.

Bombed

This award-winning documentary showcases the work of PoserABM, a Toronto graffiti artist whose bunny-bear characters have become synonymous with the city’s street art. The film won best director, best cinematography and best feature at the first-ever Guelph-Humber Film Festival.

International Women's Day in Kagawong

To mark International Women’s Day, a group of citizens organized a march in Kagawong, despite the bitter cold, to join the global advocacy work for women’s rights.

Celebrity chef Wolfman visits Manitoulin

St’at’imc celebrity chef David Wolfman visited a Mnaamodzawin Health Services event in Little Current to meet fans and offer a cooking demonstration.

Writing

Out of the Shadows: An in-depth look at Manitoulin's hidden opioid crisis

This project came together over six months of mostly evenings and weekends because workdays had to remain focused on content for the weekly newspapers. This multi-award-winning piece ran as a special section within The Manitoulin Expositor and has helped Island care providers advocate for more services.

Manitoulin OPP officer dies on duty

OPP constable Marc Hovingh died while responding to a trespassing call near Gore Bay, Ont. Warren had the lead on the file and produced breaking coverage and several stories that covered the front page of The Manitoulin Expositor. He gave an interview on Global News’ evening newscast hours after the shooting and interviewed Ontario Premier Doug Ford when he attended the funeral.

Island paramedic re-engineers snorkel masks for pandemic

Warren gets results! After writing a story about a former paramedic who turned an old snorkel mask into an oxygen-delivery system for use during the pandemic, the company saw it and made sure that Manitoulin Island got the first delivery of its factory-made masks, built using a similar design.

Orangeville railway: Staying on track

Warren’s first published freelance pitch to a magazine about a railway changing hands and the hopes that the 140-year-old service would continue. Features original photography. Warren gives thanks to the editorial team at In The Hills for working with him as a then-inexperienced writer and their work to polish and enhance the story.

Health unit takes COVID-19 vaccinations on the road

A multimedia story about a new bus-based mobile vaccination clinic that travelled within the Public Health Sudbury and Districts area to offer COVID-19 shots. The web story features text, photos and videos; it also had treatments for radio newscasts and the morning current affairs show on CBC Sudbury, Morning North.