Meet Mervin Brass

I’m from the Treaty 4 Territory in East Central Saskatchewan. My home community is the Key First Nation. I went to the University of Regina where I studied journalism, as well as the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College where I studied pre-journalism.

I started my journalism career first with a graduate internship at the Edmonton Journal. Following that internship, I returned to Saskatchewan and did a communications job with the Saskatchewan government for about a year. I’ve reported for CBC Saskatchewan, hosted an Indigenous current affairs radio show called Meeting Ground through Rawlco Radio. In 2008, I was the Executive Director of Communications for the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations for 5 years before launching my own newspaper, Treaty 4 News.

I am now the managing editor for CBC North, and soon to be Senior Managing Director. So, I’ll oversee operations for all of the North, the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut – 8 stations and bureaus in total.

What inspired you to be a journalist?

One, I’ve always had an interest in current affairs. I was the kid that always put my hand up when asked a question of what happened last week in this country or that country, or who this person was and what are they known for. I knew all those answers, because I read a lot of newspapers and listened to radio news. I just had this huge appetite for news and journalism.

And you know, my father was a politician. So, whenever he got home from his business trips, I’d ask him lots of questions about what was going on in First Nation politics.

Once I started pursuing journalism, I knew I had found my calling because I just loved it. I thought it was the best thing ever. I worked hard, but it didn’t seem like it was hard work. It was just pure enjoyment and excitement.

What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned throughout your career? 

Don’t give up, just keep working hard. If you apply for a job, and you don’t get it, that’s probably because there’s something else waiting for you. Eventually people notice your hard work and give you opportunities.

You also have to know when you’re given an opportunity. If somebody finds you and makes you an offer, that’s your chance. Or if you see a story that nobody else is quite interested in, you make that an opportunity. I told a producer this one time, “A story is only as good as you tell it.” The producer looked at me and said “If you said that in a job interview, I’d give you the job right now.” If you dig deep enough and you find the heart of a story, you’ll serve your story well, and you’ll serve your audience well.

What are some of the toughest challenges you faced during your career? How did you address them?

Balancing your personal life in your professional life can get complicated sometimes, but you just keep them separate. Don’t let what’s happening on the outside distract you from your work and your drive to get better. It’s perseverance. That’s what it’s about for me, persevering through tough times, challenging times, and even good times.

Even the good times can be a challenge because sometimes I can become complacent. So, I need to always challenge myself to find different things that I can work towards and get better at. Writing for example, I still feel like I have lots of learning to do to become a better writer.

How have you experienced mental health challenges as a journalist and what have you done to cope or address those challenges?

When I was working in private radio, I was sent to all of the breaking news stories and quite often I’d have to go to a homicide or to a fire and those are really difficult. Sometimes you see things that you can’t erase from your mind.

Personally, I turn to my support system, some people that are lifelong friends that have helped me get my life together. I have faith in a creator that I turn to in prayer. And I’m always willing to talk about my feelings and let them out, and try to put things into perspective. That’s how I cope.

What advice do you have for those aspiring to go into the media industry? 

Examine the media. See where the systemic issues arise from, like colonialism or racism. Identify those and do whatever you can to help put an end to that. I think a media that reflects all walks of life, diversity, backgrounds, and differences is the best media because then it truly reflects the community. Your audience appreciates it when it comes from those various perspectives.

What does it mean to you to be a journalist with an Indigenous background?

It’s an honour and a privilege that I don’t take lightly. I’m the first Indigenous person at this level of management in the CBC and I don’t take that lightly. I need to accomplish some things while I’m there. I need to keep the door open for other Indigenous people, people of colour, black journalists.

Is there anything else that you think aspiring journalists should know?

If you want to apply for jobs, get to know the community that you’re going to apply for a job in because when you do a job interview, that’s what we look for. How well do these journalists do their research about where they want to work? Do they really have a good understanding of the issues? Do they have a good understanding of the demographics of the area?

Interview conducted by JSOC second year representative, Jasdeep Kaur.