Christie Blatchford

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Christie Blatchford bigraphy, stories - Journalists

Christie Blatchford : biography

20 May 1951 –

Christie Blatchford (born May 20, 1951Coulter, Diana (spring 1984). "", Ryerson Review of Journalism. Retrieved August 24, 2011.) is a Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster. She has published four non-fiction books.

Life and work

Blatchford was born in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec, and attended North Toronto Collegiate Institute.http://www.ntci.on.ca/alumni/FN-sp2001.pdf She worked for the student paper of Ryerson University.

She worked as a sports reporter for the Globe and Mail, and as a columnist at the Toronto Star, before moving to the Toronto Sun. She remained at the Sun for almost 20 years. In 1999, she received the National Newspaper Award for column writing.(June 1, 2011). "", Toronto Star. Retrieved August 24, 2011. She later moved to take up a columnist’s job at The Globe and Mail in 2003. She returned to the National Post in 2011.(June 1, 2011). "", CBC News. Retrieved August 24, 2011.

During four trips to Afghanistan in 2006–07,Blatchford, Christie (June 25, 2011). "", National Post. Retrieved August 24, 2011. she reported on the experiences of Canadian soldiers. Based on these experiences, she wrote the book Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army. The book went on to garner the 2008 Governor General’s Literary Award in Non-fiction.

Blatchford’s book Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy, and How the Law Failed All of Us, an alleged account of the criminal actions of Native Canadians in Caledonia, Ontario, led to some controversy including several members of the student body of the University of Waterloo protesting her speaking engagement and leading to its being cancelled on grounds of security.

In an article in the National Post online on August 22, 2011, she criticized the outpouring of support resulting from the death of federal NDP Leader and the Parliament of Canada’s Leader of the Opposition Jack Layton, calling it a "a public spectacle", and referring to Layton’s "canonization". This caused an outcry toward Blatchford herself.Mac, Amber (August 24, 2011). "", The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 27, 2011. Blatchford’s commentary on the 2013 suicide of Rehtaeh Parsons also led to Parsons’ father and many other Canadians accusing Blatchford of victim blaming.Allison Cross, "," National Post, February 26, 2013, URL accessed February 26, 2013.