I was recruited by Le Devoir to lead their news, business and political desks in the fall of 2019. A few months later, I pivoted all these teams to focus on what had abruptly become the only topic of relevance: COVID-19.
There was no shortage of pandemic coverage for audiences to choose from; every media outlet in the world had dedicated all their resources to it. I considered that the best use of mine — a team of 30 writers — was to focus on unique angles and formats: investigations, international coverage, oral history of the lockdown, and explainers.
We quickly developed a coronavirus tracker, which became of the most read features on our site. Another early launch was a daily COVID-19 newsletter, which drew more than 10,000 subscribers in its first week.
The biggest challenge in leading a team of COVID-19 reporters was keeping them well and balanced through what proved to be the marathon of all our careers.
Our hard work through 2020 was recognized with the Project of the Year Award at the National Newspapers Awards and a big boost in digital subscribers.