BPR (Mount Saint Vincent), JD (Dalhousie), LLM (Dalhousie)
Rogers Chair Lisa is thrilled to return to Nova Scotia from Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University), where she served in the School of Journalism as a tenured faculty member, undergraduate program director and associate chair.
Taylor launched her journalism career with CBC Radio and Television in the Maritimes, first in Cape Breton, where she grew up, and, later, in Halifax, Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto. After a decade in journalism, she attained both a JD and LLM from Dalhousie and practiced law with the Halifax firm of Merrick Jamieson Sterns Washington and Mahody. While in law school, Taylor began her teaching at King’s as a part-time instructor before moving to Toronto.
Publications and Recognition
Taylor researches and writes about issues at the intersection of law and journalism. She is co-editor of The Unfulfilled Promise of Press Freedom in Canada, an interdisciplinary collection of essays published by the University of Toronto Press. Her research into the resurgence of criminal defamatory libel, published in the leading US journal Communication Law and Policy, was shortlisted for the Stonecipher Award for Distinguished Research on Media Law and Policy. Taylor’s journalism has earned awards including a Gemini nomination, an Atlantic Journalism Award, a B’nai Brith Media Human Rights Award and the Best of Festival prize from the Yorkton Film Festival.
Taylor leads the Canadian Worlds of Journalism Study, an interdisciplinary group that, together with research teams from more than 100 countries, provides data-informed assessments of the global state of journalism.
Taylor was the recipient of five significant teaching awards during her time at Toronto Metro, four of which were awarded by students, while the fifth was the Dean’s Teaching Award from the Faculty of Communication and Design. The student-led awards included “Most Inspiring Professor,” “Most Approachable Professor” and two consecutive years as “A Prof Who Made a Mark.”
Interests
Taylor enjoys running, swimming, sailing, paddleboarding and skiing. She loves entertaining friends and family and plays a mean game of washer toss. She can often be found on the trails of Cape Breton with her two dogs in tow.
