Mihira Lakshman

Director, The Walrus Lab

Bachelor of Journalism, 2001

My time at King’s went by so fast … It all ended quickly but the friendships that I made, I still have today. I really felt like we supported each other. Maybe we were all competitive but competitive in a positive manner. 

In a journalism career spanning two decades, Mihira Lakshman, BJ’01, has done it all: radio, television, print, digital and magazine writing. Originally from Saskatoon, Lakshman now lives in Toronto where his career has recently taken another new direction. As the Director of The Walrus Lab, the client services and custom content department at The Walrus, he’s using all the tools in his journalist’s toolbox, in a different role he refers to as a “storyteller with a point of view.”

Looking back, Lakshman realizes how well prepared he was for his rich and varied career by completing the Bachelor of Journalism program at King’s. In just nine months, he made valuable connections, forged lasting friendships and gained experience in various forms of media. He says he “got a lot” from King’s and so, earlier this summer, he joined the executive of the King’s Alumni Association to give back and stay connected to the community. Here, he shares insights into his experience in the Bachelor of Journalism program and how it helped shape his career.

What first drew you to study journalism at King’s? 

I always had a vision of going into journalism. Coming out of high school, I had considered going into some direct-entry programs such as Carleton, Ryerson and the University of Regina. But ultimately, I decided to pursue a background in Canadian history first. I thought that would help form some of the building blocks that I would need as a journalist. I did a year at Simon Fraser and then switched to the University of Saskatchewan and completed my BA there.

What drew me to King’s was that it was a compact one-year offering and I felt I could get a little bit of what I needed in all areas of media—radio, television, print, online—and it seemed very practical in its nature as well.

My time at King’s went by so fast. I loved the fact that we started in August a little before the main campus, so the ‘one-years’ bonded by that time. We were done by the start of April. It all ended quickly but the friendships that I made, I still have today. I really felt like we supported each other. Maybe we were all competitive but competitive in a positive manner.

You were a competitive runner when you went to King’s. How did your love of sports influence your career path? 

I was a cross-country and track-and-field runner. King’s did not have a competitive team in cross-country or track, but they allowed me to compete and train with the Dalhousie team.

Every year, King’s had a 5K race, and I think there’s still a trophy in the library. I won that race when it was held in March or April in 2001.

The journalism program offers an internship, and I was lucky enough to intern at Sportsnet in Toronto. I started pursuing a career in sports journalism at that point. The professors at King’s were really instrumental in setting up that internship and helping me get a foothold in that industry.

I stayed very involved with the sport as a sports journalist and as part of the amateur sports community. Now, I am on the board of directors with Athletics Canada, which is the governing body for track and field in Canada.

My background in track and field played a role in me getting a job at Canadian Running Magazine. I got the experience of being Editor in Chief at a magazine because of my running background. And, because I built skills there, that made me more valuable to CBC Sports to lead digital coverage of the Olympics.

Please share more about the evolution of your career in sports journalism.  

When I was at Canadian Running Magazine, an opportunity came up to go back to CBC Sports, specifically focused on digital coverage of the Olympics. I came onboard to lead the digital coverage of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics and that led to the Pan Am Games in Toronto, the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, and the FIFA World Cup.

Eventually, I became an executive producer of CBC Sports and was in charge of essentially lining up the editorial coverage, and the integration with television and sponsorship as well as staffing.

You moved from sports journalism to creating sponsored content at The Walrus Lab. Was that a difficult decision? 

It was an interesting decision, but not difficult. I felt it was the right time to pursue different challenges, but still rooted in the basics of strong storytelling. Ultimately, it was driven by seeing more opportunities for growth in strategic storytelling, compared to traditional journalism.

What happens at The Walrus Lab? 

Our approach is we meet with a client and understand what’s the key message they want to get across, who are the key voices they want to amplify. And we figure out a way to weave a story around that. The story needs to be side-by-side with traditional editorial in the sense that it fits with the theme of the publication. All of our stories are fact-checked. They’re told in the style of The Walrus so our audience will engage with them. The story needs to be authentic in the way it’s delivered.

You mentioned that more and more media outlets have sponsored-content departments, citing The Globe and Mail’s Globe Content Studio and The New York Times’ T-Brand Studio. Why do you think this is happening in today’s media landscape? 

I think it comes down to authenticity and having control over strategic messages. Many organizations don’t feel like the news media is telling the story in the way they want it told. So, sponsored content offers them an opportunity to maintain some control over that process, while still maintaining the engagement of the audience in a way that traditional ads don’t.

Sponsored content is an important way to continue to fund journalism because advertising by itself will not do it.

I enjoy the work we do at The Walrus. I help play a role in this organization and fund journalism—something I’m keen on.

King’s emphasizes a strong foundation in critical thinking and storytelling. In what ways have these critical-thinking skills provided an edge in your career and/or life? 

Stories are about people and finding people who are doing interesting things. People who are making a difference. It all comes back to storytelling, storytelling action, the storytelling arc—all really important things in journalism and also in the strategic storytelling I do now.