As a CBC Nova Scotia investigative reporter with 15+ years’ experience, Willick specializes in stories that intersect institutional accountability and community impact. Her work consistently drives policy changes through meticulous documentation and narrative storytelling.
“The best pitches demonstrate how systemic issues affect real people—give me the documents, then the human story behind them.”
Frances Willick’s journalism career began in the halls of CKDU-FM, Dalhousie University’s campus-community radio station, where she honed her skills in storytelling and audio production. This early exposure to grassroots reporting laid the groundwork for her signature approach: amplifying marginalized voices while maintaining rigorous fact-checking standards. Her transition to print journalism at The Windsor Star and The Chronicle Herald saw her tackle complex beats like immigration fraud and elder care systemic failures, establishing her as a reporter unafraid to confront institutional power structures.
“Her 2013 investigation into Rehtaeh Parsons’ case didn’t just report facts—it challenged Nova Scotia’s legal and medical institutions to confront their handling of sexual assault survivors.”
Since joining CBC Nova Scotia in 2017, Willick has produced landmark work blending data journalism with narrative depth. Notable milestones include:
This 2025 investigation combines urban development analysis with community activism narratives. Willick obtained leaked municipal documents showing discrepancies between public statements and private developer communications. The piece contextualizes the demolition within Halifax’s housing affordability crisis, featuring interviews with displaced residents and archival photos of the 1920s-era buildings. Its impact led to city council revisiting heritage preservation bylaws.
Willick’s 2019 analysis of Dalhousie University’s reckoning with founder George Ramsay’s slave-trade ties demonstrates her ability to handle sensitive historical material. She juxtaposes archival records with contemporary street check data, drawing direct lines between 19th-century policies and modern systemic racism. The article’s publication coincided with campus protests, becoming essential reading for Nova Scotia’s reconciliation efforts.
This 2022 environmental exposé revealed how abandoned mining sites threaten rural water supplies. Willick paired government risk assessments with on-the-ground testing in Pictou County, discovering arsenic levels 300% above safety limits near residential wells. Her interactive map visualization became a template for CBC’s national environmental reporting team.
Willick prioritizes stories demonstrating how national issues manifest locally. Successful pitches connect environmental policies to specific communities, like her 2022 mine contamination piece linking federal regulations to Pictou County’s drinking water crisis. Avoid generic climate change angles—focus on measurable local impacts.
Her award-winning work on the Dalhousie report and Rehtaeh Parsons case shows a pattern of scrutinizing organizations’ public commitments versus actions. Effective pitches identify concrete discrepancies in policy implementation, particularly in education and environmental sectors.
Willick frequently collaborates with CBC’s visual journalism team. Pitches with archival photo access, GIS data, or community-generated content (e.g., protest footage) align with her cross-platform approach seen in the Bloomfield demolition coverage.
From African Nova Scotians in historical reconciliation pieces to low-income residents in urban development stories, Willick’s work gives narrative priority to marginalized groups. Pitches should demonstrate direct access to these communities through local partnerships.
Her investigative methodology heavily utilizes FOIA requests and municipal databases. Successful pitches identify specific document troves or data sets needing analysis, such as her 2019 cross-referencing of police evidence logs with assault conviction rates.
Willick received the Investigative Reporting honor for her year-long probe into Nova Scotia’s long-term care facilities during COVID-19. The series combined undercover footage with statistical analysis of provincial inspection reports, leading to revised safety protocols in 22 facilities.
Her collaborative project mapping sexual assault conviction rates across Maritime provinces introduced new data normalization techniques that corrected for population density biases. The methodology has since been adopted by three provincial oversight bodies.
Recognized for mentoring emerging journalists, this award highlights Willick’s commitment to nurturing investigative skills in students. Her 2015 course on public records analysis at King’s College became a model for Canadian journalism programs.
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Environment, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
