As The Globe and Mail’s senior technology reporter, O’Kane deciphers how digital innovations reshape cities and societies. His work sits at the crossroads of:
Recent Honors: Arthur F. Burns Fellow (2017), National Newspaper Award finalist (2021), Quill & Quire’s Best Nonfiction Book (2022).
Josh O’Kane’s career at The Globe and Mail began in 2011, where he initially covered local news and cultural shifts. His early work demonstrated a knack for dissecting systemic issues, such as municipal policy debates and arts funding challenges. By 2016, his focus pivoted to technology’s societal impacts, a transition marked by investigative pieces on telecom monopolies and digital privacy concerns. This shift positioned him as a leading voice in Canada’s tech journalism landscape.
“Cities aren’t just backdrops for innovation—they’re living ecosystems shaped by the technologies we embed within them.”
This 2020 exposé unraveled the complex negotiations between Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs and Waterfront Toronto. O’Kane combined FOIA requests, insider interviews, and policy analysis to reveal how conflicting visions of data ownership and urban governance led to the project’s demise. The article sparked parliamentary hearings on foreign tech investments in public infrastructure and remains a benchmark for investigative tech journalism.
Expanding on his reporting, O’Kane’s 2022 book provides a panoramic view of the failed Quayside development. Through 300+ interviews, he examines the clash between Silicon Valley’s “move fast” ethos and Toronto’s deliberative policymaking. The work has been adopted in urban studies curricula across North America for its nuanced exploration of technological utopianism.
In this 2023 lecture series, O’Kane traced how personal data became the 21st century’s most valuable commodity. He drew parallels between historical land grabs and modern data extraction practices, urging policymakers to treat digital privacy as a civic right. The talk influenced Canada’s Digital Charter Implementation Act debates.
O’Kane prioritizes stories that reveal technology’s societal ripple effects. Successful pitches might examine how AI zoning tools reshape urban demographics or how ride-sharing algorithms affect public transit funding. Avoid incremental updates on app features or device specs.
His coverage of Sidewalk Labs excelled by pairing regulatory analysis with resident testimonials. Pitches should balance data privacy technicalities with stories about marginalized communities disproportionately affected by surveillance tech.
While versed in international tech developments, O’Kane often centers Canada’s role as both tech adopter and regulator. Compelling angles might explore how Vancouver’s green building codes influence smart city software or why Montreal became an AI ethics research hub.
O’Kane received this prestigious German-Canadian journalism fellowship for his comparative analysis of Berlin and Toronto’s approaches to tech incubator regulation. The award recognizes reporting that strengthens transatlantic understanding of policy challenges.
His Sidewalk Labs investigation was shortlisted in the investigations category, marking The Globe and Mail’s first nomination for tech-focused accountability journalism.
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 Tech, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
