Lesley Young is a health and science journalist at Global News, where she investigates public policy, pandemic response, and societal inequities. With an Emmy-winning background in documentary filmmaking, she brings a data-driven lens to stories about mental health, LGBTQ+ rights, and climate-related health risks.
For story ideas, emphasize cross-border data comparisons and include voices from historically excluded communities. Avoid jargon-heavy medical studies unless paired with patient narratives.
We’ve followed Lesley Young’s evolution from a data-driven investigative journalist to a leading voice in Canadian health and science reporting. With a Master of Journalism from the University of British Columbia and over a decade of experience, Young has built a reputation for translating complex public health issues into accessible narratives. Her early work at CBC Radio and contributions to PBS’s Emmy-winning documentary Ghana: Digital Dumping Ground laid the groundwork for her analytical rigor. Today, she anchors her expertise at Global News, where she merges statistical analysis with human-centered storytelling.
This groundbreaking piece dissects how platforms like Instagram distort body image, particularly among teens. Young combined interviews with Canadian adolescents, meta-analyses of social media studies, and surveys from mental health organizations to highlight correlations between platform usage and eating disorders. Her methodology included anonymized testimonials to protect sources, a practice reflecting her ethical commitment. The article spurred dialogue among policymakers, leading to a parliamentary committee review of social media regulations.
During the Omicron surge, Young analyzed hospitalization data from the U.K., South Africa, and Denmark to forecast Canada’s trajectory. She collaborated with epidemiologists to contextualize infection rates against vaccination coverage, debunking myths about the variant’s “mildness.” The article’s predictive modeling, presented through interactive charts, became a reference for provincial health authorities adjusting ICU capacity. Her work exemplified how data journalism can shape real-time public health responses.
Young’s investigative report on Canada’s blood donation policies exposed the outdated exclusion of men who have sex with men (MSM). By contrasting Canadian guidelines with updated U.S. and U.K. protocols, she highlighted systemic discrimination. The piece featured interviews with LGBTQ+ advocates and hematologists, emphasizing evidence-based risk assessment over stigma. Within months, Canadian Blood Services revised its criteria—a shift partly attributed to her advocacy-through-journalism approach.
Young prioritizes stories that explore how race, gender, and socioeconomic status intersect with health outcomes. For example, her 2021 series on vaccine hesitancy in Indigenous communities combined demographic data with oral histories from Elders. Pitches should highlight marginalized voices and include quantitative backing, such as regional health surveys or hospitalization disparities.
Her Omicron analysis demonstrates how international datasets can inform Canadian audiences. Successful pitches might compare European climate policies to Canada’s carbon tax or benchmark our AI regulations against the EU’s GDPR. Provide clear pathways for how global trends impact local communities.
Young rarely covers narrow clinical topics, such as drug trials for rare diseases. Instead, she seeks broader systemic issues—like her exposé on ER wait times correlating with neighborhood income levels. Pitches about hospital staffing shortages or telehealth accessibility will resonate more than niche medical innovations.
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 Health, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
