Non-fiction storyteller. Widely reviewed author. Canadian LongReads recommended. All ages. $200 plus HST for 1 session, $350 for 2. In-person (G.T.A.) and virtual.
Oren Weisfeld is a sports journalist whose work appears in The Guardian, Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, CBC, TVO, and more. His new book, The Golden Generation: How Canada Became a Basketball Powerhouse (ECW Press, 2025), has been called “Essential reading for basketball fans… especially for fans of Canadian sports history.”
Oren’s presentations focus on the power of storytelling in an ever changing media environment. The goal is to empower young creators with the tools to craft compelling narratives and share their views confidently and entertainingly across various platforms. He also enjoys giving media literacy workshops for older groups.
Oren generally begins presentations by introducing himself and recapping his career. While attending Oakwood Collegiate Institute in downtown Toronto, Oren fell in love with soccer and basketball but wasn’t good enough to continue playing competitively after high school, so he found a different way to stay involved in sports. He started by writing about them for his University newspaper and hosting shows at various radio stations around the country. Twelve years later, sports journalism has taken Oren from Victoria, B.C. for the Olympic men’s basketball Qualifying Tournament to Las Vegas for NBA Summer League to writing about several Olympic Games and World Cups.
Oren highlights how sports have a unique power to bring people together in an increasingly divided society. He explains the multitude of ways that kids can stay involved in their favourite sport long after their playing days are over, including sports journalism, content creation, public relations, coaching, and business. Finally, he dives into the basic tenets of sports storytelling and how narratives are created and distilled in the modern media environment.
Sports Writing Workshop
Oren reads a chapter from his new book, The Golden Generation, to provide an example of what entertaining sports journalism can look like. He then explains how research, reporting, interviewing, writing, and editing combine to make a good story, teaching participants how to back up their opinions with facts and defend them with confidence.
The participants are then split into partners, where they interview each other and write a short “profile” story about their partner’s life using quotes from the interview. Select volunteers will then read their story to the group, who will edit it together following Oren’s lead, focusing on using colour to paint a picture, developing a hook to pull readers in, grammatical improvements, and how to incorporate quotes. This gives participants a taste of everything that goes into sports journalism, from interviewing to writing to editing to public speaking.
Content Creation Workshop
Oren explains the shift we have seen in recent years from print to video journalism and content creation. He will then show participants examples of video essays, vlogs, and podcast clips from the internet, and the group will discuss why some videos were more successful than others.
Again, participants will be split into pairs and work together to create a 30 second TikTok video (also known as a Reel) about their favourite sport or hobby. They will first storyboard the topic on paper before writing a script, recording it on a phone, and finally using TikTok or Instagram to edit the video. Oren will show participants how to include background music, images, text, and transitional elements into the videos to make them entertaining and informative, encouraging as much creative expression as possible. A couple volunteers will then share their videos with the class, who will discuss them in detail.
Media Literacy Workship
Leaning on his Bachelor of Arts from Western University’s “Media, Information & Technoculture” program, Oren will begin by asking participants if they can make a distinction between media and social media. He will then highlight how our media consumption has changed over the years and what it means for our attention spans and productivity now that we consume media in shorter bursts. The groups will also discuss the difference between journalists and influencers — highlighting the unique ways that each of them shape trends and consumer behavior — before learning to differentiate between authentic and curated and/or branded content
Oren will then give participants the tools to do research using a wide variety of mediums including books, newspapers, documentaries, podcasts, and large language AI models like Chat GPT. Participants will learn how to distinguish fact from fiction and to detect misinformation on these platforms. This workshop will end with a quiz where Oren tests participants on their media literacy and ability to snuff out biases in the media.