RSJ students launch news outlet investigating past criminal cases
RSJ student Talha Hashmani, who launched the Investigative Chronicles with fellow third-year student Masih Khalatbari.
Talha Hashmani and Masih Khalatbari, third-year journalism students at the Ryerson School of Journalism, have formed a news outlet to look into criminal cases.
Hashmani said this news outlet, called the Investigative Chronicles (external link) , was started to provide an opportunity for him to examine investigations and cold cases.
“I like investigating,” said Hashmani. “There was no other option to write about it for other outlets like the Eyeopener or the Ryersonian.”
One of the cases the Investigative Chronicles examined was that of Jacobina Carman (external link) , a 14-year-old girl from Ayton, Ont., who was murdered in 1987. Carman’s body was found the day after she attended a party.
Much of the preliminary investigation into this case was based on information from the Toronto Star. Hashmani and Khalatbari did conduct original research, and they interviewed people who were aware of the case.
Another case the Investigative Chronicles looked into involved Christine Harron (external link) , a 15-year-old girl from Hanover, Ont., who went missing in 1993. People did not know what happened to Harron until a man confessed to her murder in 2004.
Investigating Carman’s case led to Hashmani and Khalatbari looking into that of Harron. The cases were not connected, but Carman and Harron were of a similar age when killed and lived close to each other.
They used the microfilm collection at the Toronto Reference Library to look at archived articles. Police records, court documents, and transcripts were sifted through.
Hashmani loved having the initial vision of the article realized upon completing it. He enjoyed publishing these articles and receiving positive comments on them.
Hashmani said it felt weird at times starting up his own news outlet. It was tough to compete against established news outlets on campus. There were times when he doubted if he should continue with it, but he is happy he did.
“Journalism is all about marketing,” he said. “You got to sell yourself, but you also have to feel really confident in your story. If you do, you’re fine.”