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The Docmakers

The Doc Mentorship Program

A professional development initiative for Canadian audio freelancers and CBC employees.
CBC Radio ·

CBC Radio's Doc Mentorship Program is a professional development initiative for Canadian audio freelancers and CBC employees.

It's an unparalleled opportunity for emerging and intermediate audio producers to team up with veteran doc editors/makers to bring innovative and unique stories to life — and get them broadcast on CBC Radio One.

Doc mentorship 2022
(CBC)

Interested in applying? Consider the following:

  • Are you eligible?

The Mentorship Program is open to CBC employees with experience in audio, and Canadian freelance audio producers.

If you're an international or Canadian freelancer who does not meet this criteria, you're welcome to pitch a number of our radio shows directly, outside of our Mentorship Program.

  • Do you already have some audio production skills under your belt?

The Mentorship Program is for audio producers who have demonstrated experience in audio production, and are looking to develop their pre-existing skill-sets. This isn't the place to learn audio production 101.

  • Do you have a good pitch?

We're looking for artful, quirky, sound-rich, experimental and unique stories and treatments that push boundaries and take risks. If you're not genuinely excited and intrigued by your story, chances are that no one else will be either.

Visit our resource page to help you determine if your pitch is a good one.

  • Can you make your doc soon?

In order to be greenlit, your doc will need to be completed within three months of the application deadline. Make sure your character(s) are available and that your doc can be made in that timeline.

The most time you will be given to make the doc is three weeks; however, what we're saying here is, don't pitch a doc that you would only see yourself starting to produce five months from now.

We offer a $700 stipend for travel inside Canada (no international travel is permitted.) 

  • Are you better suited for another opportunity?

In addition to our Mentorship Program we facilitate doc-making programs for advanced journalists and emerging Indigenous storytellers.  

On the left, mentee Veronica Simmonds in studio for Ideas. On the right, mentee Jessica Linzey in the field for The Sunday Edition.
On the left, mentee Veronica Simmonds in studio for Ideas. On the right, mentee Jessica Linzey in the field for The Sunday Edition. (Submitted by Veronica Simmonds and Jessica Linzey)

Meet the above requirements? Now choose a mentor

The backbone of the Mentorship Program is a group of extremely talented and dedicated mentors, all of whom are producers on CBC Radio One shows.

The work generated by members of this group has been recognized by nearly every major award in broadcast journalism, including the Prix Italia, the Peabody, and the New York Festivals.

Our mentors are:

Each mentor is affiliated with a specific CBC Radio program. It's expected that the docs they produce in collaboration with the Mentorship Program will air on their home program (e.g. Alison Cook produces docs that air on The Doc Project, and Jim Lebans produces docs that air on Quirks & Quarks).

Click here to learn about each mentor's unique style and to hear their favourite docs. 

Time to apply!

Once you've confirmed you're eligible, and you have a story and a mentor in mind, it's time to apply! Fill out the application form to tell us all about your pitch.

CBC Doc Mentorship Program application

Questions? Email us at [email protected]