Photo: Asad Chishti
What we learned covering Calgary’s 2025 election
Can local journalism be joyful?
Sprawlcast is Calgary’s in-depth municipal podcast. Made in collaboration with CJSW 90.9 FM, it’s a show for curious Calgarians who want a deeper understanding of the city they call home.
If you value The Sprawl’s coverage, support our work!
Can local journalism be... joyful?
It’s an odd question, but one I’ve been thinking about a lot since Calgary's election last month.
News is not typically experienced as joyful. More often, it’s the opposite. But that word came up repeatedly during The Sprawl’s election coverage. “It’s made this municipal election so interesting... and even kinda joyful,” one reader wrote.
As Calgary’s new city council finds its feet, there will be no end of stories. A motion to begin the process of repealing blanket rezoning goes to council’s executive committee on Monday. Council hashes out the budget the following week. And this week, at the Alberta Municipalities conference, Premier Danielle Smith mused about rethinking the Municipal Government Act.
There’s lots for The Sprawl to dig into, and we will.
But first, I wanted to reflect on what we learned from covering the election, now that we have a little distance from the intensity of that experience. So I caught up with Asad Chishti, The Sprawl’s roving election reporter, in Edmonton.
After covering Calgary’s election, Asad ended up in New York City where he documented another expression of civic joy on November 4, the day Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor.
That night, Asad went to a Mamdani watch party in Queens, which he photographed. “Mamdani’s campaign has been fun and joy in a substantive, meaningful way,” he wrote afterward (read more and see his photos here!).
“I’m unaccustomed to such radiance from large city politicking.”
Voter turnout went up in New York City. In Calgary, it went down. What gives?
Joey Nowak, who narrowly lost in Ward 1, recently wrote about the difference between the NYC and Calgary elections. “When politics feels real, when it cuts through the noise and connects to everyday life, people don’t need convincing,” Nowak wrote. “They show up. They lean in.”
“Something I heard running up to the election, and in the days since, is that everything sounded the same. Different names, same noise. People wanted something real.”
Asad and I discuss this and more in the new Sprawlcast episode, out this morning (listen on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts). Part of what worked about our election coverage, from our debate livestreams to Sam Hester’s comics, was that it felt real.
“I think the bottom line is whatever you pay attention to grows,” Asad told me. “And I think we were paying attention in sort of an anti-cynical way.”
I think the fact that we were having fun translated into joy, and I wish we were able to communicate that more in electoral politics.
You can hear the rest of our conversation—briefly interrupted by a leaf blower on the mean streets of Edmonton!—in the new Sprawlcast episode.
It’s also been encouraging to see how The Sprawl's election coverage has spilled outside Calgary as other publications look at how they can cover elections differently.
In Ottawa, Laura Blanchette of Good Golly Zines publishes Mid City, a zine that covers local municipal issues. Laura recently wrote about (and illustrated!) what is inspiring her as she gears up to cover that city’s 2026 election using the zine format.
Asad and I had a running joke throughout the campaign. I was trying to text him to “run and gun,” a reference to shooting video in a way that is quick and easy. Set up fast, shoot video with an uncomplicated setup, and go to the next spot. But my phone autocorrected the phrase to “run and fun.”
This became our unofficial MO throughout the campaign: run and fun. We would text it to each other often. A reminder for when we were overcomplicating things or frustrated by technical problems. It needs to be fun. Otherwise, why are we doing it?
So! Can journalism be joyful? You bet it can. And that sense of civic joy is something The Sprawl will work to keep nurturing in the weeks and months ahead.
If this approach to local news resonates with you, be sure to support our journalism so we can do more of it!
Jeremy Klaszus is founder and editor of The Sprawl.
Support independent Calgary journalism!
Sign Me Up!The Sprawl connects Calgarians with their city through in-depth, curiosity-driven journalism. But we can't do it alone. If you value our work, support The Sprawl so we can keep digging into municipal issues in Calgary!
