It goes without saying the Tilt-a-Whirl that is Halifax city council has too long tilted toward men, who traditionally also happen to be white, middle-aged and middle class, usually involved in business of some sort and been recycled through at least a couple of election wash-dry cycles.

There are plenty of people -- count me among them -- who believe it's time for change: for more younger voices, women, councillors of colour, diversity of life experience and perspective.

The question -- far more complicated to answer -- is how to make that happen.

Following the upcoming October 15 municipal election, four of the 16 incumbent councillors -- three of them men -- will automatically return to their familiar chairs simply because no one challenged them.

Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. Chip in to keep stories like these coming.

As a journalist in my mid-20s, I should have plenty to feel confident about. After getting a masters degree in journalism from an Ivy League university, I moved to China, where I worked for a national newspaper and went on to my current job as a foreign correspondent at an international news wire.

Like this article? rabble is reader-supported journalism. Chip in to keep stories like these coming.

If you Google "diversity in Canadian newsrooms," you will find that seven out of the first 10 results still cite my research prominently -- something that both surprises and concerns me. You see, the last research I did on that subject is now more than 10 years old.

Isn't that proof enough that diversity at news organizations has fallen off the radar?