This is a joint byline for the Ryerson Review of Journalism. All content is produced by students in their final year of the graduate or undergraduate program at the Ryerson School of Journalism. Out of Africa
It isn't news that AIDS has reached pandemic proportions. But shouldn't it be?
It was baking hot in Nelie Alfredo Marinze’s little mud-walled shack, but we sat inside and she pushed the tin door closed against the prying eyes of her village. With the help of a translator who spoke her native Shonga, she told me how her husband left Lionde, in southern Mozambique, to work in the […]
Crusades, Convergence & Cutbacks
A special two-part look at the Toronto Star. How it was - and how many predict it will be
When The Ryerson Review of Journalism began developing story ideas last September, we had two proposals about Torstar. Keri Schram wanted to look at The Toronto Star’s investigative crusades that, though risky and expensive, sparked debate about pressing city issues. Melissa Hank wanted to write about The Stoney Creek News, a weekly paper near her […]
Lost in Translation
Too much Italian! Too little Spanish! Way too much English! The messy language battle at Telatino and why tongues are wagging
Recently, during some serious channel surfing, I discovered that there’s more to dull Saturday nights than infomercials and decorating shows. Way up in the gods of Rogers Cable TV in Toronto, on Channel 35, packaged between Country Music Television and the Learning Channel, there’s foreign-language television! Cash giveaways, salsa and tango interludes, and performances by […]
Shooting The Messenger
When Michel Auger was gunned down last fall, editors at Le Journal de Montréal suddenly had to wrestle anew with this troubling question: How do you best protect reporters who accept dangerous assignments?
For nearly three years, I have been the editor of Le Journal de Montréal, a daily newspaper that since its foundation in 1964 has focused on local stories and court cases. It may seem an unexceptional form of journalism, but it still requires a good heart, a strong stomach, compassion and a sense of justice. […]
Leonard Asper’s Master Plan for Global Domination
The good news is his commitment to strong journalism. The bad news? He's going to make you work a lot harder
“IT ALL BEGAN A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO,” Izzy Asper tells the audience at the July press conference announcing CanWest’s purchase of the Hollinger chain, “when Leonard walked by my door and said, ‘I’m going out for lunch. Can I bring something back for you?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, would you mind getting me a […]
Le Maestro
Twenty-five years after he created L'actualité, the magazine that changed the way journalism in Quebec was conducted, Jean Paré can look back on a career filled with high notes
Jean Paré once dreamed of being a conductor. From his podium, he would guide the orchestra through magnificent symphonies and transport the crowds with a touch of his baton. Sleek and proud in his black tux, he would uncover the mysteries of the likes of Mozart and Beethoven. Unfortunately, Paré doesn’t have much of an […]
Grief Encounter
What does Justin Trudeau's role in the wake of his father's death says about the state of our national newspapers and the state of our national identity?
“I’ve turned into some sort of celebrity,” observed Justin Trudeau in a front-page story in the Saturday, February 3, 2001, edition of The Globe and Mail. “But I’m not,” he then pleaded. “I’m not.” Having arrived fairly recently at the pinnacle of Canadian not-celebrity-the Globe cover photo depicted the young man on a snowy crest […]
The Tragically Square
How the papers are, like trying to, um, attract teen readers—or whatever
The steadily greying readership of newspapers has been a cause for concern among publishers for some years. Now, in the age of great newspaper wars, dailies are even more desperate to recruit younger readers. Meanwhile, teens, who are being courted by everyone from clothing stores to credit card companies, aren’t even reading enough papers to […]
The Magalogue Mess
Are they magazines or catalogues? The industry is going harry trying to find out
On June 6, 1999, in the cavernous basement ballroom of Toronto’s downtown Sheraton Centre, 800 magazine people were assembled for the industry event of the year: the National Magazine Awards. After a rubber-chicken dinner, the house lights dimmed and booming music heralded the main event. But about halfway through the awards, Brian Banks, executive editor […]
The Soul in the Lens
The unforgiving art of Nigel Dickson
On a Monday night in November, the upstairs floor of Bistro 990 is filled with magazine editors, art directors and writers who have come to see the unveiling of Nigel Dickson’s 30 photographs of Toronto authors. While guests snack on stuffed pastries and sip wine, they examine the portraits that are displayed throughout the room, […]
