Crippled!
If journalism's job is to afflict the comfortable, then why is disability media so focused on comforting the afflicted?
Most of us remember Vancouver mayor Sam Sullivan accepting the flag at the closing ceremonies of the Turin Winter Olympics in February 2006. The flag slotted perfectly at Sullivan’s side as he spun his wheelchair eight times to a roaring standing ovation. That moment in the spotlight made Sullivan a darling of international media. They […]
Sitting Pretty
How a quintessential Canadian outsider became the ultimate American insider—and rediscovered his inner Spy
Condé Nast is one of the world’s largest magazine publishers and its home is a 48-storey office tower in Times Square, the heart of New York City. Near the top, Graydon Carter, the Canadian-born editor of Vanity Fair – among the most successful magazines in the Condé Nast portfolio – has a bird’s eye view […]
Humourist-In-Chief
Eight Canadian funny men and women on Jon Stewart, the Air Farce, South Park, Playboy, Tim Hortons and the effect extreme cold has on the genitals:a miscellany
Tucked away in the folds of glossy magazine pages, below the fold in newspapers’ lifestyle sections, you will find them. They have the wit, the sarcasm and the good sense to make you laugh about war, politics and celebrity – if and when they ever get the chance to crack wise. With few venues, and […]
In From the Cold
After travelling the globe to cover hard news—from bitter chocolate to the Rwandan genocide — Carol Off came home to take over As It Happens. But, people wondered, could she possibly enjoy the show’s trademark soft interviews? They should have heard her on the pelican that swallowed a pigeon
Late one morning last October, Carol Off, the new host of CBC Radio One’s evening flagship As It Happens, prepares to interview Zemedkun Teckle, spokesperson for the Ethiopia Ministry of Information. Ensconced in a recording studio in the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in downtown Toronto, she dons her headset. The wall behind her features a groovy […]
This Means War
In 1996, The Canadian Press fended off a massive attack from Southam. Battle-hardened, it’s now ready to face new foes, including aggressive generals from CanWest. Says CP’s warrior-in-chief:“Bring it on!”
Editors hunched over their desks throughout The Canadian Press newsroom in downtown Toronto command an army of reporters and strategize with bureaus across the country. All around, flashes and blasts of light and noise radiate from televisions tuned to CBC, CNN and Sportsnet. The sounds of snapping computer keys and shrieking phones clutter the air. […]
Parting Shots
A celebration of the darkroom ages and a pressing question about the drive to digital: does it threaten the integrity of photojournalism?
Boris Spremo lugged his 125-pound trunk through Toronto International Airport. The Toronto Starphotojournalist was off on a six-week assignment in several countries of famine-ravaged Central Africa. Inside his trunk he’d packed a small retractable enlarger, film-developing chemicals, processing trays, a hair dryer and a thermometer. The photographer, who had dark shaggy hair, also carried a […]
Life of Brian
In a remarkable journey from steel town to tinsel town, Brian Linehan’s star rose steadily then fell abruptly. Now, in an era when the media have become willing enablers of celebrity puffery, his dedication to probing questions and in-depth research looks even more impressive
On November 16, 1986, Brian Linehan lounged in a wooden chair in Tucson, Arizona, and interviewed Three Amigos!star Martin Short for City Lights, an in-depth Citytv celebrity-interview show. Always classy in grooming and attire (he never owned a pair of jeans in his life), Linehan asked the probing questions that showed off the impeccable research […]
Birth of The Agenda
A new CEO, a new corporate mandate, fewer staff and less money for programming are all part of a messy upheaval at TVOntario. Despite the tumult, Steve Paikin and team have created an unlikely journalistic success story
Steve Paikin is nervous. It’s a few days before the debut of TVO’s new current affairs show, The Agenda With Steve Paikin. He has spent months preparing for the show, not to mention pursuing the man who now sits in front of him for an interview. The show has made some accommodations to land this […]
Mighty Mouth
Heather Mallick is a well-heeled leftie with a soft heart and a strident style
Inside a classroom in the Bancroft Building at the University of Toronto, fluorescent lights buzz above Heather Mallick’s head as she sits behind a long desk, poised in a long-sleeved dark blue dress, wide-eyed and nodding at a student in her continuing education course, Town Hall: The Bush Legacy. It’s her first time teaching this […]
9/12
The day after the Twin Towers collapsed, Robert Fulford’s columns gained a new urgency.Through his forceful, controversial views, he proved why newspapers need fearless public intellectuals
Men in suits and ties quietly converse in the hallway outside a library. Every once in a while a polite chuckle can be heard. Looking on is a lady in pearls, who sits on one of the dark wood chairs that are arranged in a dozen neat rows. Behind the white linen-covered table at the […]
