Farewell ”Mr. McGoo”
Longtime Southam columnist Don McGillivray, who died last summer at age 76, worked through the reigns of 10 prime ministers. He was a committed journalist, but a humble one too
It is 1965 and the federal election campaign is nearing an end. Don McGillivray is on a train heading toward Toronto along with other press gallery journalists and prime ministerial candidate John Diefenbaker. A lively discussion about journalism rages in McGillivray’s roomette. Diefenbaker has been saying things in speeches that are untrue and some reporters […]
Food or thought?
Charlotte Empey is a unique figure in Canadian magazines. She's the editor and publisher of two women's books. But with all her power, can she bring back journalistic credibility to Homemakers?
Last June, people working at Transcontinental Media were given disconcerting news. They learned that their jobs were no longer secure and that a new editor and publishers were on the way. Upper management at the Toronto-based company, they found out, had been busy making a series of senior staff changes at Canadian Living and Homemakers […]
Little Miss Mischief
Throughout her career, Jan Wong has continuously reinvented herself. With the death of "Lunch with" two years ago, she's once again looking to cut out a new role
The bus platform at Toronto’s Lawrence subway station is uncharacteristically quiet for a Friday evening. There are few commuters, no buses and little noise. It doesn’t even feel like rush hour until Jan Wong arrives. Wearing a green hooded coat and bright royal blue backpack, Wong could just as easily be coming from school as […]
Mission impossible
If anyone could save the troubled Disclosure it was veteran CBC producer Jim Williamson. But then the ratings came out
Back in mid-October, Jim Williamson was as nervous as an expectant father in a hospital waiting room. Fidgeting in the front row of the John Bassett Theatre in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Disclosure’s executive producer turned his head to scan the audience every 15 seconds. He griped his clipboard tightly, flipping through pages of […]
Sick and Tired
At first I thought it would be easy to criticize the journalists on the public health beat. But after a year of following several reporters, I discovered there's no easy cure for what ails them
Everyone’s crowded around the boardroom table on a chilly October afternoon for the Ryerson Review of Journalism’s first story meeting. My foot’s tapping impatiently as the student beside me pitches her story; then, it’s my turn. “Public health reporting,” I suggest. “It’s surrounded us through what some are calling the year of panic: Mad Cow […]
Survive and Conquer
When Ottawa cut their funding in 1990, many Aboriginal newspapers across Canada disappeared. That's when Bert Crowfoot saw an opportunity - and promptly seized it
The Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA) building stands two stories tall, sandwiched between warehouses in one of Edmonton’s many light-industrial areas – a far cry from the Heritage Canada boardroom that served as its first home 21 years ago. It’s an average, stand-alone building, occupying an innocuous piece of Alberta real estate, but make no mistake […]
Tipping the Scales
Until a few years ago Canadian legal publications had struck a careful balance between reader and advertiser needs. Then came Lexpert Magazine, and the rules started to change
The four panelists shift in their seats as the emcee makes his third attempt to quiet the audience. “Could everyone turn their attention to the front? I believe we are ready to begin.” There is a brief shuffling throughout the room as each guest finishes up conversation and turns to face the front. Mike Fitz-James, […]
Voting power
City columnists have more influence than many think. In fact, as just happened in Toronto, they can dramatically affect the outcome of a municipal election
“I made my choice for mayor two years ago.” So begins John Barber’s glowing 700-word endorsement of David Miller in the Aug. 23, 2003 issue of The Globe and Mail. The election is still three months away and, in the wake of SARS and a province-wide blackout, it’s hardly a hot news item. Yet the […]
The Five Per Cent Delusion
When stock price drives management change at a newspaper – journalists, prick up your ears. In the aftermath of Toronto Star Publisher John Honderich’s resignation over the now famous “corporate desire for change” there remains a creeping cynicism over Torstar CEO Rob Prichard. In the 1990s, as president of the University of Toronto, Prichard was […]
Newsworld vs. Newsnet
The good, the bad and a few ugly truths about 24/7 TV news networks
A strong jolt of caffeine does little to prepare me for the shock of seeing a dishevelled Saddam Hussein in the custody of the United States Army – especially on a Sunday morning. I sit on the couch with a notebook and instinctively click to CNN for the latest update. The endless loop of the […]
