Blanket Statements
A Toronto Star report exposed serious flaws in Ontario's child-protection system. Some social workers say the simplistic coverage bring new risks to vulnerable children
“Getting Away with Murder-Of children” and “Missed Clues-Lost Lives” read the headlines in The Toronto Star a few weekends last spring. Inside the paper pictures of doe-eyed children stared up at readers, as if pleading for help. These children had been killed by those who were supposed to nurture them, and failed by the system […]
The Unbearable Whiteness of Being…
...employed at Canada's major magazines, where the editorial grain is a pale reflection of the country's diversity
The editors sit back in their swivel chairs, gaze out their big picture windows onto the crowds at street level and talk to me with quiet dignity about editorial integrity, the busy pace of an editor’s life and the chronic shortage of good writers. I nod back. It’s true-running a successful magazine is a business […]
Hallelujah Chorus
The apostles in the media were united in their praise of charismatic Toronto Raptors GM Isiah Thomas. Were they blinded by the light?
Spring, 1998 | Comments (0) – Report an Error Share on facebook Share on email Share on twitter Share on favorites More Sharing Services Friday, November 21, 1997, marked the end of the world as we knew it, judging by the coverage that appeared in The Toronto Sun. After three years of unfulfilled dreams […]
Biting the Hand that Misleads Us
Most magazines fall all over themselves to attract the glossiest ads. On the other hand, Adbusters exists to expose how those very same ads can manipulate us
Last summer, as I walked along a tidy residential street in Vancouver’s upscale Fairview Slopes, I wondered whether I had been given the wrong address. As a young journalist whose interests are outside mainstream journalism, I had decided to volunteer for a few months at Adbusters, the subversive quarterly magazine dedicated to undermining the kind […]
Back of the Rack
That's where Canada's alternative women's magazines sit. Too bad. Because they provide a valuable forum for dissident voices
t seems peculiar to be in McDonald’s. How ironic to be sitting with Irshad Manji, an East African immigrant-feminist-lesbian, in a burger empire that doesn’t celebrate diversity but instead sets out to make the whole world appreciate a Big Mac. In this homogenous environment, it’s refreshing to think of the diverse views she presents in […]
The Dying Art of Talking Crop
We are what we eat. So why can't we get our recommended daily intake of agricultural news?
On the outskirts of Winnipeg, stalks of golden prarie wheat rustle in the summer breeze, and dust blows between the stubble in the fields where fresh-cut sheaves stand like miniature teepees. Dozens of grain elevators along the horizon cast long, skinny shadows as the sun lowers in the western sky. In the city, a disturbance […]
Out on a Limb
The launch of the new women's magazine Elm Street has the world of Canadian journalism buzzing—and readers wondering what Stevie Cameron will deliver
“I’m not really a magazine editor,” Stevie Cameron announces firmly over the lectern. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I have to pattern myself after you guys.” The audience laughs. It’s September 1996, and a hundred-odd members of the Canadian Society of Magazine Editors are sitting over the remains of a buffet lunch. Many know […]
When Homemaker’s met Sally
How a "Pollyanna ditz" brought hard-edged reporting on international women's isses to Canada's little recipe book
It’s just about 7:30 on the night before Halloween, and the 30th anniversary gala of Homemaker’s magazine (now known as HM is beginning to roll at Guvernment, a trendy club in downtown Toronto. Sally Armstrong, editor-in-chief of Homemaker’s, for the past eight years, is working the room wearing an iridescent-green wrap-around blouse, a short black […]
I’m With the Band
From punk and funk to britpop and triphop, The New Music gets to the only spin that matters
Last summer’s Eden MusicFest, held just northeast of Toronto, was the largest music festival in North America since the original Woodstock. It spanned three days and featured more than 60 bands. Perry Farrell’s Porno for Pyros was one of the most popular groups appearing. So it’s no surprise that The New Music, Canada’s 18-year-old rock-journalism […]
Mighty Mouth
Reaching some two million readers, columnist Andrew Coyne is never at a loss for words. Does he believe in what he says or does he just love to argue?
Andrew Coyne is so excited that he barely touches the brick-grilled chicken on the plate before him. When he does come up for air, he stabs the chicken with his fork, ripping at the meat, in too much of a hurry to use a knife. Olives and small chunks of tomato fly off the plate. […]
