Breaking Point
Chatelaine demands a lot from its writers—sometimes too much
Every freelance writer has run into conflict with an editor at one time or another. Writing is a very subjective thing, and some conflict is inevitable. Fortunately, it doesn’t happen all that often. Most magazine editors are willing to negotiate with writers, and vice versa. And both editors and writers realize there are certain obligations […]
After It Happened
Elizabeth Gray's fight to prove the CBC was wrong
Broadcaster Elizabeth Gray is in the midst of a controlled panic. With three days to deadline she’s taken on a piece for CBC Radio’s Sunday Morning that will analyze the decline of the National Energy Program-no small feat for the most seasoned of the current affairs show’s field producers. But Gray characteristically has taken on […]
Out on a Limb
Peter C. Newman's tall tree tale
Every so often even the best writers become too enchanted with a story. They are captivated, and perhaps a wish not to disturb the tale causes them to overlook any faults that might be found by less involved observers. In his book, Company of Adventurers, Peter C. Newman is at times a very enchanted writer. […]
Pressed for Time
The perils of preprinting: will the real Mexio please stand up?
Last Sept. 21, a page-one headline in The Toronto Star‘s Saturday edition read “Reeling Mexico battered again.” The second earthquake in two days had rocked an already devastated Mexico City and its Pacific coast. The government had estimated that the final death toll might be as high as 4,000. Everyone mourned for Mexico as images […]
News on a Platter
A Toronto Agency is getting fat on clipbook journalism
“A special cleanser, such as Olay beauty bar, will gently cleanse and soften your skin, leaving it looking healthy and radiant.” “Generally speaking, all-season tires, such as the Michelin XA4, are so good that they meet the needs of 90 per cent of Canadian motorists, says Michelin.” These sentences are taken from a file of […]
Theatre of Hate
How Zundel played to the weaknesses of the press
Self-confessed Nazi sympathizer Ernst Zundel stood trial in January, 1985, for publishing his view that the Holocaust was nothing but a Jewish hoax. He was later convicted of “spreading false news ” for his 32-page pamphlet entitled “Did six million really die”? But for Zundel it was well worth being tried-in return he received a […]
Harpurs’s Progress
The spiritual pilgrimage of a religion reporter
Dr. David Suzuki is leading a panel discussion in the auditorium at the Ontario Science Centre after showing a 30-minute segment from his celebrated series, A Planet for the Taking. The crowd, spilling out into the lobby, fidgets whenever Suzuki, the star attraction, deflects their attention to other panelists, among them Tom Harpur, syndicated columnist […]
Out of Whack
On the subject of journalism, The Canadian Encyclopedia sacrifices depth for accessibility
When The Canadian Encyclopedia was published last fall, newspapers across the country clamored to praise it. Superlatives leapt from their pages like so many tiny maple leaves fluttering in the wind: the encyclopedia promised Canadiana from A to Z and it delivered, they said, so why not wave the flag a little? It’s “the finest […]
The Laird of Harrowsmith
James Lawrence turns pastoral mythology into publishing success—and adds rural America to his domain
It’s 12:30 on a Thursday afternoon in a large Victorian farm house in the village of Camden East, about 40 kilometres northwest of Kingston. The staffers of Harrowsmith and Equinox magazines have filtered down from their offices in the building’s upper floors and are queued up in the communal kitchen, trying to get a glimpse […]
The Right Staff
In the battle far station identification, Toronto' s local newscasts depend on image and personality
She is attractive, young and engaging, her slightly bouffant hairstyle and classic pearls a touch old fashioned. He is suave and handsome, well groomed and polished, his bright silk tie complementing his jacket puff. They could be the perfect couple on the perfect evening, and in a sense they are. She’s Gail Smith, he’s Tom […]
