Designate, Regulate, Emulate
Hard truths and misconceptions in Quebec’s attempt to accredit journalists
A glass of wine sits on the floor of Massey College, casual yet precarious. I overhear a suit talking about someone doing “great work for the Huffington Post” as well-dressed intelligentsia move into the lounge for drinks and pleasantries. “This is where we drink port and discuss Plato,” quips Rob Cribb, investigative journalist for the […]
A Toast to Homemakers
Homemakers magazine folds after 45 years of food, fashion, and feisty women.
On the evening of November 16, 2011, right around 6:30 p.m., a group of 10 women—editors, former co-workers, and friends—gathered at Sally Armstrong’s condo at Yonge and St. Clair streets in Toronto, in honour of what was once seen as just a “little book of recipes”; one that brought them all together once and has […]
Investigating Harvey
Accused of inventing a scandal, Harvey Cashore of the fifth estate stubbornly stuck with the Airbus story for 13 years, flummoxing skeptics who couldn't understand his obsession. Inside the mind of a dogged investigative reporter
On an August night in 2007, Luc Lavoie lounges in the shadows on the back patio behind a Montreal old boys’ club. The then-spokesperson for former prime minister Brian Mulroney cuts an ominous figure in the dark, his face half-illuminated by the glow of the club’s lights. He puffs on a cigarette in one hand […]
The subjectivity of objective music criticism
How does one be objective in music criticism without being too subjective? Find out how Toronto's music critics do it (or don't do it).
Riding on the success of their newest self-titled EP, New York indie band, Interpol strolled into Toronto’s Horseshoe Tavern in September 2001. Hailed as the “next big thing,” several newspapers in Toronto decided to send reviewers to cover the show. The Toronto Star music critic Ben Rayner attended, as did NOW magazine’s music critic Sarah […]
Condition Critical
With the proliferation of culture-based websites and a trend toward bite-sized reviews, the professional arts critic may be an endangered species. But there is hope—Internet-based magazines like CBC Arts Online and Television Without Pity are providing a sanctuary for this increasingly scarce brand of journalism
When a big-budget film about the life of Johnny Cash was released in November, Eye Weekly film reviewer Jason Anderson was disappointed. “As a biopic, Walk the Line is riddled with familiar problems,” he wrote. “Director James Mangold’s movie is based largely on Cash’s own frank memoirs so the issue is not that Mangold whitewashes […]
Make That a Double Latté With Internet Topping
Wireless Toronto has helped several GTA restaurant proprietors set up free Internet access. It not only undercuts corporate gouging, but also creates an activist infrastructure. The lofty goal is strong local communities, but will people start to congregate?
“Have you used the Internet?” asks Michael Pereira. Of course I’ve used the Internet, but the question is not actually as odd as it seems. Pereira is a volunteer with Wireless Toronto, a non-profit group dedicated to bringing free wireless Internet access to the city. We’re sitting in the café at 401 Richmond, an arts […]
If You Build It, Will They Come?
The fledgling Canadian Freelancers Union asks independent writers to join together and improve their financial lot. It's a noble ideal, but whether it's achievable is an open question
Thank God for the union! These stalwart guardians of labour rights are often the only defense against The Man and his ruthless march towards higher profit and increased shareholder value. While it’s hard to imagine Canadian journalists as soot-stained workers streaming out of a coal mine or steel mill, they still have to deal with […]
The Mourning After
Saturday Night's latest death reinforces the notion that Canada cannot support general interest magazines—or does it?
An email went around the Saturday Night magazine offices on Tuesday, October 18, announcing that a meeting had been scheduled for Thursday. The email listed a time, but no agenda. There was a mood of suspicion in the windowless boardroom on the morning of the 20th, as a dozen editorial and art staff mulled over […]
A Constellation of Problems
Satellite radio may be the new frontier to programmers south of the border, but try telling that to the CRTC. Or Canadian content watchdogs. Or listeners, for that matter
I’m giggling to the Howard Stern Show on 92.9 JACK FM during my Tuesday morning drive to the School of Journalism at Ryerson University in downtown Toronto. It’s one of Stern’s last programs on the Buffalo station, just before he makes his much-publicized jump to Sirius Satellite Radio. That’s when Canadians living near the U.S. […]
The Ballad of Electronic Frank
Barely a month after its relaunch in September, Frank magazine was hit with its first libel suit. A “monstrous libel” suit, in fact, according to claimant Pamela Wallin. Many publishers might break into a cold sweat at such a thought, but not Frank publisher Michael Bate. “It’s just like the old days,” he says. “Now […]
