This is an anonymous comment to Toronto Sun Family:
"I find the lack of mainstream media coverage of the gutting of the Suns a tragedy. Sure, it will mean single-newspaper markets for the CanWest chain - and they can hardly be opposed to that. But, if the shoe was on the other foot and the Aspers were quietly rolling up/gutting/looting their papers, don't you think the national hue and cry would be deafening?
"Remember when the Winnipeg brain trust started firing off must-run editorials for all their papers? Even Ottawa Citizen publisher Russell Mills found a spine and quit. But now that the Suns are running chain-wide editorials, who cares? Who cares enough to say "Hey, wait a minute? Don't we readers deserve better?"
"Never mind the readers. What about all the advertisers who are pumping millions into the Sun advertising accounts? Are they being told what is going on? Are they getting the true picture of increasing canned copy, reduced local coverage, slumping circulation?
"The Suns are (or is it were?) outspoken right-wingers, favouring a news-lite menu that basically followed the tried-and-true tabloid style - cheesecake, crime and sports. And of course there's always the SUNshine Girl for the PC types to target.
"Something for everyone.
"Nevertheless, hundreds of journalism jobs (a lot of them entry level jobs) are disappearing, regional voices are being muffled and to what purpose?
"Perhaps (Pierre Karl) Peladeau and Quebecor could share that much with us."
Exactly. The dismantling of the Suns is a national media story, but has received only limited, but appreciated, coverage in Toronto Star and Globe and Mail columns.
Thank you for your comments.
"I find the lack of mainstream media coverage of the gutting of the Suns a tragedy. Sure, it will mean single-newspaper markets for the CanWest chain - and they can hardly be opposed to that. But, if the shoe was on the other foot and the Aspers were quietly rolling up/gutting/looting their papers, don't you think the national hue and cry would be deafening?
"Remember when the Winnipeg brain trust started firing off must-run editorials for all their papers? Even Ottawa Citizen publisher Russell Mills found a spine and quit. But now that the Suns are running chain-wide editorials, who cares? Who cares enough to say "Hey, wait a minute? Don't we readers deserve better?"
"Never mind the readers. What about all the advertisers who are pumping millions into the Sun advertising accounts? Are they being told what is going on? Are they getting the true picture of increasing canned copy, reduced local coverage, slumping circulation?
"The Suns are (or is it were?) outspoken right-wingers, favouring a news-lite menu that basically followed the tried-and-true tabloid style - cheesecake, crime and sports. And of course there's always the SUNshine Girl for the PC types to target.
"Something for everyone.
"Nevertheless, hundreds of journalism jobs (a lot of them entry level jobs) are disappearing, regional voices are being muffled and to what purpose?
"Perhaps (Pierre Karl) Peladeau and Quebecor could share that much with us."
Exactly. The dismantling of the Suns is a national media story, but has received only limited, but appreciated, coverage in Toronto Star and Globe and Mail columns.
Thank you for your comments.
That's a really good point. If CanWest and the rest of them don't care about what's happening to Sun Media jobs, they shouldn't be surprised when the Aspers do the same thing to them in a few years and no one comes to their defence. Largely because there will be no one at Sun Media left to come to their defence.
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