John Downing gone

Update:
John Downing, a Toronto Sun Day Oner and clearly the best story teller in the newsroom, quietly left the building in December.

The political columnist, always a key player at the Toronto Sun, wrote his final op-ed column for the Dec. 11 Sun. That column was about Christmas, not a farewell column. Not a word in print about the Sun vet leaving.

John gave the Toronto Sun 5,000 columns, 4,000 editorials and the best years of his life. Not mentioning his departure in the Sun after 35 years of service sinks the credibility of Sun Media and Quebecor as a major daily newspaper to new lows.

Not recognizing his contribution to the Toronto Sun since Day One in 1971 is an insult to John, his readers, his colleagues and former colleagues.

It is pathetic.

Do John's faithful readers, including the Vietnamese boat people he aided on behalf of the Sun in the 1970s, not deserve an opportunity to thank John for his many contributions to the community?

Why has it taken four months to learn of John's departure?

In the good old pre-Quebecor days, it wasn't unusual for Sun writers to be absent for months at a time. It usually meant he or she was enjoying a three-month paid sabbatical for 10 years service.

An extended absence in 2007 usually means another colleague has taken a buyout, resigned, was laid off or fired, with editors being ordered to not mention the departure in the paper.

Alison Downie's exit as the Readership Editor, also in December, was hush hush and wasn't publicized until weeks later when she e-mailed another blogger to confirm her exit.

If you want to thank John Downing for his words and to wish him well in his post-Sun years, e-mail us.