Updated re one quote deleted
Say it ain't so, Bono.
Back in the glory years of the Toronto Sun, when all six floors of 333 King Street East were bustling with employees and filled with good vibes, a "stranger" walked into the newsroom.
Heads turned. There were quizzical looks. Then delayed recognition. It was Mark Bonokoski sans moustache.
Bonokoski, one of the Windsor Mafia brought in by Les Pyette as a reporter in 1974, had blossomed as a columnist and his moustache had become as iconic as his heart-felt words.
Suffice to say, his trademark moustache quickly made its return.
News today that Bono's summer stint as national editorial writer isn't coming to an end and he is continuing in that position had the same effect on this former colleague.
This time, it is not a vanishing moustache. It is his vanishing award-winning columns, another loss for longtime, faithful Sun readers.
How many people who would benefit from a Mark Bonokoski column won't have the opportunity because he will be busy writing anonymous editorials?
How many quality investigative pieces won't be written?
If Bono has reached a point in his media career where he is changing directions on his own terms, well, all the best to him. With his media cred, he should be doing what he wants to do.
But with all of the bullshit going on in Sun Media these days, we are not at all convinced Bono is 100% behind abandoning his popular columns for anonymous editorials.
Take a read of today's announcement.
Do quotes attributed to Bono sound like Bono, or more like same old, same old Quebecor rhetoric?
Would Glenn Garnett, Sun Media's vice-president of editorial and author of the announcement story, put words into Bono's mouth?
It sure doesn't sound like the Bono we have known and admired for almost four decades.
(Note: One quote attributed to Bono has been deleted from the online story since this TSF item was posted. Hmmm. The quote did not make it into the print edition.)
The loss of Mark Bonokoski columns is yet another case of paying more for less and it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify paying for the Toronto Sun.
Say it ain't so, Bono.
Back in the glory years of the Toronto Sun, when all six floors of 333 King Street East were bustling with employees and filled with good vibes, a "stranger" walked into the newsroom.
Heads turned. There were quizzical looks. Then delayed recognition. It was Mark Bonokoski sans moustache.
Bonokoski, one of the Windsor Mafia brought in by Les Pyette as a reporter in 1974, had blossomed as a columnist and his moustache had become as iconic as his heart-felt words.
Suffice to say, his trademark moustache quickly made its return.
News today that Bono's summer stint as national editorial writer isn't coming to an end and he is continuing in that position had the same effect on this former colleague.
This time, it is not a vanishing moustache. It is his vanishing award-winning columns, another loss for longtime, faithful Sun readers.
How many people who would benefit from a Mark Bonokoski column won't have the opportunity because he will be busy writing anonymous editorials?
How many quality investigative pieces won't be written?
If Bono has reached a point in his media career where he is changing directions on his own terms, well, all the best to him. With his media cred, he should be doing what he wants to do.
But with all of the bullshit going on in Sun Media these days, we are not at all convinced Bono is 100% behind abandoning his popular columns for anonymous editorials.
Take a read of today's announcement.
Do quotes attributed to Bono sound like Bono, or more like same old, same old Quebecor rhetoric?
Would Glenn Garnett, Sun Media's vice-president of editorial and author of the announcement story, put words into Bono's mouth?
It sure doesn't sound like the Bono we have known and admired for almost four decades.
(Note: One quote attributed to Bono has been deleted from the online story since this TSF item was posted. Hmmm. The quote did not make it into the print edition.)
The loss of Mark Bonokoski columns is yet another case of paying more for less and it is becoming increasingly difficult to justify paying for the Toronto Sun.
"Now I can take direct aim -- at the politicians, the establishment and the elites -- who continue to give the average Canadian short shrift."
ReplyDeleteAn interesting statement. "The establishment and the elites" of course include management at Canada's newspaper/media conglomerates.
On a somewhat unrelated note, managing editor Joe (The Bullfrog) Ruscitti has just been named Quebecor's new straw-boss editor-in-chief at The London Free Press.
ReplyDeletethe little paper that grew, then shrank, and later died?
ReplyDelete