Friday 15 October 2010

Ask Amy

Sun Media has thrown in the towel when it comes to national advice column competitions and homegrown Canadian winners.

The newest advice column is Ask Amy, written by Amy Dickinson, an American syndicated out of the Chicago Tribune since 2003.

The blurb on her Tribune Media Services page reads: "In the tradition of the great personal advice columnists, the Chicago Tribune's Dickinson is a plainspoken straight shooter who relates to readers of all ages. 

"She answers personal questions by addressing issues from both her head and her heart. A solid reporter, Dickinson researches her topics to provide readers with informed opinions and answers."

Her bio says: "Dickinson succeeds the legendary Ann Landers (Esther "Eppie" Lederer) as the Chicago Tribune's signature advice columnist."

It also says: "Dickinson, who grew up on a small dairy farm in New York, currently lives in Chicago with her teenage daughter. A graduate of Georgetown University, Dickinson also has worked as a producer for NBC News and as a freelance writer for publications such as The Washington Post, Esquire and O magazine."

Impressive credentials and she is also a distant relative of poet Emily Dickinson, so how can you go wrong with Ask Amy?

So she is American. Canadian newspapers across the country depended on Dear Ann and Dear Abby for decades.

If you want to wish the twice-married advice columnist a happy 51st birthday, circle Nov. 6.

3 comments:

  1. Ask Amy has a lower licensing fee than Dear Abby. Wonder if Sun Media got Ask Amy as part of one of the larger content packages from Tribune Media Services? If yes, then: (a) it might help replace some of the US content it lost when it ditched CP/AP; and (b) it would mean less need for some employees at Sun Media. Why have your own staff when you can just buy prepackaged content?

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  2. Totally right ...what happened to Sam Ion? Valerie Gibson? ...hey, we make thinking emotionally intelligent women in Canada but... American syndo shit is so much cheaper and safe

    Sunshine girls pissed a lot of people... Joan? Barbara? Christie? Woman carried this newspaper
    for years...ATHOLS, wake up!

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  3. Dear Amy,since coming to our paper, I have enjoyed reading the advice column once again.

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