Tom Godfrey's buyout departure

Keeping track of who's who at the Toronto Sun is getting easier by the month as staff numbers dwindle. One TSF source says there are only five or six reporters left in the newsroom.

Tom Godfrey

With the latest five cuts, including Mark Bonokoski, we wondered if longtime reporter Tom Godfrey was a survivor. Little did we know, the master of immigration reporting quietly took a buyout in November after 30 years at 333.

Tom, hired by Les Pyette in the 1980s when the Toronto Sun was an enviable newspaper job, was born in Trinidad and Tobago. giving the tabloid an edge in dealing with the black community. 

He covered the Rodney King riots in L.A. at a time when the Sun dispatched reporters and photographers to other locations. He also covered the fiery death of cult leader David Koresh in Waco, Texas.

Plus the aftermath of Hurricanes Hugo and Andrew.

The affable reporter was proud of becoming "the longest serving minority reporter" in the Sun chain.

Post-Sun, he is into freelance writing, working on a true crime novel and taking courses at Humber College to become a consultant in the immigration business.

Godfrey, just one of the many talented men and women who shared the Toronto Sun newsroom in its glory years, can be reached at tgodfrey@rogers.com

Keep in touch, Tom. Looking forward to reading your book.