Bill Glisky 2

The debate continues . . .

Bill Glisky, managing editor of the Belleville Intelligencer, responds to numerous comments from TSF readers following his response to an anonymous TSF reader's comments:

Bill, quoting from comments posted, writes:

A couple rebuttal points, just to keep the discussion going:

"I think Bill was over generalizing too."

On the contrary, I was speaking about one particular reporter and his attitude toward his work. As noted in my post, I have worked with many, many reporters who don't have this attitude (including the two I have working in my newsroom now) who "are slugging away doing the best they can with limited time and resources with little (if any) complaint." To this group I say God bless them and would that all up and coming reporters were exactly the same.

"It would be nice if reporters had time to work on stories."

Sure, and it would be nice if dollar bills flew out of my butt and the Swedish bikini team set up shop outside my office, but it's not going to happen. The issue is what are you going to do about it - whine and complain, or make the most out of what little time you have and few resources that are available to you to do something great. I was privileged enough at the ONAs last year to know eight people nominated for awards, all from small newsrooms and all who found the time and took the initiative to do more.

"There's no reward for digging, for doing the extra . . . you get the same pink slip as everyone else."

I have always felt the reward for doing this job right was twofold: serving the readers well and the satisfaction of doing the job right. For me, this job has never been about the paycheque, it's been about, as one commenter noted, "love of working at a newspaper."

"But I'd be grateful for a simple fucking (pardon the language) thank you. Not once has anyone said thanks, thanks for going out of your way to make the paper a bit better."

Same answer. Sure your editors should say thank you, but so what? Be proud of the effort you have put into doing the job right and don't worry about the pats on the back. That's not what this job should be about. It would be nice if it was, but again it's not. So what?

Very early in my career, a wise retired journalist asked me a pointed and poignant question: Is being a journalist your profession or your vocation? I answered the latter, and more than 20 years later feel the same way.

That's why I, like many, will bemoan changes being made, some due to the recession, some due to poor understanding of this business and some made out of greed that could very well make the poster who said newspapers will be dead absolutely correct.

Then I pick myself up, shake myself off and go about doing the best job I can, producing the best newspaper I can despite all the challenges involved in that. And I do so not because of a paycheque or a pat on the back. I do it because that is what I was taught a journalist does.

If that makes me a throwback to the 1960s so be it. But I'll be damned if I'm going to let anybody anywhere change that in me.

TorSun leasing

The mysterious new owners of the Toronto Sun building at 333 King Street East have agreed to a 10-year leaseback for Sun space, says a TSF tipster.

The tipster says remaining Sun staff learned yesterday they are being moved to another area on the second floor.

Previous tipsters have said 333 would become a condo, but the recession probably curbed that plan.

Others have said the building will be leased to multiple businesses, which seems more likely with the Sun's leaseback.

So the Toronto Sun becomes a tenant in the six-storey building it built in the 1970s with Doug, Peter and Don at the helm. Sad times.

Surprisingly, no TSF tipster has come up with a name for the new owners. What's the story there?

New generation

A Belgian lad patiently waits by the roadside to salute a contingent of vets following a memorial service. Canadian soldiers on parade return the salute. It was 2007, but the intergenerational exchange of respect is timeless.

A vet tells us the "Eyes Right" command is the biggest compliment troops on parade can pay and is reserved for dignitaries at reviewing stands, so it was a classy gesture.

Vets, we salute you all.

Re Lou & reality

Bill Glisky, managing editor of Sun Media's Belleville Intelligencer, responds to TSF's Lou & reality posting:

"I tread softly because any missteps will see me working more weekends, stuck on nightshifts or doing streeters. After all, it's the only real power they have over me."

"If the writer were truly the reporter he claims to be, working weekends or nightshifts wouldn't make the slightest bit of difference - news is available at any time and any place and those of us who have actually been around for a few years know that.

"As I was told many years ago: 'There are no small stories, there are only small reporters.'

Despite claiming to represent the best in our profession, this reporter reminds me too much of so many other young journalists I have seen over the years who want to be handed the 'big' stories or the 'big' opportunities but won't put in the work to warrant the shot and don't recognize that great reporters make their own breaks by doing the legwork and putting in the effort. They need nothing handed to them; they know how to go out and find it and when they find it, make the most of it.

"A few years ago, I had a reporter ask me why other reporters got all the big stories and she didn't. Yet when I told her - namely the other reporters were willing to dig deeper, make extra calls, drive extra distances, wait for something to develop, not walk out the door after exactly eight hours of work, and not argue with their editors about whether a story was 'worth' their time and effort - I got looked at as if I was talking a foreign language.

"Those other reporters, by the way, have all recently been to the Ontario Newspaper Awards, not for stories they were handed by editors but for work they did to take their stories above and beyond.

"That reporter, like this one I suspect, talked the talk but never walked the walk. If this correspondent was as good as he or she claims to be, he or she would not be waiting for approval, or need his editor to 'have his back.'

"He would be getting the job done on his own, overcoming obstacles and putting his work out there for the readers to judge. Instead, he would rather whine about how hard done by he is and how it's not his fault he can't be as great as he thinks he is.

"Feel his pain? Not in the least. I feel the pain of the readers of his newspaper who aren't getting full value for their money from people like this who would rather collect a pay cheque and talk about how great they are than actually put in the work to be that great."

Thank you for your comments, Bill.

One observation: Are bare bones newsrooms allowing today's reporters the freedom to be self starters, with adequate time for digging into a story?

The reporter says he/she is chained to a desk, which tells us the reporter doesn't have the freedom to leave the newsroom to develop a story.

There are drawbacks to restricting the content of a news story to library files and telephone calls.

Today's newsroom numbers give new meaning to Ron Poulton's 1970s book Life in a Word Factory.

The key word being factory.

2 Lindas re Pat

Two Lindas - Barnard and Fox - comment on the departure of their former Toronto Sun colleague, Pat Surphlis.

Linda Barnard, now at the Toronto Star:

"What a sad thing to hear that The Sun is letting Pat Surphlis get away. She is such a classy person; so clever, enthusiastic and creative.

"Pat's warmth and style made everybody who worked with her feel special, from clients and advertisers to Sun staff. I'll never forget how she made those Fitness Weekends run like clockwork.

"All the best Pat - I know there are great things ahead because any company that snaps you up will come up trumps."

Linda Fox, laid off in 2001:

"Pat was a great promoter of the Sun . . . and God knows the paper could use a promoter now more than ever before. But the Quebecor mentality is pathetic. I often wonder why the few people whose names I know, who still work there, keep hanging on.

"Pat did not deserve a trip to the loading dock after 25 years of service (hard service too . . . she was always a number one Sun cheerleader). No one who put in the countless overtime and selfless hours that she did deserves a boot in the backside.

"To some of the loyalists who are left, do you think PKP really knows your name? The address 333 King St. East isn't Cheers . . . it has long ceased to be a place where 'everybody knows your name.'

"(The Sun) was a great place; a fantastic place at times; I had magical moments travelling the world on press trips for the travel section, meeting interesting people while writing for the business section . . . but the Cinderella ball is over folks."

Thank you for your e-mails.

Lou & reality

We are highlighting this anonymous TSF comment for its eloquence. Anonymous, for obvious reasons, but refreshingly insightful commentary in this age of newsroom uncertainty.

The comment, in reply to our Lou & Robin posting, reads:

"I only met Lou (Clancy) once and it was brief. We shook hands, shared a couple words and what wasn't said was all I could hear. He didn't have to say anything. I knew what was once available was no longer.

"A feeling of lost hope came crashing upon me, but at least he didn't pretend otherwise. A look was all it took. That's my Lou story. It's simple.

"Lou had a reputation of being a great guy to work for. Sadly, many of us 'younger' reporters will never get to experience what it is like to work for a real newspaper guy.

"Sun dailies are full of what some of us call 'last men standing.' I don't want to put down a person trying to put food on the table, but when they pretend and behave as though they know news, it's sickening. It's disheartening to know they are exactly what is desired by the signature on my cheque. The decisions they make are enough to make a person cringe.

"It's one of the hardest aspects of 'corporate media' to swallow. Despite how much you want something, unless a miracle occurs you'll never know what it is like to respect your editors.

"That's the the real sad state of the newspaper industry. Papers aren't only dying, but so are reporters. They're killing us off one by one. I'm not talking about those who consider themselves 'journalists,' but those who know they are reporters.

"Not writers, but reporters. Not in it for the byline, but the story. A pub over the annual press gallery gala. The guy that can get into buildings, get names, get people to talk. These type of people are few and far between nowadays.

"I'm under 30 but bleed ink to the point I need a transfusion. Working for the Sun and knowing the world is closing in around any escape plan is tiring, soul-crushing and becoming timeworn.

"With all the slashing, cutting and the closing of doors on opportunity/advancement, we stand to kill off the reporter. The person that was once applauded and appreciated in newsrooms is no longer. They've made way for those who will follow in line.

"Whatever ever happened to the edgy, teeth-gnashing digger refusing to take no for an answer and willing to push the limits reporter? More importantly, whatever happened to the editor that would back him or her?

"Doing it right is why I got into the business.

"The day of the newspaperman is nearly over. It is faint and desolate. I worry the wave long ago reached its break. But I stay, keep on keepin' on, waiting, looking for any opportunity. Giving in is not an option, but it grows stronger daily.

"I tread softly because any missteps will see me working more weekends, stuck on nightshifts or doing streeters. After all, it's the only real power they have over me.

"Here's to those who have been there and also to those who feel the pain of the last man standing.

"Long live the reporter.

"Signed,

"A reporter chained to his desk like a dog in a cage."

Thank you for your comment. We feel your pain.

Short shorts

The Telegraph in the U.K. gives the late Doug Fisher a fitting sendoff today. Fisher, former veteran Toronto Sun columnist, died Sept. 18, a day shy of his 90th birthday. He penned words for the Telegraph over the years.

John Paton, the former Toronto Sun copy boy who could and did, is featured in a Toronto Star story today as CEO of the profitable impreMedia in New York. The company publishes Spanish-language newspapers.

Judy Creighton, 71, former London Free Press staffer and veteran Canadian Press food writer, received Cuisine Canada's Founder's Award Friday for her "lifetime of service to Canada's culinary community."

Derek Ingram, a Winnipeg Sun golf columnist, has been named new head coach of Canada's national women's amateur golf team. He replaces Dean Spriddle, who stepped down from the position recently.

Quebecor Inc.'s third-quarter profit jumped 52% as customer growth boosted the media company's revenues. It reported net income of $69.4 million or $1.08 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30.

Re Ken Robertson

Update - Ken was released from hospital on Remembrance Day
Ken Robertson is up and about and selling copies of his Windcharm: A Dream Delayed book to visitors and attentive nurses and doctors at Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital.

The Toronto Sun Day Oner and former city editor says doctors credit his instinct and an early-morning 911 call for getting him to hospital in time.

Ken thanks all of his callers. When he's not on the phone, he's taking notes for his next book.

Pat Surphlis out

Pat Surphlis,a tireless promoter of the Toronto Sun for more than 25 years, was cut from the shrinking ranks at 333 on Thursday.

Pat, director of promotion and the biggest cheerleader you could find in print media circles, was affectionately labeled Promo Queen by Sun columnist Mike Strobel.

Now, she is another cutback casualty, one more name dropped from the Comment masthead. It is getting lonely at the top without a managing editor, editor-in-chief, promotion director etc.

Always appreciated by the founders of the Sun when the tabloid was reaching for the moon, Pat was one of the unsung heroes at the paper.

The effervescent staffer, with a winning smile, devoted years to promoting the Sun, mingling with sports celebrities, auto execs, delegates at media conferences etc.

Her pro-Sun zest took her wherever she could promote the paper, including the annual Toronto Sun Fitness Weekend and other reader-oriented events.

Pat was among the many women in the Sun workplace to make a difference over the years. We don't see her being idle for long with her credentials.

All the best, Promo Queen.

Comments about Pat's exit can be e-mailed to TSF.

Lou & Robin

Robin Harvey, former veteran Toronto Star staffer, has some kind words about Lou Clancy, the Toronto Sun's recently departed editor-in-chief - and a confession.

Robin, former Star reporter, ACE, slot person, copy editor, Deputy Sunday editor, writes:

"Lou was the closest thing to a mentor I ever got in this crazy business. And that is saying a lot for a guy who seemed to be conversationally challenged from a woman who never seemed to shut up.

"But there must be more than a zillion things he did over my career at The Star that directly taught and affected me - all in a quiet, understated way.

"He inspired incredible loyalty and never seemed to get caught up in political bullshit. Maybe it was because we both grew up around Pape and Danforth, but he never needed many words to communicate when I was being hysterical, paranoid - or bang on the mark with any story or call.

"On occasion, he could lose his temper, and 'Lou the bear' would growl my way. But he was quick to apologize and I can only think of three times this happened in more than 15 years working for him in some capacity or another.

"And he was always straight-up fair and honest with me.

"So I have one confession to make.

"Lou, that day the fishing club stole your big fish from your office wall and held it for ransom - the female hand holding the gun to its head in the second ransom demand photo was mine.

"luv always

"Robin"

Thank you for your e-mail, Robin.

Question is, when and where will Lou resurface in a newsroom?