A union recap

As decades go, this one wrapping up tonight has not been kind to union and non-union Sun Media employees and print journalism in general.

And as years go, 2009 was more of the same as Quebecor continued to downsize and reshape the way Canadian newspapers have been doing business for more than 250 years.

Brad Honywill, president of CEP Local 87-M (SONG), provides TSF readers with a recap of 2009 and a hint of what to expect in 2010.

He writes:

Sun Family Members,

This has been a difficult year for members of the Sun Media family, both union and non-union.

There’s been a gradual erosion of our numbers over the course of 2009, climaxing with the announcement that the Belleville Intelligencer mailroom will be closed this January and the work transferred to Kingston, resulting in the loss of 50 jobs.

And we’re all shocked by the nature and severity of the cutbacks at the Toronto Star, likely affecting many former Sun Media members. The union is awaiting a response from the company on our alternatives to the downsizing, but the general trend of outsourcing is a worry for all 3,200 members in the 34 workplaces serviced by SONG (CEP 87-M).

Sun Media has taken a somewhat different tact, “insourcing” the work to centralized, non-union, centres in places like Barrie, Brockville and Woodstock.

But there have been some victories over the past year in preserving member jobs and rights.

We organized the Sarnia Observer as 2008 came to a close and, in 2009, the spin-off centralized pagination centre in Dresden. Later, we succeeded in getting the Dresden unit re-united with the Sarnia unit as a result of an agreement reached in a hearing before the Ontario Labour Relations Board.

The Board also ruled this year that Sun Media is the “common employer” for members at the Toronto Sun, London Free Press and Ottawa Sun, giving members more rights in defending the transfer of their work to non-union entities.

And the London Free Press unit has succeeded in attracting many jobs as the most recent “Centre of Excellence” for production and pagination work.

As we enter 2010, several Sun Media contracts are in negotiation and several more come due at the end of the year.

Currently in negotiation are the following units: London Free Press editorial; Chatham Daily News; Pembroke Observer; Belleville Intelligencer; Simcoe Reformer; Brantford Expositor, Niagara Falls Review, Stratford Beacon-Herald advertising and the Sarnia Observer.

Coming up for renewal at the end of 2010 are: the Owen Sound Sun-Times; Toronto Sun; Ottawa Sun; St. Catharines Standard and the Stratford Beacon-Herald editorial/composing/mailroom unit. The contract for the Local’s largest unit, the Toronto Star, also comes up at the end of 2010.

These are tough times to be in negotiations. But we’re fighting hard to preserve jobs and working conditions, specifically elements of Quebecor’s recently-introduced Flex Media benefit plan which provides virtually no protection against escalating health care costs.

In this environment, I think it’s important that an experienced leader, with the broad support of the unit chairs and the local executive, be at the helm of our Local. Consequently, I intend to seek another term as SONG president at our nomination meeting on Jan. 20.

As we start 2010, I wish all the members of the Sun Family a very happy New Year. No matter what gets thrown at us, we remain a family of hard-working, skilled, dedicated employees who can be proud every day of our contributions and support for fellow members.

Brad Honywill
President, CEP Local 87-M (SONG)

Thank you for your comments, Brad.

Happy New Year to you and all members of the Toronto Sun Family, from Day Oners to novices.

We look forward to another year of your TSF postings and comments.

Weekly sameness

Weekly newspapers across the Sun Media chain will all be required to use almost identical layouts, from front page to back, beginning in mid January.

Weekly editors will be told how their newspapers will be laid out, with little variation other than the name of the newspaper in the flag/masthead/nameplate.

Editors will be told where copy and headings go, the size and style of fonts to be used and where ads will be placed.

A TSF reader sent us samples of the new format and we feel for weekly editors who treasure freedom of choice in the newsroom.

It is sanitized, cookie cutter sameness that eliminates the need for creativity.

Happy 2010 weekly editors.

Torch reality

A TSF tip of the hat to Paul Berton, editor-in-chief of the London Free Press, for remembering Ian Robertson in his blog posting on London's pending Olympics torch visit.

Ian, 61, was hospitalized with a concussion Friday after falling during a scuffle with torch security in Newmarket. It followed other incidents in Toronto and Peterborough involving torch security staff and media reps trying to do their jobs.

On Saturday, the Toronto Star's coverage of Ian's injury was a single paragraph in the print edition. The Globe and Mail, zilch. How many incidents does it take for media to realize there is a problem with security tactics?

But we digress. This is what Berton had to say:

The torch is coming! Yippee! I expect The London Free Press will treat the event with all the pomp and circumstance due such a thing, more or less.

Whether that's because a lot of people seem genuinely interested and excited by this elaborate publicity stunt, or because it's Christmastime and the news is getting slower by the hour as we approach the 25th, it's hard to say.

I must note, however, that was a nasty business in the Toronto area Friday, when a Toronto Sun photographer covering the torch relay was sent to the hospital with a concussion.

According to news reports that quoted a spokesman for the union representing journalists, security officers "shoved" Ian Robertson to the ground.

Sure, some crowd control is necessary for the safety of the torch bearer and others, but this sounds as if someone went overboard. The photographers were simply trying to get a good picture.

Besides, this is an Olympic torch (apparently available for sale by the dozen), and the event is simply a procession, heavily controlled by corporate sponsors such as Coca Cola. It's not as if it's a state secret and we're at war.

End of blog posting, but hopefully not the end of media analysis of what occurred in Newmarket, Toronto and Peterborough.

Journal Xmas

Two French-language YouTube posts by the 253 locked out Journal de Montreal employees.

The first clip is from the start of the lockout last January.

The second, posted this week, is from the CBC:

January: The faces:



Christmas 2009, 11 months later:



You don't have to be bilingual to sense the frustration.

MediaMatin for the streets of Montreal?

Bylines etc

Sun Media is out in bylines, QMI Agency is in.

But not always for QMI Agency.

If John Smith of the Toronto Sun writes a story, "Toronto Sun" will be beneath his byline.

But if John Smith's story is used in another Sun Media newspaper, it will be John Smith, QMI Agency.

Your own story, the name of your paper. Shared story, QMI.

Except for bylines for parliamentary bureau staffers. They don't change. It is John Smith, Parliamentary Bureau, in all of the papers.

As 2009 winds down and the countdown to Sun Media sans the Canadian Press next June continues, it is time to think QMI Agency.

Or QMI.

For decades, media have abbreviated Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), Canadian Press (CP) etc. to save space after first mention. QMI will surely follow.

Dropping "Sun Media" in editorial content is yet another slice of the chain's roots being trimmed and discarded.

Photogs flamed

Updated re Peterborough and Toronto incidents
Two Toronto Sun photographers were roughed up by security staff during the Olympics torch run in Newmarket today, says a CEP union press release.

Ian Robertson 61, required treatment at hospital for a head injury after being pushed to the ground, says the press release. Dave Thomas was shoved around but not injured.

The press release calls for criminal charges to be laid.

Ian, one of the most laid back guys in the Sun newsroom, no doubt never thought he'd be injured while trying to shoot video at an Olympics torch relay event. A George W. speaking engagement, perhaps, but a torch run?

"This is an outrage," said Brad Honywill, president of Local 87-M of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. "The Olympics are supposed to represent the highest of human values but the behaviour of the security officers represents nothing less than brutality and cowardice."

There were also reports of media reps being roughed up during Olympics torch coverage in Toronto and Peterborough.

A Toronto Sun story says Frank Gunn, a Canadian Press photographer, was "also on the receiving end of police aggression when a group of officers apparently took issue with him trying to photograph the torch near Front and Church Sts."

Meanwhile, two Peterborough Examiner employees covering the torch run in Peterborough were also roughed up by security guards, says a TSF reader.

"Peterborough Examiner staff reporter Andrea Houston and staff photographer Cliff Skarstedt were also roughed up but not injured during the Olympic Torch Relay in Peterborough as Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey ran the final leg of the relay," says the TSF reader.

"Other media covering the same event also witnessed the security guards rough treatment to Examiner staffers."

(TSF could not find mention of the Peterborough incidents in the Examiner's online coverage.)

It is all kind of a bummer after Toronto Sun vet Mark Bonokoski was pictured on the front page of the Sun proudly carrying a torch in Lakefield.

The Olympic flame has dimmed along its Ontario trek, with a Grafton bypass, a demonstration by aboriginals in Toronto and rough play in Newmarket, Toronto and Peterborough.

PKP & Xmas

TSF winds up Cutback Casualties Week with PKP's 2009 Christmas holidays greeting for employees who survived another year of cutbacks.

"I'm grateful for the dedication to the cause," says PKP.

He also says:

"I hope you come back fresh and rested for 2010 promises to be as full of challenges as the year that has ended."

The challenge in 2009, say TSF readers still employed, was to keep your head low, nose to the grindstone and not be caught commenting on Sun Media matters.

They expect more of the same in 2010.

As for PKP's Christmas 2009 video, we give it a one ho rating for sincerity.

Our thanks to all of the cutback casualties who provided updates on their post-Quebecor lives.

Cutback Casualty 4

This is Cutback Casualties Week at TSF, representing a decade of Quebecor cutbacks at Sun Media newspapers and at former Osprey Media newspapers since 2007.

We invite former employees affected by the massive Black Tuesday staff cuts last December, or any other layoffs and firings, to update TSF on their post-Quebecor lives. E-mail your stories to TSF.

Ian Harvey, a 2001 casualty, writes:

"I knew it was coming. I was officially working on the canoe.ca side, though I was actually in the Sun newsroom running fyitoronto.com, which was supposed to be the Sun's local portal on canoe.

"No one had a clue what we were doing. I never once saw a business plan, a marketing plan or anything that would give us direction. It was seat of the pants with Montreal running things.

"John Paton was GM of Canoe and then he left and Jose Leal took over. The confusion continued and bodies started going over the side of the canoe.

"I was on vacation in August when I got a call asking me to come in to a 'meeting.' Right then I knew I was gone. My staff too.

"I knew I couldn't go back to the Sun because there were too many cuts already underway, so took my package and jumped.

"That was Aug 22, 2001. It didn't hit me until Sept 11 when I saw the live footage on CNN and realized I wasn't in the news media biz anymore.

"That was the turning point. I started half-heartedly looking for a job and freelancing while still enjoying the late summer weather. Dave Blizzard called me a few weeks later to say there was a job going at Air Miles.

"I applied, got it and it lasted 30 months. (After Air Miles) I went back to school at the Canadian Film Centre New Media program. In September 2004, I started freelancing and fell into a part time gig teaching at Centennial College.

"In 2005, I panicked, With no teaching gig to back up my freelancing, I needed income and took the news editor's job at the Daily Commercial News, but by then I knew freelancing was what I wanted to do.

"My freelance work suddenly picked up and I quit the DCN after eight days. It really wasn't me. I can't ride a desk. They (DCN) have turned out to be one of my best and more dependable clients. I go there a couple of times a month to do layout and I write a lot of stories for them too. Still great people to work with.

"Funny how it all turns out.

"Until last January, I was doing well. Since then, not so well. I was down 60% some months from my highs of the year before. Magazines folded, clients cut freelance budgets, the competition increased. On average, I'd say I was down 50% on the year.

"But I'm surviving. Looking to do more corporate work and getting some here and there. It's slow, but going in the right direction. I've learned not to panic and use the slow days to look for new clients, pitch new work or just take a day off and enjoy the sunshine.

"I miss the people at the Sun, but in many ways I still see them. Al Cairns, Ganley-Man, Captain Mike and Dave . . . we all run into each other at events, here on the blog or on Facebook.

"What was will never be again, but then that's life. I was privileged to have enjoyed the best years of the Sun (I joined Jan. 1, 1979) and worked for, and with, the best people.

"I never felt we needed a union because if you had a problem you talked to someone and they listened. They may not always have changed things, but you felt someone listened.

"And there was one time I typed a letter to Doug Creighton complaining about the miserly raise the newsroom got and how the gap at the Star was getting bigger.

"Doug responded and we got more money.

"Try that with PKP.

"If there now, I would be a loyal and proud union member. In fact I am. I am a member of CEP local 2040, the Canadian Freelance Union, part of the same family as CEP local 87M SONG.

"I shudder to think how things might be without union representation today.

"Hey, golden days right? We all have to move on.

"Now I know how all those Tely guys felt and what they were always on about. I didn't get it at the time. But I get it now.

"There is life after the Sun. We all shine in our own way and we all carry the spirit that molded us, made us and formed us into what we are and who we are today.

"No one can take that away from us. No one. PKP and his bean counters can do what they want, but they will never, ever recreate a place where people would come in on their day off just to help out when the shit hit the fan.

"You cannot buy that kind of loyalty. You have to earn it.

"Good luck everyone. Stay in touch."

Thank you for your update, Ian.

Cutback Casualty 3

This is Cutback Casualties Week at TSF, representing a decade of Quebecor cutbacks at Sun Media newspapers and at former Osprey Media newspapers since 2007.

We invite former employees affected by the massive Black Tuesday staff cuts last December, or any other layoffs and firings, to update TSF on their post-Quebecor lives. E-mail your stories to TSF.

Wayne Newton, former editorial coordinator/national comment editor:

"I was shocked and caught totally off guard when my job as editorial coordinator/national comment copy editor was eliminated in October.

"I thought it was a job of the future, largely cyber-commuting with editors across the country, and I miss it very much.

"Now, with the help of a career counsellor and the support of family and friends, I am ramping up my search for a new, suitable position in London and am optimistic something good will come up in 2010.

"My exit was eased by the class shown by Glenn Garnett, Paul Berton, Rob Granatstein (who took the time to create a hilarious "tribute" page), Lorrie Goldstein, and several other comment editors and writers who called or e-mailed.

"There are many good, classy people in the company and I wish them all the success in the world. As for me, I'll keep plugging away with my resume polished and my fingers crossed.

"Meanwhile, I'm Twittering and building my Linkedin connections.

"Thank you (TSF) for maintaining this blog.

"Wayne Newton"

Thank you for your update, Wayne.

Cutback Casualty 2

This is Cutback Casualties Week at TSF, representing a decade of Quebecor cutbacks at Sun Media newspapers and at former Osprey Media newspapers since 2007.

We invite former employees affected by the massive Black Tuesday staff cuts last December, or any other layoffs and firings, to update TSF on their post-Quebecor lives. E-mail your stories to TSF.

Derrick Cracknell writes:

"I had worked (with media for) 28 years, starting out with Thomson Newspapers and ending January 2008 with Quebecor as general manager at Georgian Web in Barrie.

"At one time, Georgian Web was running three shifts, printing about 35 products per week and employed 22 full time and 35 part time staff. This plant has since been shuttered.

"During my 28-year tenure with the various ownership companies, I was treated very well and made lots of friends and business contacts along the way.

"I have since found employment with Winchester Print and Stationery in Winchester, just south of Ottawa. This is a family run, full service printing company and stationery store. They are awesome to work with and we print many community papers and magazines. We also have sheetfed, bindery, folders, cutters, laminating and shrink wrapping equipment, as well as prepress services.

"I would encourage any former newspaper employees thinking of starting up a community paper to contact us as we can accommodate most requests and currently do some work for newspaper start ups that have gone on to be quite successful.

"I have been a reader of this blog for several years and appreciate the work that goes into it.

"Cheers and all the best to you and your readers for a happy, safe and prosperous holiday season.

"Derrick Cracknell, Winchester Print and Stationery, 613-774-3186."

Thank you for your update, Derrick.

Cutback Casualty 1

Let's call this Cutback Casualties Week, representing a decade of Quebecor cutbacks at Sun Media newspapers and at former Osprey Media newspapers since 2007.

We invite former employees affected by the massive Black Tuesday staff cuts last December, or any other layoffs and firings, to update TSF on their post-Quebecor lives. E-mail your stories to TSF.

Bill Hodgins, former features editor at the Peterborough Examiner:

"Devastated.

"I know its cliché, but that’s how I felt cleaning out my desk a year ago. In the minutes that followed, there were other editors asking where I kept things. Could I show them how to do things? F**k you.

"For the next few days, weeks, I was embarrassed, and frustrated because I had nothing to be embarrassed about. Only weeks earlier, I had one of the best performance reviews of my career.

"Almost 20 years with the same company. A lifetime in journalism stolen away. For a while, I clung to the hope of finding another paper, another chain. Then - cliché time again - there were roses to smell. I had the best summer with my kids.

"I did a little freelance and some personal writing. And just this week, two days before the anniversary, I am set to start a new career in communications. I know I’ll miss the newsroom buzz, but it wasn’t a bad year.

"With my severance, my writing and with help from the feds, I’m actually money ahead - we’ll see how that goes at tax season.

"And I hold no real grudges. My old M.E. was good to me when I worked there, and I think he’s happy to see me working again. And I’ve always been one to embrace change.

"For better or worse, I don’t think my old paper - or the dozens of others like it in the chain - will ever be the same. But for me, it’s time to move on. It’s time to get going.

"Bill Hodgins"

Thank you for your update, Bill.

New WSR ME

Bruce Urquhart, a senior Woodstock Sentinel-Review reporter whose byline was seen often during the Victoria "Tori" Stafford abduction/murder case, is the paper's new managing editor.

A Sun Media news release says the award-winning reporter has been a WSR staffer for eight years.

"The breadth of Bruce's reporting experience in Woodstock gives him an unique insight into the community and its issues," say Andrea DeMeer, publisher.

"Bruce is well regarded in the industry as a talented professional with a fierce passion for newspapers. We are extremely fortunate to have him in this role."

Congrats, Bruce.

Freep cuts scoop?

Rockin' On: The Blog says the London Free Press is facing a major shakeup this Christmas season.

Butch and the boys down London way usually are ahead of the twitter at the Freep, so TSF will wait for insider announcements of any staff cuts.

But the contents of the other blog, which also hint of more changes at Sun Media's Woodstock and St. Thomas papers, do make an interesting read.

Who is dangerous?

All is not fair and balanced in the Toronto Sun newsroom this holiday season.

Thursday: The names, ages and hometowns of 10 men arrested in a week-long Brampton "johns" sweep are published.

Friday: The names of 10 women arrested and charged with being inmates of a common bawdy house in Toronto are not published.

Saturday: A drunk driving suspect arrested after an accident in Clarington had his three-year-old son and an open case of beer in the car. His name was not published.

Poll time:

Who scares the hell out of you more and should be identified in the media:

The "johns", the bawdy house inmates or an alleged drunk driver witnesses say swerved into oncoming traffic before his car crashed into a ditch?

We'd want to know the name of the alleged drunk to stay out of his way and to follow up on the welfare of his family.

As for the editors who got on their high horses and published the names of the "johns" on Thursday, Merry Christmas.

BTW: Have you been reading your sex-related classified ads?

New CUPE video

CUPE has released a 23-minute bilingual documentary on the 16-month Journal de Quebec lockout, with an inside look at how the 252 employees published their free and popular MediaMatin tabloid.

MediaMatin was published weekdays and handed out on Quebec City streets by the locked out employees throughout the dispute. Circulation was about 40,000 daily.

Meanwhile, the 253 locked out Quebecor's Journal de Montreal employees are approaching the first anniversary of their January 2009 lockout.

The Montreal employees have a web paper, Rue Frontenac.

Comment balance

For Toronto Sun readers finicky about symmetry, the execs on the Comment page are balanced once again.

To the left:

Mike Power, publisher; James Wallace, deputy editor (don't you need an editor to be a deputy editor?); Rob Granatstein, editorial page editor, and Lorrie Goldstein, senior associate editor.

To the right:

Brandon Grosvenor, added yesterday as VP advertising sales; Steve Angelevski, VP reader sales & services; Piero Menicucci,VP finance, and Julie Kirsh, director, electronic information.

How many of those lefties and righties would we trade for another J. Douglas Creighton, QC, founding publisher, as noted below the execs? Well, suffice to say the symmetry would be extremely out of whack.

Bob's cause

The first fall of snow brings to mind the thousands of down-and-out men and women the late, great Bob MacDonald helped as a hands-on supporter of the annual Regent Park Christmas Dinner.

Last Christmas, more than 1,300 people enjoyed a turkey dinner with all the trimmings, thanks to donations, many in Bob's name.

Bob's involvement was much more than lip service. He would leave Christmas Day comforts of family and home to man the chow line at Sacre Coeur Church on Sherbourne Street.

He would be on that chow line until everyone got fed and then scoot home for his own Christmas dinner with his wife and his daughter, Moira.

Bob, an AA member, had empathy for the down-and-out men and women helped by the good work of the dinner's organizers.

After Bob died on Feb. 26, 2006, Moira, a Sun columnist, took up the cause. She wrote about her father's selfless efforts last December.

There is still time to make a donation in memory of Bob. Mail a cheque to

Regent Park Christmas Dinner,
P.O. Box 30085, 2365 Warden Ave., Unit 4,
Scarborough, Ontario M1T 0A1.

We know it would put a smile on Bob's face.

Sarnia DOA?

A writer up Sarnia way says Sun Media's Sarnia Observer building is up for sale with a $1.9 million asking price. He's calling the paper DOA.

"Okay. It's official. The Sarnia Observer is dead," writes Chris Cooke, a blogger who worked for the competition, the Gazette.

"After 156 years the owner of Sarnia's daily newspaper has killed it one cut at a time. As I write this the building that has housed the paper at 140 Front Street since 1977 is being sold. The asking price? $1.9 million."

Cooke also writes:

"Four years ago The Observer sold to Quebecor for about $17 million. What do you think it's worth today? What do you think a sinking daily without staff, building and presses is worth? That's pretty much what we thought too."

Interesting read.

Black Tuesday +1

Next Tuesday is the first anniversary of Black Tuesday, the day 600 Sun Media employees across the chain were laid off.

Some jobs were saved by others taking buyouts, but within weeks most of the men and women pink-slipped were suddenly former employees.

Hundreds had been laid off before Black Tuesday and hundreds have been laid off since Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2008. And the cuts keep coming.

If any of the 1,500 or so Quebecor layoff casualties from the past decade want to share their post-Sun Media stories, signed or unsigned, we'll post them next Tuesday. How did being laid off affect your life? Have you found a new job?

Feel free to vent at length.

E-mail your comments to TSF or you can post them as comments .and we'll hold them for Tuesday's posting. Please include the name of the paper you worked and the number of years you were with Sun Media.

If you wonder where a lot of media jobs are going, take a read of this Computerworld story. Companies around the world are clamouring for North America's outsourced newspaper jobs.

And be sure to visit this link in the story by Patrick Thibodeau.

NPAC: David Lucas

David Lucas, one of the Toronto Sun's good ones that got away, participates in the latest NPAC Q&A.

Lucas, now photo editor at the Globe and Mail, talks about freelancing in Ottawa, being hired by the Canadian Press, quitting the turbulent Sun in 2007, being hired by the Globe.

All the while holding on to his passion for the lens.

If there are any unemployed news photographers out there feeling blue, this Q&A should be motivating. The message: Never give up.

Intel -mailroom

More Merry-Christmas-you're-fired news, this time at the Belleville Intelligencer - a week shy of the first anniversary of Black Tuesday.

Out are the paper's mailroom and an undisclosed number of the 55 employees and in is a new depot-style facility at another location.

A story in today's paper calls the mailroom closure in January "part of a larger corporate plan to become leaner and more flexible."

The story says "a number of employees from the current facility will move to the new depot. The mailroom currently employees about 55 people; the number to move is still being determined."

The current mailroom is used to insert flyers in the Intelligencer, Community Press, Trentonian and County Weekly News.

The story says the new facility will be responsible for co-ordinating local delivery of the newspapers while the insertion process will be done at facilities outside the region.

Intelligencer publisher John Knowles says: "No one ever wants to let people go, especially the kind of hard-working dedicated people we have had the privilege of having work for us."

But he is "excited" about improvements being made for readers and customers.

Our crystal ball sees more and more Sun Media newspapers becoming glorified flyers in the next decade. Money over responsible and dedicated community news.

Perfect timing for the launching of new and independent newspapers run by people who give a damn.

Media conglomerates have sure made a mess of things.

Jay Leno material?

Updated re YouTube visits and Gawker coverage

Penisgate has helped TSF set a new daily hits record Tuesday - almost 2,000 by midnight.

Meanwhile, the YouTube views count for MTV Canada's coverage was 350 on Tuesday, and more than 2,200 today.

And Gawker readers are having their say.

Not sure if Jay Leno has checked it out personally, but we're sure Penisgate will reach NBC TV for use in his Monday night headlines bit.

Santa Claus parade and hot tub float penis exposure. They don't mix at all, but the photo has put Peterborough on the map.

It is incredible that the photo went from a Peterborough Examiner photographer to the photo desk, if the paper still has one, to layout editors, to the webmaster and presses, on to the Canadian Press and its editors, and then to Metro and its editors - all without penis detection.

What are the odds of that happening?

Penis play

Updated re Examiner's apology
MTV Canada's hilarious coverage of Penisgate is now on YouTube, with 305 views and counting, with thanks to a TSF tipster for the link.



No mention of Sun Media's Peterborough Examiner, where the photo originated (see apology below). MTV zeroes in on the editors at Metro and asks why they didn't catch the over exposure snapped during a Santa Claus parade.

Line of the day from co-host Daryn Jones:

"Who knew if you are a photo editor you also have to worry about, is there a dick in the picture."

"At least he's stacked," says co-host Nicole Holness. "So it's kind of good press for him."

Have to wonder how the Peterborough Catholic school student fared during classes today.

And whether any children or parents waiting for Santa Claus are now in therapy.

The Peterborough Examiner's apology:

Sometimes in life there is no other, or even better, word than sorry.

In Monday's paper a photograph was published that shouldn't have appeared as it did and we are sorry. It certainly was not published intentionally.

Some of our web readers did notice and we immediately took the photo from our website and electronic edition as soon as we were made aware of the problem but the print edition had already gone out.

We apologize to everyone who may have been offended.

Penis power

Wow.

Mention "penis" in this blog and the hits set a new record - almost 1,200 by midnight yesterday.

It's a long way from the hundred or so daily hits in the first weeks after Toronto Sun Family was launched three years ago today.

Almost 400,000 hits later, we are humbled by the growing audience. It is sufficient incentive to scrap plans to restrict TSF postings to the Toronto Sun, where it all began 38 years ago.

A lot of comments and e-mails supporting the status quo came from 333, a clear message from T.O. that employees across the chain are part of the family.

Besides, PKP's baffling game plan for his chain of newspapers as Sun Media approaches a new decade is too intriguing to abandon midstream.

Venting is healthy and Sun Media employees have been venting here for three years, so vent on.

All of your comments, anonymous or not, are welcomed, as long as they do not attack fellow employees. To the reader who recently called a Toronto Sun employee an arrogant motherfucker, are you wondering why your comment was rejected?

Let's try to be more civil in 2010. Fellow employees, union or non-union, are not the problem.

Last, but not least, memories of the glory years of the Sun papers are always welcomed.Today's employees owe a huge debt to the vets.

Changing news

Recommended reading today is the first article of a five-part series by Nick Fillmore (see his impressive media credentials below) focusing on the need for more independent media in Canada. Print, broadcast and Internet-based.

The rabble.ca intro reads:

Editor's Note: This is the first of a five-part series that will address the need to develop independent media - print, broadcast and Internet-based - in Canada. All five articles will appear on rabble.ca. This first article explores the reasons why traditional media or corporate media - that is, corporate-owned newspapers, TV, and radio - no longer provide reliable news and information to the Canadian public. The next article, to appear on December 15, will look at how for-profit corporate media have filtered and censored the news for decades.

Is your community poorly served by the traditional media? Would you like to become involved in a group to see if an independent media project could be launched? It is hoped that this series of articles will encourage public-minded groups to set up new media projects in their city, town, or region. Interested groups and individuals are invited to send us their comments on the series along with any ideas on how to establish independent media projects. Send your comments to editor@rabble.ca and fillmore0274@rogers.com

End of intro.

About the author:

Mr. Fillmore, formerly was an editor and producer with the CBC for 18 years, which included the position of Canadian Desk Editor at The National TV News, and head of an investigative journalism unit at CBC Radio’s Sunday Morning program. He’s a former member of the THIS Magazine Editorial Board, a regular contributor to The Globe and Mail from the Maritimes, and a former staff member with Reuters in London. Nick is a founding member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) and Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE). He’s now a freelance journalist and media fundraiser based in Toronto. He can be reached at: fillmore0274@rogers.com

PKP fired Santa

Link to blog updated

PKP once fired Santa Claus.

That's the inside scoop from former Toronto Sun editor John Downing in his latest Downing's Views blog titled "I Got Fired as Santa."

Downing recalls how, at six feet tall, weighing 300 pounds and bearded, he was often called upon to be Santa, including appearances at Toronto Sun Christmas gatherings. the Ex etc.

His Santa adventures, including how PKP came to fire him as Santa in a ride up the elevator at 333 soon after buying Sun Media, are a hoot.

Downing, a Day Oner who not so affectionately calls PKP Pete, also recalls eventful and sometimes painful Santa sessions at the Ex and other gigs.

Merry Christmas Santa.

Peterborough penis

Editors at the Peterborough Examiner overlooked one minor detail in a staff photo before it was published today.

A high school student's very visible penis on a hot tub float during a Santa Claus parade.

"They've pulled all issues from the newsstand, but will surely be hearing from the kid's family," says a TSF tipster. "Not enough staff on the desk up there?"

Another tipster writes:

"Another result of the hacking and slashing by PKP in newsrooms . . . The photog had no idea and the reduced number of editors working the weekend unfortunately missed it."

The same photo was picked up by Canadian Press and used by Metro, with the name of the student in the cutline.

http://www.blogto.com/upload/2009/12/20091207_metroholidaysplashED.jpg

Penisgate?

Or, as Torontoist headlines it: Peterborough Peter.

http://torontoist.com/2009/12/hangin_out_at_st_peters.php

"Today's Metro contains something of a cock-up," says one of those very clever Torontoist staffers.

Star cuts

At least three Toronto Star employees with Toronto Sun history have decided to take buyouts or are expecting to be downsized.

"Kathy Vey, Deborah Read and Margaret Bream will be gone," says a TSF tipster.

More to come?

Stay tuned.

Star's D-Day

If the Toronto Star is on schedule, today's the day employees will be told how many staffers have taken buyouts and how many will be laid off, if any.

Management announced in November the newspaper was required to chop 100 jobs, through voluntary buyouts and layoffs if needed.

A staff memo said the broad reworking of the paper "will affect every job in every corner of the organization."

Hopefully, Sun staffers who have fled to 1 Yonge Street over the years ducked and covered. If not, we're asking tipsters to name casualties.

TorSun split

It seems the grand plan of having all Toronto Sun employees share second floor leased space at 333 won't work as planned.

A TSF tipster says employees were told today by e-mail not all employees can be accommodated, so some will have to move to a new building on Yonge Street near the 401.

The tipster says it sounds like "editorial, CSO and some IT along with Canoe will remain at 333."

Circulation, corporate IT and all others who won't fit on the second floor are moving to the Yonge St location, says the tipster.

The downsizing of what was once six floors of Toronto Sun activity to renters scrambling for elbow room is beyond pathetic.

Especially at Christmas time, for those with fond memories of 333 in its prime, when Christmas brought office parties, a hefty Christmas bonus and sincere good cheer, not downsizing and pink slips.

The selling of Sun Media buildings, presses and anything else of value, including the expertise of once valued veteran employees, would make Wall Street's fictional Gordon Gekko proud.

From cash cow pickings to a carcass in 10 short years.

As one saddened vet recently told TSF: "It's over."

Presses to Peru

Ship the presses!

Sun Media presses no longer in use at its newspapers have been sold to a group in Peru, says a Niagara Falls Review story.

Presses from the Review, the Welland Tribune and Sarnia Observer are included in the group sale, says the story by Ray Spiteri.

"We're now getting printed in Toronto and we had this structure, obviously, that we no longer needed," says Review publisher Dave Martineau. "They'll be reassembled and used as newspaper printing presses in Peru."

Martineau notes the paper's seven-unit Urbanite presses were installed in 1979 and only two years ago there were plans to add two units to the presses.

As a TSF tipster noted the other day, fewer printing presses in Ontario, fewer opportunities for start-up community weeklies and dailies to compete against Quebecor Media.

OT: NY Post

Taking liberties with a stock photo of Tiger Woods and his wife left a TSF reader wondering: "Is this for real?"

The New York tabloid crosses the line into supermarket tabloid territory with this photo of a well-bandaged Woods.

Loose, very loose.

Hazard pay?

Toronto Star photographer Steve Russell took one for the photog team Monday night at the ACC when a fluke puck off of a goalie's stick hit him in the face.

Buffalo's Ryan Miller, who took time to check on Russell immediately after the shot, gave the photog his stick when the 3-0 shutout game against the Leafs ended.

Jobs update

During our search for a Help Wanted ad for a Peterborough Examiner reporter, as mentioned by a TSF tipster, we discovered our job hunt links were woefully outdated.

The page has been updated and several obsolete links deleted, leaving the following active sites for job hunters to scan daily:

Canadian Press;

CEP/Southern Ontario Newsmedia Guild;

CTVglobemedia; Jeff Gaulin's Job Board;

JournalismJobs.com;

Masthead Online;

Media Job Search Canada;

Metroland Publishing;

Osprey Media;

Sun Media.

While we couldn't find the Peterborough posting, we did notice the Sudbury Star is looking for a news editor; Canwest is looking for a national crime and punishment writer; the Globe and Mail is looking for a web developer; Toronto Community Press needs an editor in chief; Metroland needs a reporter in the Ottawa area etc.

The Guelph Mercury has next summer in mind with an ad for a summer 2010 reporter-photographer intern, a paying job.

Meanwhile, the Red Deer Advocate in Alberta is looking for two "temporary" reporters.

"Position #1 is a five-month full-time position from Jan. 4 to May 31, 2010. Position #2 is a three-month position from April 1 to June 30, 2010."

Is that what Canadian journalism is coming to - temp jobs?

Good luck in the hunt. A new decade is coming.