TorSun/24 remake

The Toronto Sun, which hasn't fully recovered from a revamping a few years ago, is being redesigned once again.

A memo forwarded to TSF says the redesigned Toronto Sun and 24 Hours will be introduced to readers on July 28.

The Sun will be smaller and you have to wonder if that means the same size as 24 Hours to provide easy exchanges of ads.

Is it the beginning of the long-rumoured merging of the paid and free newspapers? Stay tuned.

The memo from Louisa Karabellas, account manager, Toronto SUN/24hrs, Torontosun.com:

"Hi all! Just wanted to give you a heads up and let you know that we are doing a REDESIGN of our Toronto SUN and 24hrs newspapers. The re-launch/redesign is set to take effect July 28th!

"You will see a brand new, more convenient look to both our papers. As a result, the specs to your ads will be changing. I will let you know the exact specs so we can create the proper ad sizes within the next few weeks! If you have any questions, just let me know! Thanks, Louisa

"On Tuesday, July 28th the new paper size will be ten (10) columns x 160 lines

* Following a thorough readership study, readers expressed significant interest in our proposed changes

* Readers identified an even greater level of engagement with the paper as a result

* Ease and consistency of product navigation is the cornerstone of the product experience improvement plans

* We continually strive to provide a refreshed and visually exciting experience ­ providing our readers with a relevant and relaxing navigational experience ­ allowing them to engage with the content and advertising messages.

* Key Design elements will include:

Sectional Navigation

Sub-Section design and treatment

Columnist & Editorial profiling

Reinforcing our authoritative voice on content important to readers

Navigation simplification

Enhanced visual experience ­ from graphics and charts to fonts and colour

Our Readers Want It. Our Advertising Partners Will Benefit From It. And We Always Deliver!"

Calgary noodles 2

Was the Calgary Sun's front page Chinese food ad on Newseum the Washington, D.C., media museum's fault?

TSF received this comment from Martin Hudson, managing editor of the paper:

"If you ever left your mother's basement and got a job instead of blindly ripping everything you know nothing about, you would be aware that newspapers sometimes print promo copies at the end of the run. This front was picked up in error by Newseum. Check your facts before you run your mouth.

Martin Hudson

Managing Editor"

It is a huge relief to hear the Calgary Sun has not sold out its front page (full wrap, or no wrap) to promote the sale of egg rolls and noodles.

But how can you lay the blame on Newseum when editors submit their front pages to the museum?

As for the snide comments about mothers, basements and running our mouths, we are not impressed when they are coming from the managing editor of a major daily newspaper.

MJ is dead?

Do you realize there must be people living in remote areas who haven't heard Michael Jackson has died?

That is not to blame world print, broadcast and Internet media for lack of trying in their bid to reach each and every inhabitant of this great planet of ours with the sad news.

We're just saying they might have missed small pockets of people in their marathon coverage of his death 12 days ago. Isolated islands. Remote mountain villages. Amazon jungle tribes.

But don't fret for the uninformed. With much more to come from the family, the fans and the courts, chances are word of MJ's death will eventually get to everyone.

Meanwhile, we've got some MJ 8-tracks for sale.

Midland minced

Sun Media's Midland Free Press, a paid circulation newspaper since 1879, will become a free weekly as of July 22, says a memo sent to TSF.

The newspaper, currently being published Wednesdays and Fridays, will also be reduced to Wednesdays only, says the memo.

The former Barrie-area Osprey Media newspaper is the latest to feel results of PKP's rewrites.

The TSF tipster who sent us the memo withheld the name of its author. It reads:

"Beginning July 22, after 130 years of being a paid circulation newspaper, The Free Press will become a completely free source of news that will be packaged into a comprehensive once a week paper published on Wednesdays.

"We will provide readers and advertisers with an aggressive paper more colourful and easier to read. Editorial coverage will be pro active. Our format will change as we reorganize our content and sections.

"The Free Press became one of the oldest businesses and senior news sources in North Simcoe by adapting to the needs of readers, advertisers and new technology. We recognize that readers have less time and advertisers want more impact from their advertising dollars.

"This change to providing a single stronger newspaper will answer both of these requirements. Our history indicates that over the years we have successfully changed publication dates to address these needs.

"The Free Press will be printed on brand new presses that will give us unlimited colour opportunities and better reproduction. The distribution will be increased to 19.000+ and is timely for retail and insert customers alike.

"We value your patronage and would like to think that the partnership that has evolved has enabled both our businesses to grow. We see this growth continuing. Please feel free to contact me should you have questions or concerns."

We can only guess at what the local news/flyers/ads ratio will be for the new free weekly.

Calgary noodles

There are 793 front pages posted by newspapers in 77 countries on Newseum.org today and one that stands out like an embarrassing pimple is the Calgary Sun.

No local, national or international story, just a full front page ad for a Chinese eatery chain, discount coupons and all.

The Calgary Sun refuses to run an ad critical of the Calgary Stampede's calf roping competition and sells out its front page for an eatery ad.

We have passed the point of no return, folks.

Eat your noodles.

Names, faces

When the presses at 333 were silenced, Toronto Sun columnist Mike Strobel gave the pressroom crew a heartfelt sendoff.

But there were no words for the prepress and ad builders who have left the building in large numbers in the past year or so.

Randy Miller, one of those vets, has provided TSF with a list of names and years of service as he and others make arrangements for a fitting sendoff this summer.

Someone once told us the average stay at a newspaper job was five years. If so, the Toronto Sun has definitely been the exception, with numerous employees on the job for decades.

Not just in the newsroom. Throughout the building. Turnover was minimal because the Sun was one of Canada's Top 100 companies to work for before Quebecor arrived in 1999.

Randy's list - based on his files from 2007 - clearly shows the amount of talent that was shown the door or parted company with buyouts.

The list of people who have departed prepress since the union was formed are:

William Thomas, 27 years; Mike Zuccaro, 21 years; Gregory Viens, 30 years; Peter Pritchard, 20 years; Betty O'Hara, 20 years; Joe Roach, 19 years; Linda Hudson, 25 years (part time at the end). All part time people were let go at this time

From September 2008 until the shutdown of ad production in March 2009:

Gary Zarowny 35 years; Ron Gilder, three years (seven years part time as well); Andrew Balfour, 34 years; Albert Ria, 32 years; Joe Duffy 31 years; Joe Colabro, 22 years; Timothy Cullinane, 27 years; Patricia Brockman, 21 years; Kevin Crawford, 21 years; Christopher Thomas, 30 years; Randall Miller, 31 years; Bryan Stubbs, 30 years; David MacKenzie, 31 years; Lindy McClean, 29 years; Larry Gillespie, 33 years (June 2009).

As you can see, these are people who were loyal Sun employees who loved their jobs. Being on the outside looking in hasn't been easy for many of them.

When they gather this summer - at a date, time and place to be announced - for a proper wake, they will represent hundreds of years of Sun talent who gave the tabloid their all.

Star/Globe news

CNW Group Item 1:
Globe and Mail members voted 85% today to ratify a new, five-year collective agreement with their employer. Of the 341 members who voted, 289 voted yes to accept the tentative deal worked out July 2 by the union bargaining team. Another 52 voted no.

TSF asks: Was there any doubt a strike would be avoided? The Globe and Mail hasn't had a bitter labour dispute since the ugly 1960s ITU strike.

CNW Group Item 2
CEP says Toronto Star management ignored its own values and the paper's vaunted Atkinson principles today in announcing that its classified advertising department is being outsourced to a Buffalo-based American firm. Their plan would see some 27 out of 32 unionized Star employees in Classified lose their jobs to Americans.

TSF asks: As a customer, would you prefer to deal with an American across the lake, or someone in India? But yes, it does seem odd to be outsourcing to Buffalo to cut costs.

Hinton's new paper

The Hinton Voice, Canada's newest independent weekly newspaper, has been launched in print and online.

The print edition of the new Alberta newspaper was launched June 25 by former Sun Media employees. The online edition already boasts an impressive list of advertisers, with full online display ads via PDF.

Tyler Waugh is the editor; Jeff Pearson, reporter; Sarah Burns, sales; Robin Garreck, composing; Melynda Ewasiuk, office and sales.

The front page of the first print edition (to the right) bodes well for the future of the new weekly. The online edition needs some polishing, but it is a promising start.

Go the extra mile for readers and advertisers in the community and the dividends will be loyal readers and advertisers.

Graduating journalism students and the hundreds of unemployed newspaper people across the country should consider pooling their talents and resources to launch independent newspapers.

Show the conglomerates print media is not dead.

And let the three co-founders of the Toronto Sun - Doug Creighton, Peter Worthington and Don Hunt - be your inspiration.

Re Dan McGarry

Dan McGarry, a former Toronto Sun supplier who says he was often invigorated by visits to the tabloid in the 1980s and '90s. laments the loss of the good vibes in an e-mail to TSF.

He writes:

"Though not officially a member of the Sun family, I was one of the Sun's suppliers and most frequent visitors from the mid 80's to the early part of this century.

"Your blog has brought back some great memories and reminded me why the Sun was the best place in the country to work for so many years.

"I lost contact with everyone when I went back to school and then left Toronto to teach. Now I am back and have found that they have scattered to the winds.

"What a wonderful group of people you had in the Mail Room, Circulation and working the presses. I first learned of the loss of Garf Webb when I found your blog today. My most sincere condolences to Brenda. Garf was a great newspaper man and one of the best golf companions anyone could wish for.

"Mike Smith, Ron Bohas, Peter Verity, Don Laycox and the rest could tell some wonderful stories. Our times at Crooks and Betty's could stretch on forever. Their love of the place was palpable.

"Later, I got to work with the Driscoll brothers on the launch of FYI. I still have a copy of the first edition, one of the bags used to carry the paper, a hat and sweatshirt.

"The security crew before the building was expanded often had to put up with me corralling up to 400 people in that tiny 'lobby.' At one time, my young daughter insisted on wearing the Sun coveralls that I purchased from the short lived store in the expanded lobby.

"Art Roach was able to overcome my lack of skill when our foursome won the company golf tournament. Others that I met on the course included Bob Pulfer, Mike McCabe and Al Cairns.

"Whenever I was down, it was time to visit the Sun and see people working hard in a happy environment, something that always recharged me. What has happened is a shame and a terrible loss to the culture of Toronto.

"Please keep up the blog.

"Regards, Dan McGarry"

Thank you for your e-mail and memories of 333, Dan.

Getting it right

Sun Media's centralized PDF news packaging failed miserably when a published photo said to be of Cpl. Nicholas Bulger, Canada's latest Afghanistan casualty wasn't Bulger.

Most embarrassed was the Peterborough Examiner, which used the photo of what they were told was the hometown Bulger on the front page of its Saturday print edition.

Online, a brief correction: "The picture of a soldier holding an explosive that ran on the front page of Saturday's Examiner was not Cpl. Nicholas Bulger, who was killed on Friday.

"Also Cpl. Bulger did not visit the Buckhorn community centre last year as stated in the story."

"The Examiner apologizes for the errors."

A TSF reader commented: "Speaking of photos, the entire chain messed up majorly, running the wrong photo of Cpl. Nick Bulger.

"Someone posted it to the bulletin board on Friday (a submitted photo I believe), Sun creates those famous PDFs and uses it on their world page for Saturday's edition.

"An email from Gord Walsh sent at 5 p.m. Saturday not to run it . . . yeah Gord, a little too late now."

Another TSF tipster writes: "The Examiner in Peterborough ran the photo huge on their front page. Can you imagine how the family must feel after seeing that? Way to go Centre of Excellence.

"This should be a topic of its own."

Readers won't know who screwed up, so editors at their local newspapers will take the blame.