Nofrills Sun/market

The sign outside 333 King Street East reads: Coming soon, nofrills.

How appropriate, a nofrills supermarket will be sharing the former Toronto Sun building with a nofrills newspaper. That isn't a cheap shot, that is the reality of the Sun's status in 2011.

They are renters of a small slice of the second floor in a six-floor building built by the early success of the 62 Day Oners and others who followed.

So when the Toronto Sun marks its 40th anniversary on Nov. 1, 2011, it will be deja vu all over again - minimal staff in rented office space.

But without the heart and soul of the Day Oners that carried the tabloid to awesome heights for more than two decades.

30 - Eric Dowd

Updated 29/12/10 re John Downing link
Eric Dowd, who died from cancer on Christmas Day, was never a Toronto Sun Family member but he helped mentor many of us along the way.

The veteran Queen's Park reporter was 79 and, as Premier Dalton McGinty says in a CTV obit, was "a fixture" at the Ontario legislature for decades.

Eric, who died at St. Michael's Hospital, was one of those gentle people in print media who made novices feel at ease at first glance. Apparently, not so with his editors.

The CTV obit quotes numerous media people touched by Eric's presence along the way, from his years on staff at the Canadian Press, Globe and Mail and the defunct Toronto Telegram, and as a Queen's Park freelancer since the 1970s.

As competitive and professional as Eric was, he always had time to share his journalistic experiences with others who were keen on learning the ropes.

Ian Urquhart, editorial page editor of the Toronto Star, says in a Star obit Dowd mentored him as a cub reporter.

The CTV story says Wendy McCann, CP's Ontario, bureau chief, also remembers Dowd's willingness to help younger reporters.

"He really helped the next generation put politics into context, and without that context we wouldn't have been doing our jobs," said McCann.

In the early 1960s, Eric was one of many selfless Globe and Mail reporters and editors who made a difference in the lives of copy boys, including this blogger, who had an interest in becoming reporters by offering advice.

Eric's passion for the job never faded, covering the legislature from the 1960s to 2010, putting in long days even during his cancer treatments, says CTV. He was on the job two days before he died.

Former Toronto Sun editor John Downing has posted a tribute to Eric on his Downing's Views blog. His comments include regrets that the Sun never hired Eric after the Tely folded. 

Downing, one of Eric's former editors at the Tely, writes:

"Boy, he could bug you. And then charm with a gentle observation. Tough but fair. And with an inner strength that had him write about his adopted province right up to the final days of his battle with cancer that took him at 79 on Christmas Day."

Our condolences to his family.

A remembrance service will be held in the Trull North Toronto Funeral Home, 2704 Yonge St., Tuesday, Jan. 4, at 11 a.m.

Memories of Ken

Updated 6/01/11 re daughter's comments

Ken Robertson wore numerous hats in his lifetime, but his pen earned him the most publicity - as a Toronto Telegram and Toronto Sun (Day Oner) newsman and as an author. 

After his death from cancer Wednesday at Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, we invited memories of Ken from all who crossed paths with him in his 87 years.

Lynn Tymczyszyn, Ken's daughter, writes:

"Ken Robertson was my Dad. Thank you all for your comments. I am sitting here reading them with tears in my eyes.

"Dad recovered from cancer surgery in November 2009, but the cancer came back. He was not feeling well for the past few months but kept going. He wanted to finish his book. He had two chapters to go.

"Jack Hutton suggested his news buddies send me stories about my Dad and we will include them in the book. I think that is a fantastic idea. Dad would love it.

"Dad also asked me to write about his new Great Grandson "Charlie" who he loved so much. He said something about this baby made everything perfect.

"My Dad asked me to publish the book, so I will try. I will welcome any stories you can send to me. I have many memories, but some of my favorite times with Dad were sailing on "Shadow" across Lake Ontario. I would phone him every day asking if we could go.

"I miss him so much. We are planning a Celebration of his Life, I think at Windcharm, in the spring. I hope all of his friends will come.

"Thank you."

John Iaboni, a Toronto Sun Day Oner in sports, writes:

"Well, our Sun Family has lost another great one. But what a life he lived and continues to live because those of us privileged to have worked with Kenny will always be touched by his ever-present smile, by the words of encouragement he provided in the heat of the battle and how he always ensured we knew how proud he was when the job was well done.

"I first met Kenny in 1968 as a teenager working in the Tely's incredibly seasoned and talented sports department. My initial thought? What a nice man. Time working together proved my first impressions to be correct.

"From those beginnings through those wild, crazy and proud days as Day Oners at the Sun, he never changed. It was a comfort for me to come to work each day and see him there, the face of calm yet prepared to dig in to kick the opposition's butt - and believe me, EVERY department at the Sun did that more often than not - always ready with a hello and constantly showing a caring interest in one's life away from work.

"It was a sad day when he left the Sun but, as I recall, he talked about his love for boating, life in Orillia and his family so he was ready to move on.

"Tally ho, Ken.

"To Kenny's family, my deepest condolences."

John Downing,  a Toronto Sun Day Oner, pays tribute to his old friend in a blog posting at Downing's Views. Here are his first few paragraphs:

"The Toronto Telegram died in 1971 but its memories live on with a shrinking band of survivors from the final wonderful and wacky decade.

"We just lost another one when Kenny Robertson died at 87. He wasn't famous. The tales of the newspaper war of Star vs. Tely in the 1960s seldom mention his name. The histories of the Sun skip by this Day Oner.

"But anyone who has ever been an editor or laboured in the trenches, when deadlines harass and the damned opposition probably has the pickup pictures or the key quotes, know that it is the Kenny Robertsons of journalism who form the spine of your paper, not the bosses or the stars.

"When they're agreeable as well as dependable, when they don't grumble as they ignore food or sleep until they get the story, then you have the bonus that was Kenny Robertson, two-way man."

The full Downing tribute can be read here.

Cal Millar, former Toronto Sun Day Oner cop desk chief and recently retired from the Toronto Star, writes:

"Just wanted to drop a line and thank you for letting everyone know about Ken’s death. He will be sadly missed.

"I first met Ken while I was working on provincial dailies before making my way in 1967 to the Toronto Telegram.

"He had a drive that never stopped and was an inspiration to young reporters.

"After joining the Tely, it was a privilege to cover stories with him in Toronto and be on assignments with him across the country and elsewhere.

"He never went away without getting the story and was never satisfied unless there were no more facts to get.

"It was also a great honor working with him when the Toronto Sun began in 1971. He  (as city editor) knew the job of a reporter and knew what to expect when someone was sent out on an assignment.

"Sadly, with the death of Ken Robertson and far too many others I have known who predeceased him, our industry has lost a lot of talent and experience that will never be replaced."

Hugh Wesley, former veteran Toronto Sun photographer and photo chief, writes: "He was one of the very best humans I have ever known, and most alive.

"I'll miss him and his bright quick mind. RIP Kenny."

Christi Carmichael writes: "Ken was a colleague and friend of my dad's from their days at the Tely

"Two years ago, I was hit by a car while crossing the street. My dad forwarded my email I'd sent about it to Ken. Within days, I received a parcel in the mail.

"Enclosed was Ken's Windcharm book and a lovely note wishing me a swift recovery and hoping that I would enjoy reading his stories while I healed. 

"And I surely did! (The stories) were so vivid and poignant. I loved them. I told him so. And we became pen pals. He was so kind, sweet, talented and funny. 

"I will sorely miss his emails, but I'm pretty sure that I'll still hear his words in my head.

"Tally Ho, indeed."

30 - Ken Robertson

Updated re obit (no visitation or service at Ken's request)
The Toronto Sun has lost another Day Oner with the death yesterday of Ken Robertson, a former city editor, WW2 vet, real estate agent, sailor, private eye, trucking firm owner, author and story teller supreme.

Ken, who underwent a major operation last year and battled back for a Remembrance Day release from Orillia Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, died there from cancer last night. He was 87.

Today's Toronto Star obit says at Ken's request, there will be no visitation or service. If desired, memorial donations to the Canadian Cancer Society.

Vernon Kenward Robertson got his start in media prior to WW2 when hired by the Canadian Press to run copy to the Star, Telegram and the Globe. 

"I was the e-mail version of the late thirties," Ken said in his book. "I worked every weekday after school from 4 p.m. to midnight, six nights a week and on Saturdays to 10 p.m. Salary? Seven dollars a week."

Ken freelanced for papers for nine years before hired by the Tely in 1964 as a reporter/photographer. When the Tely folded on Oct. 30, 1971, Ken was one of 62 employees who launched the Toronto Sun on Nov. 1, 1971.

"I still look back proudly on that feat as a miracle," Ken, who left the Sun in 1975 to work in real estate and then the provincial natural resources ministry, said in his book. 

To have known Ken Robertson beyond his many titles, was to have read his 2007 book Windcharm - a dream delayed, which drew readers from around the world and made him an Orillia-area celebrity.

He was thrilled when a tourist from Europe looked him up while on vacation in Canada and told him he had purchased his book in a Paris airport and loved it. 

Ken, a father of two, grandfather and great-grandfather, was working on another book about his Orillia-area retreat, affectionately called Windcharm, when cancer returned him to hospital. 

 

Memories of Ken Robertson will be posted on TSF (e-mail us.) You can also post comments in the Star's condolences guest book here.

Don McKellar, a longtime friend, said Ken entered hospital on Friday.

"Ken was fortunate to be able to live independently in his home on the Sixth Concession to the very end," says McKellar. "Remarkable man."

Vince Devitt, another longtime friend, tells TSF: "I managed to get to see him for a short visit this summer. He was his usual jovial self, pounding away on his new book.

"I will miss him a whole lot."

This blogger is a property owner, not a renter, thanks to Ken. He was in real estate in 1976 when he called the Sun at 10:30 p.m to tell me about a "doll house" in Etobicoke that would be perfect for a bachelor.

So around midnight, armed with a flashlight, Ken gave me a tour of the one-bedroom house and within the hour we were signing the deal.  That house served me well for 15 years.

We kept in touch over the years and occasional phone calls from Windcharm seldom were brief. When Ken talked about his life, you listened.  

As lives go, Ken's life was full to the brim. We will remember him fondly.

Tally ho, as he would write or say at the end of emails and phone calls, tally ho.

Random thoughts

If there is one Toronto Sun Family member this blogger owes big time it is Les Pyette,a key player in the success of the Toronto Sun and the man who said yes to a job application in 1975. Today, as he recovers from a recent bypass op, we wish him a speedy recovery and a Merry Christmas with family and friends in London. You the man, Les. 

If you want to avoid negativity during the holidays, tune into MSNBC's new Making a Difference website. Nothing but positive people doing positive things, thanks to a Brian Williams news segment that has become a force of its own. Imagine what could be done without left and right, them and us, just people making a difference.      

Will Bill Harris, John Doyle, Bill Brioux, Rob Salem or any other respectable television writer ever write a piece on why more series do not embrace Christmas theme episodes? Thought Blue Bloods, which has a strong family ties plot line, would have been a natural, but nyet. Same anticipation for Medium and others.  

Speaking of Blue Bloods, does Bill McCormack, the former Toronto police chief, watch the series? McCormack, chief from 1989 to 1995, is the son of a policeman and four of his five children became police officers. Who knows, maybe the series is based on his life.

So who sold out the Toronto Sun's Page 2 to promotions? It was a tight and bright news page not so long ago. Pages 1 through 5 used to be bam, bam, bam tabloid pages.

Why didn't the Toronto, Ottawa and Winnipeg Suns and other Sun Media newspapers join the London Free Press, Calgary Sun and Edmonton Sun and highlight the best 2010 photos snapped by individual photographers?   

Is there a PKP "noel" video for Sun Media employees this year?

Best 2010 photos

Updated 31/12/10re Ottawa Sun mixed entry
The Dunlop Awards are long gone from the Sun Media landscape, but some newspapers in the chain are giving photographers an opportunity to highlight their best for 2010.

Hear, hear. Some of the photos online to date would definitely have been Dunlop contenders.

TSF has found five papers with 2010 photo highlights to date, posted by the Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Winnipeg Suns and the London Free Press.

Ottawa's mixed submission with photos snapped by

Errol McGihon, Darren Brown and Tony Caldwell.

Winnipeg's best of submissions:

Marcel Cretain

Brian Donogh

Chris Procaylo

Calgary's best of submissions:

Jim Wells

Mike Drew

Stuart Dryden

Darren Makowichuk

Lyle Aspinall

Al Charest

The best of EdSun's:

Amber Bracken can be viewed here

Tom Braid can be viewed here.

Laura Pedersen can be viewed here.

Jordan Verlage can be viewed here.

The best of LFP:

Craig Glover can be viewed here.

Mike Hensen can be viewed here.

Morris Lamont can be viewed here.

Derek Ruttan can be viewed here.

Sue Reeve can be viewed here.

We'll add others if available.

EdSun EIC quits

The Edmonton Sun's revolving door is moving again, with editor in chief Jose Rodriguez calling it quits, says a TSF tipster.

Rodrigues, who has also been editor in chief of the Calgary Sun since January 2009, will continue as EIC in Calgary, says the tipster.

His exit is the 10th voluntary departure at the Edmonton Sun in recent months.

TorSun morgue

All Toronto Sun library clippings and photos must be on computer if, as a tipster reports, all of the originals are being packed and shipped to Barrie. 

"In order to make room for Sun TV in the Sun newsroom, or what’s left of it, the photo and print files are being moved to a warehouse in Barrie," says the TSF tipster.

"I don’t know if it means the Barrie Examiner building, which may have some space in their building since it used to be a Beaver Lumber building on the northern edge of this snow belt city.

"I wonder how anyone would access these files should they need something from them."

Out of sight, out of mind. 

Speaking of morgues, the Toronto Telegram's clippings spanning 95 years were dispatched to Sun staffers on request after being transferred to computer.

York University has 1.3 million Telegram prints and negatives in its library, with more than 1,000 images available online thanks to an experimental digitization project.

York breaks it down to approximately 830,000 negatives and roughly 500,000 prints.

Somehow, discarding vintage clippings and turning a massive photo library over to a university seems detached from the dedication and efforts of the legions of reporters and photographers.

Ditto for shipping Sun files and photos off to remote building for lack of space at 333.

We are talking about history.     

The Harvey Family

Like father - Larry Harvey.

Like son - Shane Harvey.

Like daughter - Gail Harvey.

Like daughter - Robin Harvey.

Four talented Canadians, two of them former Toronto Sun photographers.

Shane and Gail have been in the spotlight during their post-Sun years, Shane for his music and Gail for her film making. Robin worked for the Toronto Star for years before retiring.

Now, it's their dad's turn, with Shane's new documentary, Paper Promises, highlighting the musical talents of his 82-year-old father and what might have been in Nashville so long ago.

(The 82-minute documentary is being aired exclusively on Super Channel for the next year. The DVD and soundtrack CD can be purchased here.) 

"It's a love story," Shane told TSF during a conversation from Vancouver. "I love my father. He's the real deal."

Shane began working on the documentary in 2007, with his ex, Shelley Gillen, (a former Toronto Sun reporter) as the producer, and acclaimed songwriter Jim Vallance as music supervisor.

Shane says Vallance, a veteran songwriter with Bryan Adams on his resume, calls his father a world class songwriter.

The goal, says Shane, was to get his father on stage at the Grand Ole Opry with the song list he would have used had he made his Opry debut in the 1950s.

And, on Oct. 21, 2008, Larry Harvey did just that - performing live, on stage at the Opry, singing eight songs to a full house, including his three children and four grandchildren. His wife was too ill to make the journey.

"It was like he never left the stage," says Shane, who has since booked recording studio time for his father.

Shane's documentary made its debut on Super Channel on Nov. 28 and the word is spreading fast.

Joe Warmington wrote a column about Shane's father recently and Shane set up a Facebook page yesterday for updates on the documentary and his father.

Father and son have appeared on CBC's As It Happens and the Telegram in St. John's published a lengthy article, with links to several songs.

Shane says he is thankful he had the opportunity to complete his dad's journey to the Opry, a journey interrupted to raise a family.

More on Shane here and more on Gail here. 

One talented family.

Silver lining

Quote of the week comes from one of the hundreds of Sun Media employees who have been axed in the past decade:

"I wake up every day thankful that I got axed from the Sun, as I enjoy my new job much more. It also reminds me about what I liked so much about the Sun: Working hard with fun, talented, smart dedicated people and having great bosses that care about you and your career."

As we count down to the Toronto Sun's 40th anniversary next Nov. 1, TSF invites casualties of the Quebecor era to tell us how their lives have changed, for better or for worse.

Each and every person axed by Sun Media has a story to tell.