Welland -18

Another Niagara Region Sun Media newspaper got hammered today with 18 pre-press employees at the Welland Tribune shown the door.

TSF tipsters say the work is being sent to Woodstock and Barrie centres.

"Another Black Monday today," says one of several TSF tipsters. "In addition to 4 creative people being laid off, the whole composing in Welland was let go. That's 18 people!" 

Another tipster writes:

"The work is being farmed out to Woodstock and Barrie, but in typical Sun Media fashion, the people in Woodstock (at the least) don't really know how this new process is going to work."

The Welland Tribune, St. Catharines Standard and Niagara Falls Review  have been cutback targets for several years now. 

As one tipster says: "Time to start picking a casket, these papers are done."

- Kalvin Reid

Updated 9/02/11
A recent comment posted by a TSF reader says it all: "I've never seen a company so uninterested in keeping its own talent."

Ain't that the truth.

Another dedicated Sun Media employee who is calling it quits is Kalvin Reid, editorial page editor at the St. Catharines Standard.

His signed editorials and op-ed pieces have been published in Sun Media newspapers across the chain. 

One TSF source says "the very hard working, dedicated editorial page editor" has resigned to take a job at Enterprise Canada, formerly the Ontario Editorial Board.

Reid, gone as of Feb. 18, was a student intern at the Brantford Expositor before moving on to the Simcoe Reformer (1997 to 1999). He was hired as a Standard reporter in June of 1999 and was promoted to editorial page editor in 2006.

He has won awards along the way.

The prolific editorial writer will be missed by colleagues and readers, including Carolyn Tytler, a senior who was mentored by Reid as an online guest writer.

She writes about his dedication to journalism here.

Re Ron Farmer

A comment to TSF from Ron Farmer, a former Sun Media vet:

"I was a Day One staffer at the start-up of the Edmonton Sun in 1978. I was later transferred to the Calgary Sun composing room as night foreman in 1986. 

"I left the Calgary Sun and moved, with my wife, to Des Moines, WA, where I went to work selling tools at Sears. Worked my way up to store manager at the Sears outlet store in Tacoma, Wa. 

"My wife Lee and I are now living back in Canada.

"I am currently serving a 3-year term as the councillor in the Village of Vilna, in Northern Alberta, and loving every minute of it.

"I was informed of Brian Whipp's passing last weekend, too late to attend the funeral.

"I found this blog page and after reading some of the stories, I am sure glad that I got out of the Sun Corporation when I did before the Quebecor takeover.

 "Thank you Doug Creighton, Peter (Worthington) and Don (Hunt) for 19 years of enjoyment at what was the greatest paper in the world."

Thank you for your comments, Ron.

EdSun -Hanon

Edmonton Sun columnist Andrew Hanon is the 11th newsroom staffer to exit the building in recent months, wrapping up a nine-year association with the tabloid yesterday.

"The Edmonton Sun's best reporter and columnist, Andrew Hanon, has quit and moved on to greener pastures and much better pay," says a TSF tipster. "He will be working for the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. 

"Another devastating exit for the Edmonton Sun, as the exits continue and the number rises to -11 in less than a year."

Colleagues said farewell to Hanon at a gathering last night.

Hanon's final column yesterday includes his farewell to readers:

"SO LONG: This is my final column for the Edmonton Sun. I began as a freelance contributor back in 2002 and joined the Sun’s staff in 2005. For the past two years I’ve had the immense privilege of being the Page 2 city columnist. 

"It’s been an honour meeting so many of you, hearing your stories and then passing them along to our readers. Thanks for the opportunity and so many wonderful memories."

Tight with Mike

That Mariel Hemingway is such a name dropper.

She gave Toronto Sun columnist Mike Strobel a mention on her lifestyle website after he interviewed her for the Sunday Sun. 

Ernest's granddaughter, 49, also provides a link to a video of her Sun Media interview.

"You know, I think I've just met the quintessential celebrity Moonlight Lady," says Strobel.

You said it, Mike.

30 - Brian Whipp

Brian Whipp

Brian John Whipp cared about Sun Media - even after he became one of the hundreds of Quebecor casualties after 27 years with the Edmonton and Calgary Suns.

No anonymity for Brian when he had something to say to Toronto Sun Family members in recent years. He put his name to comments and was an active contributor.

So we were sad to hear about his passing in an e-mail early today directing us to his online obit.

The Sarnia-born former newspaper techie died last week at the Lethbridge Regional Hospital in Alberta. He was 55. His funeral was Saturday. Condolences can be left online here or you can share your memories with TSF readers in an e-mail. 

Brian got his first newspaper experience as a printer at the Petrolia Advertiser-Topic in Ontario, which was owned by his father, Charles.  He was also production manager of the student newspaper at the University of Western Ontario.

His obit says Brian moved to Alberta in the 1970s to enhance his education as a computer technician and was later hired by the Edmonton Sun to set up the IT department for the fledgling Calgary Sun in 1980.

Brian was manager of the Calgary Sun's IT system's department when pink-slipped in 2007. He met his wife, Kim Bullock, a co-worker at the Calgary Sun, and they later set up their own business, the Freeman River RV Park in Fort Assiniboine, Alberta.

Busy as they were with the RV business, Brian always had time for TSF and we thank him for sharing his newspaper experiences in Petrolia, Edmonton and Calgary.

Storm day

A TSF reader wonders how Sun Media trucks will perform Wednesday if the overnight winter blast is as severe as predicted. 

Good question for thousands of readers depending on smooth delivery out of the Quebecor printing plant in Toronto.

Let us know.

Lockout casualties

While the merits of anti-scrab legislation are argued in a parliamentary hearing in Quebec this week, The Link looks at the human toll in the two-year Journal de Montreal lockout.  

It is a matter of dollars and sense, as in common sense. 

Derek Pyne retires

Derek Pyne, Sun Media's publisher of the year for 2005, has retired as publisher of the Sherwood Park-Strathcona County News in Alberta.

Pyne was with the News on and off since 1992, starting in sales. He was publisher of the Edson Leader from 1994 to 2007, when he returned to the News as publisher.

A lengthy News story says Pyne was at the helm when the weekly papers Strathcona County This Week and Sherwood Park News merged into a twice-weekly paper.

Pyne was a Nipawin, Saskatchewan, florist and hockey player before getting into the newspaper business and his approach to community news is credited for his success in print media.

"What I'll remember about Derek is the enthusiasm and joy he brought to the job every day," former colleague Tyler Waugh says in the story. "He loves community newspapers and his commitment and passion for the gig just had a way of rubbing off on those around him."

Sun Media says Stacey Proskiw, the News' first female publisher, is stepping in to fill Derek's shoes while retaining her job as the newspaper's sales manager.

OT: Ups, downs

Once upon a merry time, Canadians would buy a television set, plug it in and not have any additional costs until it was repair time. 

Then along came cable, satellite and all of the other home entertainment bells and whistles and "free" TV for all but antenna holdouts now costs $400 on up depending on consumer demands.

And the conglomerates that control the airwaves are forever nickel and diming consumers with the full support of the CRTC.

So what's new this week?

Bell has tacked on another $2 or so for its satellite customers, pushing the basic, plus one theme pack, to almost $50 per month - or $600 a year.

And, thanks to the CRTC, the Teksavvy Internet service we fled to in 2009 after three months of calls to India and other Bell Hell, announced it must reduce its cap to 25 gigs, down from 200, as of March 1.

Leave it to government control to corrupt the spirit of the Internet.

For the past couple of years, newspapers, TV networks, movie distributors, social networks, YouTube and other Internet draws have increased our access needs.

Teksavvy was a blessing after Bell, with its 24-hour service in fluent English direct from Chatham, Ontario, dependable service, the freedom of 200 gigs per month and a telephone/ISP package that trimmed $40 a month off the bill. 

In a nutshell, Teksavvy has been providing the kind of independent service all Canadians deserve but are not getting via the arrogant, fat cat conglomerates who have lost touch with their customers.

Teksavvy is not happy with the CRTC decision  to reduce the cap to 25 gigs and is encouraging its growing customer base to be vocal, sign petitions etc.

We salute Teksavvy.  

Meanwhile, Bell's attitude about its service, from our experience, is take it or leave it. 

The more they nickel and dime customers for inflexible TV channel choices and frustrating outsourced calls to India, chances are more people will leave it for an antenna, the Internet or TV-free environments.

Did we say the Internet? With the 25-gig cap at the basic rate, paying more to watch our weekly quota of television and movies on the Internet won't be economical.

Internet surfing and television viewing are becoming elitist pastimes in the 21st century.