Prepress boost

Linda Fox, who worked for the now defunct Oshawa Times before moving to the Toronto Sun in the late 1970s, is one of many Toronto Sun Family boosters out there.

If employees from the glory days had a motto, it would probably be "never forget."

Linda hasn't forgotten a lot of the prepress people she worked with before moving on in 2001 and when she read about a prepress send off being planned, she wrote:

"Love to know when and where the composing send off will be. Some great guys there over the years . . . from cut and paste on up to computers.

"All the best to guys like Randy Miller and Andy Balfour. I have never heard much about what happened to that section of the Sun staff since I left in 2001.

"So if you guys post a date and a venue, I would love to know where and when."

We're sure Linda is not alone among current and former employees in wanting to meet and mingle with the laid off prepress/ad builder vets.

When Randy and Andy pin down a date, time and place, we'll post it here on TSF.

Do it up royally. You have earned it.

Prepress meet

Many of the 20 former employees of the decimated Toronto Sun ad builders/prepress department will gather later this month for a delayed wake.

Prepress employees laid off since last September represented approximately 422 years of service with Sun Media and 334 years for ad builders, says Randy Miller.

"There are only 12 people left in Prepress from the 32 that had originally started in the union," Randy tells TSF.

Randy and others feel the prepress employees laid off haven't been given the same exposure as other Toronto Sun layoff casualties.

When they meet later this month, there will be venting and a renewal of the camaraderie they shared at the Sun for decades.

"I feel the most disappointing thing of this is the belief that we were overpaid and behind the times in being able to produce the product our clients wanted," Randy says.

"Production over the years was the most efficient in the industry and cutting edge in the evolution of this aspect of the industry. We were the barometer to which other papers measured their performance.

"Many of our people came to us directly from high school, college, or university and this was the only job they had. It is hard to pickup from this. The company was fair in the treatment of the exit of its employees, but still, for some, the divorce is traumatizing.

:I understand that most of us do not regret our career at the Sun and that most of the new creative and talented generation that is to follow will never have the opportunity to enjoy the dynamics this industry once had in relation to employee management relations and the camaraderie that made the Sun the success story that its founders had envisioned."

Andrew Balfour was a 35-year TorSun composing/prepress employee when laid off last April. He is still looking for work.

Andrew, who provided TSF with the Don Hunt photo, says a gathering of layoff casualties is needed to vent and to share the memories of the glory years at 333.

He says there hasn't been much mentioned about the prepress layoffs and suggests profiles of all 20 casualties be posted on TSF.

TSF can do that, Andrew. Round up the bios in time for your gathering and we will give you all your earned recognition.

A Donato fan

A longtime Andy Donato fan says hello and thanks in a TSF comment:

"I miss looking forward to the daily paper to see what Trudeau and the boys were up to, thanks to Donato cartoons," writes Susan Gough of North York.

"They are some of my best childhood memories, along with Hockey Night in Canada, of course. Thanks Andy."

Susan, formerly of Steady Brook, NL, is one of Andy's many veteran fans.

The award-winning cartoonist would no doubt tell you he too misses Pierre Trudeau.

Plus Joe Clark and his mittens.

Bill Davis and his cigar.

And George W.

Globe deal

It's business as usual at the Globe and Mail after the paper and SONG reached a tentative deal on a new contract.

A CNW Group press release says the agreement, which will be voted on by about 500 unioinzed employees at noon Monday, was reached shortly before the Thursday midnight strike/lockout deadline.

Photog's toolbox

The U.S.-based Society of Professional Journalists has posted a lengthy list of Internet sites guaranteed to include something of interest for photojournalists of all ages.

The SPJ's Journalist's Toolbox lists more than 170 sites, all designed to broaden the knowledge and skills of photographers worldwide, plus the work of photo agencies, photo stock services etc.

Most of the sites are American, but when it comes to the Internet and 21st century photography, there are no borders.

One Canadian site is Rob Galbraith's Digital Photography Insights. Galbraith, publisher and co-editor of the site, is a former Calgary Herald photog now freelancing in Alberta.

A most impressive site is Life Magazine's Photos of the Year.

If there is a comparable list for Canada, let us know.

Our Day

When all of our bitchin' about the weather, politicians, crime, taxes, credit card rates, gas prices, inept media conglomerate management, unemployment, road closures, disruptive public demonstrations, food costs, health care, potholes, car insurance rates and therapeutic green parks being turned into smelly garbage dumps is done, deep down inside we remain forever grateful to be Canadian.

Today, raise the flag, ignite the fireworks; sing along to the Travellers' This Land Is Your Land; give a thumbs up to Terry Fox and other great Canadians that come to mind,; salute the peacekeeping efforts of our Canadian forces; think green and plant a tree; thank police, firefighters, doctors, nurses, teachers and other professionals in your community; take the time to thank people who have made a difference in your life; hug someone; don't stop being Canadian.

Tomorrow, let the bitchin' resume.

Funnel photos

So did the Toronto Sun pay Adam Strongman for today's 10 funnel cloud photos, the ones being offered for sale by the tabloid for about $50 a pop?

"Photos at the Whitby/Oshawa border of a funnel cloud attempting to form and touch down on June 29, 2009. (Photo by Adam Strongman)"

Strongman gets photo credits at torontosun.com, but how about some cash for the rare Ontario funnel cloud pictures?

The Sun is also using a photo submitted by Willem Woudwyk.

It's Sun Media's Your Scoop at work again. The solicitation of photos for world-wide, copyright-free use by Sun Media in exchange for a photo credit.

Yes, we know a lot of media are doing it, but it doesn't make it right.

Globe talks

Veteran labour mediator William Kaplan has been called in by both sides in Globe and Mail contract talks, says a CNW Group release.

Company and union negotiators will meet with Kaplan on Thursday, extending tomorrow night's lockout/strike/work-to-rule deadline to midnight Thursday.

The news blackout on the talks continues.

TorSun -4

The Little Paper That Once Grew got smaller again this week.

A TSF tipster says four non-union employees in the Toronto Sun circulation department were pink-slipped on Thursday.

If names and Sun Media work experience are provided, TSF will provide a sendoff to recognize their contribution to the tabloid.

We are eager to see a current Toronto Sun payroll count following a decade of layoffs, firings, buyouts and resignations.

Just how few people are needed to publish the Sun these days?

Stay tuned.

Sun venting

Nicole Marr is a former eight-year Sun Media vet who saw her job in Alberta vanish through cutbacks while on maternity leave.

Now on the outside looking in, she is concerned about the path taken by Sun Media and is in "mourning" for Quebecor.

She writes:

"I'm glad I found the TSF blog, but I tell you, each day I read it my heart breaks a little more.

"I was at the Edmonton Sun, Spruce Grove Examiner/Stony Plain Reporter, Calgary Sun, Cochrane Times, and Airdrie Echo over a period of eight years. I may not have been around for everything, and Quebecor may not have been the greatest company to work for, but I was happy working there (mostly it was usually people I had a problem with, not the company.

"I am on maternity leave currently, but had left Cochrane/Airdrie four months prior because I didn't want to be eight months pregnant and on the winter highways between Calgary and Airdrie. Therefore I have no job to go back to.

"Then again, shortly after I left, they consolidated the production departments to the Sun, so I'd have no job in Airdrie anyway. I was hoping these were all temporary measures in a tough economy. But after reading TSF, it sounds like the problems are across the board, across the country.

"I'm mourning for Quebecor. It's like they have a slow-killing cancer. If they keep up with the cuts and the strong-arming across the country, they're going to die off. How can they expect to compete with Black Press, or all of the independents that are springing up?

"They seem to think the ball they started rolling is going to save them, but by losing all of their staff (whether from layoffs or resignations), and losing all their local content, they're losing their readership. Losing your readership is a harder obstacle to overcome than staff-loss ever could be.

"I apologize for the long, rambling email. I needed to vent re: Quebecor, and TSF is a perfectly understanding place.

"Nicole Marr

"(ps, if you hear of anyone wanting to start an independent in the Calgary area, let me know. I can run a production department!.)"

Thank you for your e-mail Nicole. All the best in motherhood and future employment.