The small, fifth-floor office near Yonge Street in downtown Toronto is pure Michael Coren: British pompous, and slightly eccentric. Row after row of old English generals, hunting horsemen, and world war memorabilia hang on the walls; gargoyles and cherubs perch above wooden bookcases lined with literary greats; a huge maroon silk scarf and the Union… Continue reading Cloak and Dagger

GETTING “ON FRONT” IS unofficially the highest accolade at most newspapers and generally one of the surest ways for a reporter to garner respect and gain promotion. Editors use front-page hits to gauge a reporter’s ability to handle highprofile beats and important stories, experience that in turn increases their byline play on the front page.… Continue reading Front Page Challenge

IN JULY 1992, THE GLOBE AND MAIL carried a 65-inch article by John Partridge on the first stage of a reorganization of The London Free Press newsroom that had begun two months earlier. The story’s headline was a clear indication of the largely uncritical tone of the piece: “Bold Experiment Shatters Newspaper Stereo types.” The… Continue reading Team Dispirited

ON WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1992, Colin Muncie arrived at work at 8 a.m., just as he’d been doing for his close to 20 years as editor of Marketing Magazine. Marketing, the weekly tabloid that covers the media, marketing, and advertising scenes, is arguably the highest profile of Maclean Hunter’s trade books-and, at 85, one of… Continue reading Tough Sell

THEY DESCENDED ON LAST SUMMER’S TORY convention with a fury and spread out across the Ottawa Civic Centre like a crack battalion of Keystone Cops. It was the crowd from the nation’s music station, MuchMusic; newcomers to the political scene, a bunch of partiers in their 20s and 30s with no pretensions and a lot… Continue reading New Kids on the Block