Series: Spring 2002

On an overcast Friday morning last April, Toronto Sun readers discovered something curious on page three of their newspaper-news. Gone was the scantily clad Sunshine Girl, a fixture of the tabloid since it was founded over 30 years ago. Instead, dominating page three that day was an earnest feature report examining a disturbing pattern of disappearing elderly… Continue reading Under the Weather

Early in the morning of September 11, 2001, the phone rang in Stan Honda’s 94th Street apartment on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. On the line was the French wire service, Agence France-Presse, telling him a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Instantly, the 43-year-old photojournalist picked up his camera, rushed to… Continue reading Camera Ready

Inside the Corriere Canadese‘s Toronto boardroom, co-editor Antonio Nicaso strokes an invisible hair between his hands with exaggerated concentration, waiting for the latest bout of laughter to subside, and for the eight editors present to refocus. The impeccably dressed 37-year-old, who wears a suit to work every day and speaks in a soft, contemplative voice, seems… Continue reading Big Trouble in Little Italy

In the wake of September 11, commentary on the attacks dominated Canadian newspapers. The words varied, but much of the tone was the same. The Globe and Mail‘s Marcus Gee fulminated, “Many religious militants hate [America] because it represents a decadent Western culture that they see as a threat to traditional values.” Robert Fulford of the National… Continue reading Haroon and the Sea of Opinions

It’s a bleary Wednesday morning in October, and I’ve just exited Highway 401 near Belleville, Ontario, in my rented 1998 Ford Contour. The car shudders, the brakes squeak, and the engine vibrates as I stop on a deserted rural route and wipe fog from the windshield. I look for a sign telling me which way… Continue reading Crashing….