In a show of Ford Nation’s blindess loyalty, Rob Ford still has more-or-less the same approval rating as before he became the world’s most talked about alleged crack smoker. His supporters run the gamut from tepid defenders, like Doug Holyday, to raving apologists, broadcasting their fealty on Twitter and in comment sections. Here, a representative sample of the rationalizations, from more-or-less plausible through to cuckoo-bananas.
All stories relating to National Post
Six defences of Rob Ford, from somewhat reasonable to completely crazytown
How Toronto Star editor Michael Cooke brought the stodgy newspaper back to life
Michael Cooke, the Toronto Star’s tabloid-minded editor, is on a mission to expose the corruption and crookedness of the city’s secretive establishment. Every week brings a new target: the premier’s office, Marineland, the College of Physicians, and always Ford, Ford, Ford
It was early December of 2011, and Kevin Donovan was hellbent on publishing an exposé of Ornge, Ontario’s $150-million-a-year air ambulance service. Donovan, who runs the Toronto Star’s investigative team, had already spent two years sniffing around the company. Though he didn’t yet have the facts to back up his hunch, he was convinced something was amiss. He decided to take a chance and write a story about precisely what he didn’t know: how much Chris Mazza, the doctor who created and ran the publicly funded agency, and his vice-presidents were being paid. It was a Sunday, typically a slow news day, so Donovan figured the piece was a shoo-in for a front-page placement the next day.
Gawker Gotchas: the snarky site’s top six takedowns of Toronto journalists
Read the rest of this entry »
Do not ask Rosie DiManno about her weekend. On Saturday, the Internet took aim at one of the Toronto Star columnist’s recent pieces, and the scathing and hilarious critiques included one from the takedown specialists at Gawker, who awarded her the prize for “Worst Lede of All Time.” At least DiManno can take comfort that she’s not the first of Toronto’s writerly class to run afoul of the site. Below, we rounded up Gawker’s most angry screeds and memorable jabs at Toronto media.
50 Most Influential 2012: a ranking of Toronto’s top tycoons, backroom operators and supersize egos
The people driving the agenda for the city are more likely to come from outside local government than inside. This was the year our premier, rendered virtually impotent by a minority legislature, up and quit without warning. And our mayor, who listens to no one and refuses to build consensus on council, has created a city hall power vacuum.
What follows is Toronto Life’s list of the real influence peddlers—the people who, either publicly or behind the scenes, have had the greatest impact on the city. We looked for people whose power was broad enough to be felt across different sectors, or else so palpable in their immediate field that it somehow changed things for the rest of us. We looked for people whose ability to alter public opinion, raise money, rally troops or simply get stuff done was both formidable and undeniable. The result is a carefully calculated and highly opinionated look at power in the city in 2012.
Read the rest of this entry »
Digital Fortresses: A cheat sheet to Toronto papers’ online paywalls
The Toronto Sun, home of Sue-Ann Levy, sexy bikini shots and amusing slip-ups, is the latest Toronto daily to try to mitigate waning print advertising revenue by charging for online content. The paper will erect a digital paywall next week, according to the Globe and Mail, which itself already has digital subscriptions in place. Meanwhile, the Toronto Star and National Post have both announced plans to institute walls in the New Year. Below, we break down all four papers’ plans to help you pick which to shell out for.
Rob Ford’s trip to Chicago, by the headlines
(Image: Christopher Drost)
If anyone in Toronto was unaware that Rob Ford and a contingent of councillors and business types headed down to Chicago this week, it’s certainly not the fault of the local media. They’ve been publishing story after story about the trade mission, despite the fact that there wasn’t much to report: the mayor met Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, business leaders and politicians, attended panel discussions, and saw a few sights (the biggest drama was that Ford got a little confused about the whereabouts of Winnipeg). Below, a quick roadmap to the multitude of articles—and a reality check from the Chicago media.
A look back at the Brazilian Ball, the annual black-tie extravaganza that taught Toronto to party
During its heyday, the Brazilian Ball was where you’d find drunken CEOs and socialites in a conga line with nearly naked carnival dancers
(Image: Courtesy of Brazilian Carnival Ball)
Toronto, unlike Rio or Montreal, never had a reputation as a party town. The late society figure Anna Maria de Souza worked harder than anyone else to change that. Her annual bash, the Brazilian Ball, was, at its peak, the biggest of the big-ticket charity events. Everyone who was anyone in the world of politics, business or media attended. The Braz, as it was known to regulars, was that rare combination: an obligatory social event that was also a blast.
De Souza threw her first carnival-themed party in 1966. Born in Brazil to a wealthy family that owned and operated a coffee plantation, she’d married John Marston, a Canadian importer of orange juice, and moved to Toronto in 1965. Although the city’s social circuit embraced her as a vivacious, exotic beauty, she grew homesick. Her solution: throw a dance in the basement of St. Ines Church at Dundas and Grace Street. The party, like its hostess, was a novelty in staid Toronto.
Reaction Roundup: the plastic bag ban and why it’s bad for Rob Ford
(Image: zeevveez)
The abrupt decision to ban plastic bags in Toronto was a surprise to everyone (even David Shiner, who introduced the motion at council last week). Now that enough time has passed to progress beyond the “what the heck just happened” phase, the city’s columnists are weighing in on the unpredictable vote and whether it amounts to a sucker punch to Rob Ford (the consensus: yes).
Read the rest of this entry »
Q&A: Paul Godfrey, chair of the OLG, is on a mission to bring a Las Vegas–style casino to Toronto
(Image: Mark Peckmezian)
You were a popular politician, brought the Blue Jays to town, resuscitated the National Post and cleaned up the OLG. Does the uproar over your latest crusade—bringing a casino to town—jeopardize your legacy?
Anyone familiar with my background knows I’d never do anything to injure Toronto’s image. This won’t be a few slot machines in a broken-down barn; it’ll be a world-class entertainment centre and a tourist magnet.
What will it look like?
I’m picturing something like the Venetian or the MGM Grand in Vegas—a ground-floor casino with a glamorous hotel and unbelievable shopping. I could also see a permanent Cirque du Soleil show.
Why do we need a casino?
If we don’t build one, our tourists will go to Boston, Cleveland and Baltimore, which are all building world-class casinos.
You live near the Bridle Path. Would you want a casino in your neighbourhood? Read the rest of this entry »
I make no apologies for having a very nice house. I grew up in poverty and earned my way. But there’s nowhere to put a casino on the Bridle Path.
Postmedia hopes cutting jobs and Sunday editions can save journalism
In another sign of print journalism’s bleak future (and bleak present as well), Toronto-based newspaper publisher Postmedia Network has sent a memo to staff announcing it will cut the Sunday editions from a number of its dailies. Thanks to “advertising revenue challenges,” the Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal and Ottawa Citizen will no longer put out Sunday papers (the National Post is safe for now, though, like the last three years, it won’t have a summer Monday edition). The owner of Canada’s largest newspaper chain will also lay off employees at 10 of its dailies, which the Twitterverse says will include 20 jobs at the Ottawa Citizen and 23 more at the Montreal Gazette. Postmedia is banking on its digital business and has experimented with metered access to its content, following in the steps of papers like the Globe and Mail and the New York Times who have introduced—or are about to introduce—online pay walls. [Financial Post]
THE SCENE: Kate and Laura Mulleavy play host to socialites, designers and “Poordarte”-clad editors at the Bay
With the spate of good weather, Torontonians have been out en masse enjoying the sunshine, but in all the craziness and mishegoss of patios and Bellwoods, we hope they haven’t forgotten the important things: parties at stores. The Bay hosted Toronto’s society set for a meet-and-greet with Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the sisters behind high fashion label Rodarte, last night. While the crowd was much smaller than usual, a lot of names came out to party.
Read the rest of this entry »
Conrad Black’s post-jail plans: chatting with Peter Mansbridge and shunning beer
(Image: Charles LeBlanc)
Conrad Black is back in Toronto, and so far his plans sound pretty low-key for a baron. In an email to the Globe and Mail, Black wrote that his post-jail life will include updating his book and trying to lose some weight. He’s also trying to sort out a court case with U.S. tax authorities, suing British writer Tom Bower for $2.5 million over Bower’s biography of Black and his wife, Barbara Amiel, and wrapping up a few lingering Hollinger lawsuits. Not on the itinerary: buying back the National Post (which he launched in 1998), entering the newspaper business again or giving interviews to anyone in Canada but Peter Mansbridge. Black also refused the Globe and Mail’s long-standing invitation for a beer in characteristically verbose style: “I only drink the odd glass of wine and am trying to lose weight, so the forum you proposed, though appreciated, is a bit dated after these years that have passed.” [Globe and Mail]
Reaction Roundup: what the revival of Transit City could mean for Toronto (and Rob Ford)
Read the rest of this entry »
The whole “war on cars” talking point feels so 2009 (and 2010… and 2011), but now that Metrolinx and city council have pushed through an LRT-based transit plan against Rob Ford’s wishes, it’s back in a big way. Some members of council (well, mostly Doug Ford) are already gnashing their teeth over what the plan means for drivers—especially since tolls could be on the table if Josh Matlow gets his way. Others are looking ahead to the 2014 election and how shifts in power could change the whole project once more.
Poll fever hits Toronto newspapers—and Rob Ford’s looking good
Rob Ford’s approval rating is up (Image: Christopher Drost)
A recent poll suggests that 64.7 per cent of Torontonians love reading news stories about polls. Actually, we made that up, but today’s survey-centric headlines are proof that it’s a slow news day. The Toronto Sun ran four of the page fillers, with 75 per cent of its poll coverage dealing with Rob Ford: how residents are slowly falling back in love with the mayor, mostly liking his policies and sort of supporting his decision to skip out on Pride (which we find surprising, given what we’ve heard). The Globe and Mail and National Post also fell prey to the poll-excitement, with the latter offering up some nice-looking bar graphs showing that 53.5 per cent of city residents support a casino, and that Woodbine is the preferred location for such a thing. Good to know, we guess, but we’re hoping there will be some hard news by Monday.
Read the rest of this entry »
VIDEO: Rob Ford goes to KFC. That is all.
We actually feel sorry for Rob Ford on this one. After a mirth-filled citizen caught the dieting mayor heading into a west-end Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet, the Toronto Star decided the event merited an article. Though the Toronto Sun jumped on the story (and dubbed it “Chickengate”), other papers called out the Star for bullying. In the National Post, for instance, Matt Gurney called the story “mockery masquerading as news”—and most of Twitter agreed. The videographer, known only as Cordella, defended the clip’s newsworthiness thusly: “If you’re not committed to the diet that you committed to…how can you be committed to the taxpayers of Toronto and making changes in Toronto?” We’re not convinced an occasional weakness for fatty food is proof that Ford will stop trying to cut the fat at city hall. And, hey, who doesn’t occasionally succumb to a fast-food craving? Read the entire story [Toronto Star] »
