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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

Michael Cooke: The Paper Warrior

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.

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Reaction Roundup: city hall insiders respond to allegations that Rob Ford has a drinking problem

The Toronto Star created a city-wide firestorm when its story about Rob Ford’s alleged drinking problem hit newsstands yesterday. The article, which relies on the testimony of several anonymous sources, elicited feverish and contradictory responses from a host of Toronto’s prominent people, including the Star’s editor-in-chief Michael Cooke (who calls it “airtight”) and Ford himself (who says it’s “just lies after lies and lies”). We take up the main points of contention below. 

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The Toronto Star asks: does Rob Ford have a drinking problem?

(Image: Christopher Drost)

The Toronto Star took aim at Rob Ford once again this morning with a lengthy story alleging that the mayor struggles to control his binge drinking. While the deeply reported article contains plenty of specific details—some bordering on lurid—from current and former staffers, none of them were willing to put their names in print. Below, we round up the story’s biggest claims.

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Gawker Gotchas: the snarky site’s top six takedowns of Toronto journalists

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.

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Real Estate

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The weirdly cool Bloor Street McDonald’s is out and another condo tower is in

Not even McDonald’s can avoid Toronto’s condo onslaught. The fast food giant sold its property across from the Royal Ontario Museum to a company associated with developer Bazis International, which plans to combine the site with several neighbouring lots and build a tower of some 30 stories. While the all-night McDonald’s—with its multiple levels and surprisingly posh decor—has already closed, U of T students and Golden Arches devotees tweeting their heartbreak at the sudden loss will be encouraged to hear that a new McDonald’s inside the condo building is reportedly part of the deal. [The Varsity]

(Images: Filet-O-Fish, Facebook; condo, Loozrboy)

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Updated: TDSB director Chris Spence has plagiarized his way out of his job

The scandal over plagiarized passages in Chris Spence’s latest Toronto Star op-ed escalated today, when the National Post unearthed stolen phrases in several more of Spence’s pieces (including one column about how Spence explained the tragic Newton school shooting to his young son). Spence is discernibly contrite—he issued an almost laughably thorough five-part apology and promised to enroll in an Ethics and Law in Journalism course at Ryerson University. Still, sorry may not be enough. TDSB chair Chris Bolton is trying to deflect questions about whether the board will demand Spence’s resignation, but that’s looking increasingly likely. If so, Spence will earn himself a starring role in countless cautionary tales to TDSB students (plus an honourary spot on our spectrum of misbehaving journalists). [National Post]

Update: Chris Spence resigned this afternoon. Read the full  text of his resignation letter here. 

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The Toronto Star’s old parking lot could soon house Canada’s two tallest condo towers

Pinnacle’s proposal would see five new towers next to the Toronto Star building at 1 Yonge Street (Image: Taxiarchos228)

The plans for a large-scale development at 1 Yonge Street, currently home to a set of low-rise buildings and the Toronto Star’s old parking lot, are even more ambitious than last summer’s rumours suggested. Late last week, Urban Toronto published a pair of architectural sketches showing Pinnacle International’s plans for a skyline-defining, five-tower development that would include Canada’s two tallest skyscrapers. Alongside the 92-storey and 98-storey buildings, the cluster would also contain an office tower of some 30 storeys, two 70-storey towers and street-level retail space (the Toronto Star office at the corner of Yonge and Queens Quay would remain untouched). The proposal is still in its infancy as the city has requested Pinnacle wait to formally submit it until after Waterfront Toronto has finished a study on future development in the area, which may not be until late summer. Moreover, as with Oxford Properties’ Convention Centre plans and David Mirvish and Frank Gehry’s theatre district proposal, questions remain over the area’s ability to sustain a set of monolithic residential towers. Although, at least Pinnacle would only be razing a parking lot, and not a beloved theatre. [Urban Toronto]

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50 Most Influential 2012: a ranking of Toronto’s top tycoons, backroom operators and supersize egos

50 Most Influential

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.

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People

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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.

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Politics

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Reaction Roundup: what Rob Ford’s removal means for him—and for Toronto

This morning, a judge booted Rob Ford out of office, finding that the mayor had breached conflict of interest law in February by voting on whether he had to repay donations that lobbyists had made to his youth football foundation. (The penalty won’t take effect for 14 days.) Ford’s allies are reeling, the press is hyperventilating, “Rob Ford” is trending and everyone is wondering where Toronto goes from here. Below, a roundup of the reactions from Toronto’s pundits, politicians and the main players in the drama.

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Editor’s Letter (December 2012): under the influence

Sarah FulfordDavid Mirvish’s plan to tear down the Princess of Wales Theatre and build three 80-plus-storey Frank Gehry–designed condo towers on King Street isn’t very popular. When he announced his intentions, the city’s pessimists were quick to complain: the towers were too tall, too garish, too dominating, and would add way too many new people to a downtown core already straining from rapid expansion. I’m not sure the project’s critics are right. Global cities have giant, imposing towers that seem vaguely threatening. They have unusual skylines. They are impossibly dense. Skyscrapers can be exciting and dramatic, which is what the Gehry towers promise to be. At the very least, I admire the ambition of the project. David Mirvish, who already wields influence in Toronto as both a theatre impresario and an important collector of 20th-century art, is about to make an indelible mark on the cityscape. His father, Ed, occupied a significant role in the city, and now Mirvish is using the money and the position he inherited on his own terms.

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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.

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Politics

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Five reactions to Rob Ford’s football scandal: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance

The explosive allegations that Rob Ford has been using city resources and staff for the youth football team he coaches have kept Toronto’s columnists busy over the past week. While perusing the rants, accusations and commiserations, we couldn’t help but notice that they nearly all fell into one of five familiar categories: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. In other words, the five stages of grief (we’ll leave it to you to decide what they’re grieving: Rob Ford’s persecution, his alleged misdeeds, or the fact that he’s mayor in the first place).


1. Denial: Rob and Doug Ford

As promised, the Ford brothers used their first radio show after a hiatus to launch a verbal attack on the city’s media in general, and the Globe and Mail in particular. Near the end of the show, a caller asked Ford to justify his use of city resources; Doug interrupted him, saying, “No, we haven’t—that’s a lie.” Rob tried to calm his brother down, and responded to the caller: “Okay, but it’s just not true, sir,” he said. “It’s not true. With all due respect, I haven’t been using my office resources. That’s where the misnomer comes in.”

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QUOTED: A former Rob Ford aide on why the mayor’s latest scandal could be the most serious yet

This is the one type of thing that could actually piss off Ford Nation, because it goes against the bedrock principle of not dipping into the trough.

—An unnamed former mayoral staffer, on the difference between the latest Rob Ford scandal and all those other Rob Ford scandals. The former aide told the Toronto Star that the mayor’s colourful behaviour (like driving while talking on a cellphone or yelling at the paper’s reporters) wouldn’t turn off his core supporters. However, Ford’s use of city-funded staff and resources for his youth football team could be considered “gravy” (to use Ford’s own term), and therefore has the potential to be much more politically dangerous. Unsurprisingly, Adam Vaughan agreed. [Toronto Star]

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TIFF Talk

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TIFF’s online ticket system is much, much better this year (thank goodness)

Screenshot of TIFF’s new, improved ticketing system; screenings by date shown

Remember TIFF’s online ticket system from years past? It was a long, white web page with a circa-2002 vibe and little drop-down menus to choose the desired number of tickets—and it was probably the worst thing about the festival. This year, they’ve implemented a new, much more convenient ticketing system that allows filmgoers to quickly see all available screenings by date or film title, and it has movie synopses built right in (a must for when all the big, buzzy movies are sold out). And apparently it’s working: the Toronto Star reports that about 12,000 transactions were processed on Sunday, an uptick of 18 per cent over last year. Gold star!

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