From what I've seen of the website over the past month, apparently, that strategy is simple:
Print bullshit.
I used to like The Star. It was a Liberal rag, but at least it carried insightful and personal news that was relevant to the Torontonian. These days, the layoffs are showing.
From a cursory skim, almost half of the stories I read on The Star are based on a single source. This is leading to some tremendously biased and incredibly non-balanced pieces. This is basic journalism. One voice doesn't make a story.
What's even more frustrating is that they are using this half-assed approach with controversial issues seemingly on purpose; Tamil protests, sensationalizing Ruby Dhalla's situation, anything involving religion.
At the same time, they are barely covering world news or doing stories anymore that actually dig deep into the body of Toronto and teach us more about the city we live in.
They did an entire story and video where they left wallets lying around the city, then video surveyed the contraband to see if people returned them, took money, and generally were honest.
REALLY? That's what you're spending your money doing? Seeing if 20 people are willing to return a lost wallet?
I feel bad for the Star. In my opinion, their downfall came when they stopped printing Sunday comics. Hopefully, when the economy rebounds, so will this newspaper. But for now, it's little more than a joke.
When your sports section is the most serious part of a publication, you know there's some serious soul searching to do.
4 comments:
Do a piece on he Sun... i wanna know what you think. I have my own thoughts, but i don't know if it's just me... yet.
Yeah... the actual paper newspaper (as opposed to the online one) is travelling on a parallel path through the gutter.
I haven't been impressed with the Nanny and Tamil Terrorist stories either. Every day, the Star publishes another half page of the same drivel as the day before, with some words switched around.
More frequently than before, they're actually running day old articles under headings like "reprinted from [date]" or "worth repeating"
Fortunately, the Star's core power remains intact - that is to say, their fiery and provocative columnists. DiManno's feminism, Fiorito's fight for the poor, James with the black viewpoint, and Siddiqui's balanced view of the world.
These guys use their columns to advocate for something - whether womens' rights, homeless rights, or simply human rights. They expose injustices in our city wherever they are to be found and speak their minds. I don't necessarily agree with everything they write (in fact, if I ever met Joe Fiorito, I'd punch him in the face and kick his dog for being such a communist), but I still read it anyway because I liken it to taking the city's pulse. Interesting perspectives and contrary opinions. That's what I liked and still like about the Star.
That, and Get Fuzzy.
-d
i like those "leave the wallets" stories. it's like that "joshua bell playing in the subway" story. call me a voyeur, but i'm fascinated by how people react to these situations.
also, did dustin just write "kick his dog for being such a communist"?? hahaha
They should do "leave the purse" stories, or "leave the shoes at the gym" stories.
For some reason, people actually steal shoes from the womens change room at gyms. I've never heard of that happening in a mens change room. Maybe its because men know better than to steal someone else's petri dish.
-d
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