sowny.net | The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum


You are not logged in. Would you like to login or register?

February 15, 2018 11:47 am  #1


Latest Toronto Star Cuts Illustrate Paper’s Hypocrisy

There’s no doubt that newspapers are increasingly in trouble, thanks to online news. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that the Toronto Star, which is not immune to these difficult times, has had to make more cuts.
 
This week, they “temporarily” suspended their prestigious intern program as a way to save money. According to those who’ve been through it, it’s an amazing learning experience and one of the best in the country. But it’s no longer affordable. They’ve also cut the travel budget for reporters and the money allocated for freelancers. All this comes as Torstar prepares to release its fourth quarter results at the end of the month.
 
All this is unfortunate but a fact of life in the troubled media business. But I can’t help but notice how hypocritical the company is being. First, I couldn’t find a single article on this in the Star itself, although the Globe did a behind-the-paywall story on it. You can read a free one here
 
But second, and far more telling, is that this is the same uber-liberal paper that used endless amounts of ink flailing Tim Horton’s for cutting some worker benefits when the minimum wage went up on January 1st. Page after page of opinion pieces, editorials and articles followed the protests, the unions and the plight of the poor employees and how hard done by they were by losing these benefits – which, by the way, were not required by Ontario’s labour law.
 
So while I sympathize with those employees, let me get this straight – when Tim Horton’s makes cuts to save itself money in trying times, that’s mean and oppressive. When the Toronto Star is forced to make cuts for similar reasons, well, that’s just business.
 
You can’t have it both ways. Unless, it seems, you’re Torstar.

 

February 15, 2018 12:03 pm  #2


Re: Latest Toronto Star Cuts Illustrate Paper’s Hypocrisy

When Conrad Black acquired Financial Post and re-launched it as National Post, print executives stated the GTA could not support 4 papers (+ neighborhood freebies) and that some would fail.   Buzz over at High Street yesterday was you should get your Star at McDonalds rather than via annual subscription 

 

February 15, 2018 12:36 pm  #3


Re: Latest Toronto Star Cuts Illustrate Paper’s Hypocrisy

The only "difficult times" with the Toronto star is that they are ripping people off, charging $4 for a Toronto Saturday Star paper.
Bring the price back down to $2 at the box and we're good. 
 


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

February 15, 2018 3:42 pm  #4


Re: Latest Toronto Star Cuts Illustrate Paper’s Hypocrisy

Radiowiz wrote:

The only "difficult times" with the Toronto star is that they are ripping people off, charging $4 for a Toronto Saturday Star paper   

Why would anyone pay $4 for the Red Star when for similar money or less, one's brain can be stimulated by the likes of Tim Kiladze, Doug Sanders, Margaret Wente & Konrad Yakabuski in the Globe and/or Scott Stinson, Christie Blatchford, Rex Murphy, Robert Fulford, Colby Cosh and (last but certainly not least) Conrad Black in the National Post?

 

February 15, 2018 6:38 pm  #5


Re: Latest Toronto Star Cuts Illustrate Paper’s Hypocrisy

Charlie wrote:

As a Toronto Star subscriber for 35 years, until I canceled last year, I think one of their problems, among many others related to the internet, is the fact that they have effectively shut out 50% of their potential audience.  If you are not a woman, a feminist, or gay, or a recent immigrant, or indigenous, or all of the above, there is precious little in the paper of interest.  Even the sports section has turned into a drum to beat their progressive socialist agenda.  Hey, it's their business, but it doesn't make sense to alienate half the population when you're desperate for eyeballs.

And that's exactly what so troubled me in my original post. Their constant virtue signalling is fine, if that's your thing. But when it comes to their own bottom line, then it's perfectly OK to have mass layoffs, cut programs, take back perqs from workers, etc. etc. etc. But if some other multi-million dollar firm does the same thing, they're evil and they're deliberately hurting society's most vulnerable.

Sounds pretty two faced to me.

     Thread Starter
 

February 16, 2018 1:14 pm  #6


Re: Latest Toronto Star Cuts Illustrate Paper’s Hypocrisy

Charlie wrote:

As a Toronto Star subscriber for 35 years, until I canceled last year, I think one of their problems, among many others related to the internet, is the fact that they have effectively shut out 50% of their potential audience.  If you are not a woman, a feminist, or gay, or a recent immigrant, or indigenous, or all of the above, there is precious little in the paper of interest.  Even the sports section has turned into a drum to beat their progressive socialist agenda.  Hey, it's their business, but it doesn't make sense to alienate half the population when you're desperate for eyeballs.

Perhaps most telling, the Toronto Star has taken it so far at times that some people who do count themselves as members of those groups get fed up with it.  One of my friends is gay and he doesn't like it because to him, it feels like the activism was uninvited and taken to an extreme for the goal of selling newspapers.

 

February 16, 2018 1:24 pm  #7


Re: Latest Toronto Star Cuts Illustrate Paper’s Hypocrisy

RadioActive wrote:

There’s no doubt that newspapers are increasingly in trouble, thanks to online news. So it shouldn’t come as any surprise that the Toronto Star, which is not immune to these difficult times, has had to make more cuts.
 
This week, they “temporarily” suspended their prestigious intern program as a way to save money. According to those who’ve been through it, it’s an amazing learning experience and one of the best in the country. But it’s no longer affordable. They’ve also cut the travel budget for reporters and the money allocated for freelancers. All this comes as Torstar prepares to release its fourth quarter results at the end of the month.
 
All this is unfortunate but a fact of life in the troubled media business. But I can’t help but notice how hypocritical the company is being. First, I couldn’t find a single article on this in the Star itself, although the Globe did a behind-the-paywall story on it. You can read a free one here
 
But second, and far more telling, is that this is the same uber-liberal paper that used endless amounts of ink flailing Tim Horton’s for cutting some worker benefits when the minimum wage went up on January 1st. Page after page of opinion pieces, editorials and articles followed the protests, the unions and the plight of the poor employees and how hard done by they were by losing these benefits – which, by the way, were not required by Ontario’s labour law.
 
So while I sympathize with those employees, let me get this straight – when Tim Horton’s makes cuts to save itself money in trying times, that’s mean and oppressive. When the Toronto Star is forced to make cuts for similar reasons, well, that’s just business.
 
You can’t have it both ways. Unless, it seems, you’re Torstar.

The situations aren't similar in the least. Tim's parent company makes profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It is not 'trying times' at Tim's.. Torstar, meanwhile, loses millions every quarter.

Last edited by Don (February 16, 2018 1:24 pm)

 

February 16, 2018 1:48 pm  #8


Re: Latest Toronto Star Cuts Illustrate Paper’s Hypocrisy

Don wrote:

The situations aren't similar in the least. Tim's parent company makes profits in the hundreds of millions of dollars. It is not 'trying times' at Tim's.. Torstar, meanwhile, loses millions every quarter.

Totally.  The Tim's franchises do very well too.  They're very lucrative.  Anybody who owns a Tim Horton's franchise and is having "tough times" selling coffee that's slightly better than ersatz and crappy defrosted donuts with all labour being performed by minimum wage (as in, cannot legally pay the staff any less) employees and not making a killing shouldn't be running a business.

I don't know what Torstar's financial situation looks like but if they are losing money every quarter, something's going to have to give to stop the losses or the place will go out of business.  I've become less and less of a Toronto Star fan as time's gone on and they've gone hard left to the point of absurdity but I'm not a fan of the idea of newsrooms closing either.

 

February 16, 2018 2:09 pm  #9


Re: Latest Toronto Star Cuts Illustrate Paper’s Hypocrisy

Well, I would somewhat disagree. While I'll concede that the situations aren't identical, not all franchises make the same amount of money and I would contest the idea that they're all rolling up the rim in dough.

Where these cases meet, however, is that all businesses do whatever they have to in order to survive in a sometimes precarious political and economic environment, especially in Ontario. 

And while the Toronto Star has always prided itself on its vaunted "Atkinson Principles," I can absolutely guarantee you that Torstar board chair John Honderich is not living in some hovel trying to decide if he can afford to pay his taxes or eat dinner tonight. The Horton's franchise owners are doing what they feel they have to to survive a sudden hit to their bottom line. The Star is doing exactly the same thing. 

The actions of both are affecting some of their most vulnerable workers. In Horton's case, minimum wage workers. In the Star's, would-be interns. You can argue that one ls financially stable and the other isn't. But both are doing what's unfortunately necessary to stay in business. But only the Star is attacking Horton's for taking the same kind of save-money tactic the newspaper's honchos are doing without apology.    

Sorry, but to me that's hypocritical.

     Thread Starter