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February 12, 2020 9:26 am  #1


Christie Blatchford dies

From CFRB just now Christie has passed away

 

February 12, 2020 9:30 am  #2


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

     Thread Starter
 

February 12, 2020 9:31 am  #3


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

From the National Post:

Dead at 68: Christie Blatchford was a tenacious voice for victims, a thorn to the smugly comfortable

She'd been off air for several months at CFRB, but the station recently announced she was on the mend and would be returning "soon." Obviously, that was not to be. One of the few who worked for all the Toronto dailies.

The station ran a full pre-produced John Moore obit on their 8:30 AM news Wednesday, so they knew this was coming. That could not have been an easy piece to voice.   

 

February 12, 2020 9:58 am  #4


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

RadioActive wrote:

From the National Post:

Dead at 68: Christie Blatchford was a tenacious voice for victims, a thorn to the smugly comfortable

She'd been off air for several months at CFRB, but the station recently announced she was on the mend and would be returning "soon." Obviously, that was not to be. One of the few who worked for all the Toronto dailies.

The station ran a full pre-produced John Moore obit on their 8:30 AM news Wednesday, so they knew this was coming. That could not have been an easy piece to voice.   

Moore was in tears when they went back live from the taped obit. Joined shortly by a similarly choked-up Jim Richards.

Gonna be a lot of tears on Canada's First Rogers Batteryless today

 

February 12, 2020 10:22 am  #5


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

I’ve been a fan of Christie since our days at Ryerson. She Was a fire cracker even back then. She will be missed

 

February 12, 2020 10:24 am  #6


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

I still remember her covering the Paul Bernardo trial, she gave us hope as she re-told the terror that man had inflicted on his victims and their families...she was brave, real, loved what she did and was darn good at it too!

RIP Christie, you did great work!

 


The world would be so good if it weren't for some people...
 

February 12, 2020 12:14 pm  #7


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

Not sure what the funeral or memorial plans are, but from the stories coming out on Wednesday, those should be some eulogies!

 

February 12, 2020 12:22 pm  #8


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

RadioActive wrote:

Not sure what the funeral or memorial plans are, but from the stories coming out on Wednesday, those should be some eulogies!

Unless she begged people not to, and I would not put it past her considering her notoriously humble attitude, that is going be like state-funeral level, at least in idolatry if not pageantry.

I remember John Moore mentioning a few weeks back the sophisitaction of the visit-scheduling protocol for her at the hospital. There was just too many people wanting to come, too often.

Last edited by 6079 Smith W (February 12, 2020 12:22 pm)

 

February 12, 2020 12:28 pm  #9


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

I was at Mark Dailey's funeral a number of years ago. Some of the stories were amazing, including my favourite that the cops would be sure to say "inform Inspector #2" over the radio, a coded message that Mark be summoned to a scene before any of the other reporters got word of a murder or a police-involved event. Never knew about that, but that's how he got a number of exclusives over the years and the amount of respect they had for him. And of course, his nickname was "The Inspector." 

I can only imagine the stories about the hard drinking, tough talking, yet soft hearted Blatchford, who sometimes referred to herself as a "broad." Those tales will be worth the price of (the free) admission. If they have a public ceremony, I would think it will attract quite a crowd. 

 

February 12, 2020 3:16 pm  #10


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

6079 Smith W wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

From the National Post:

Dead at 68: Christie Blatchford was a tenacious voice for victims, a thorn to the smugly comfortable

She'd been off air for several months at CFRB, but the station recently announced she was on the mend and would be returning "soon." Obviously, that was not to be. One of the few who worked for all the Toronto dailies.

The station ran a full pre-produced John Moore obit on their 8:30 AM news Wednesday, so they knew this was coming. That could not have been an easy piece to voice.   

Moore was in tears when they went back live from the taped obit. Joined shortly by a similarly choked-up Jim Richards.

Gonna be a lot of tears on Canada's First Rogers Batteryless today

The Showgram just started, and Jim Richards, no stranger to getting weepy on air, is barely holding it together.

 

February 12, 2020 6:08 pm  #11


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

6079 Smith W wrote:

6079 Smith W wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

From the National Post:

Dead at 68: Christie Blatchford was a tenacious voice for victims, a thorn to the smugly comfortable

She'd been off air for several months at CFRB, but the station recently announced she was on the mend and would be returning "soon." Obviously, that was not to be. One of the few who worked for all the Toronto dailies.

The station ran a full pre-produced John Moore obit on their 8:30 AM news Wednesday, so they knew this was coming. That could not have been an easy piece to voice.   

Moore was in tears when they went back live from the taped obit. Joined shortly by a similarly choked-up Jim Richards.

Gonna be a lot of tears on Canada's First Rogers Batteryless today

The Showgram just started, and Jim Richards, no stranger to getting weepy on air, is barely holding it together.

Now its Ryan Doyle's turn to choke up. He just announced they are putting a seat at the table for her at this afternoon's round table.

 

February 12, 2020 7:45 pm  #12


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

Christie Blatchford sold a lot of newspapers over the years for The Sun, Star, Post and Globe. At her peak she was appointment reading when covering major crime trials, and she would write like nobody else. No nonsense, all business, clear thinking, always personal and never played favourites that was her style.    Blatchford was likely the only print journalist who had worked for all four Toronto dailies at some point.  Her sometimes friend and partner in crime Rosie DiManno in the Star today said it best, calling Christie Blatchford the best damn journalist in the country. 

 

February 12, 2020 9:30 pm  #13


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

A real reporter for sure, arguably the best in Canada. Blatchford's reporting during the Jian Ghomeshi trial was superb.

 

February 12, 2020 9:44 pm  #14


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

paterson1 wrote:

Christie Blatchford sold a lot of newspapers over the years for The Sun, Star, Post and Globe. At her peak she was appointment reading when covering major crime trials, and she would write like nobody else. No nonsense, all business, clear thinking, always personal and never played favourites that was her style.    Blatchford was likely the only print journalist who had worked for all four Toronto dailies at some point.  Her sometimes friend and partner in crime Rosie DiManno in the Star today said it best, calling Christie Blatchford the best damn journalist in the country. 

It is very hard to argue with that, and in fact if anything it sells her short. She was, by the end of her career, one of the only journalists left in the country, in that she relentlessly pursued the story and not her agenda or the angle.

I heard two different people today say she was one of two only journalist they ever met who could(and demonstrably did) write about anything (the other one being Peter Worthington). Those were FWIW Lorrie Goldstein and Cristina Blizzard.

It is a far, far darker planet today, and particularly to those of us here in the shadow of the CN Tower, without Christie. A little, but brilliant and bright, light went out today, one which had very few, if any frankly, peers.

RIP.

 

February 12, 2020 9:54 pm  #15


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

I never met Blatch but I sure feel like like I knew her personally. My condolences to The Boy and everyone who loved her. This boy is sad today at her passing. 

 

February 12, 2020 11:22 pm  #16


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

mic'em wrote:

I never met Blatch but I sure feel like like I knew her personally. My condolences to The Boy and everyone who loved her. This boy is sad today at her passing. 


 

 

February 12, 2020 11:46 pm  #17


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

paterson1 wrote:

Christie Blatchford sold a lot of newspapers over the years for The Sun, Star, Post and Globe. At her peak she was appointment reading when covering major crime trials, and she would write like nobody else. No nonsense, all business, clear thinking, always personal and never played favourites that was her style.    Blatchford was likely the only print journalist who had worked for all four Toronto dailies at some point.  Her sometimes friend and partner in crime Rosie DiManno in the Star today said it best, calling Christie Blatchford the best damn journalist in the country. 

When I think of Toronto journalists, I think of two - Christie & Rosie.  Two no-nonsense "tough broads" who are classic reporters who can write on any subject, any event.   They're somewhat relics of a time gone by and I mean that in a good way.

RIP Christie.

 

February 14, 2020 1:00 pm  #18


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

I missed the beginning of the Leafs game last night so I missed this, but they played a tribute to Blatchford.
 

 

February 14, 2020 2:39 pm  #19


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

It's not quite accurate or fair to say Christie Blatchford was, "by the end of her career, one of the only journalists left in the country, in that she relentlessly pursued the story and not her agenda or the angle."

Clearly, she was an incredibly dogged and hard-working reporter, columnist and commentator. She certainly followed her instincts long after the trail ran dry. And she persisted in committed fashion with a wide variety of topic areas, from sports to crime to politics to aboriginal issues.

But Christie is hardly one of the few who have done this or are doing this. I will always wish for more investigative and in-depth journalism than we happen to have at any given moment. But she has good company at Canada's various daily newspapers, both large and small, and at current and past broadcast programs like W5, the Current, Marketplace and Fifth Estate (as well as some radio and TV newscasts). When I worked at a couple of the smaller dailies, it amazed me that amongst all the routine daily reporting my colleagues produced quite a few gems that took considerable effort. Before the advent of the internet, we actually sent reporters to other locales to check out things like company track records there, or the performance of waste management systems. Not every one of my colleagues lived and breathed journalism - lazy sods are found in every line of work - but quite a few did. I have also participated in a couple of journalism associations that have long offered extensive professional development, worked with journalists to hone government information access requests, and promoted a plethora of investigative and reportorial skills and methodology development.

Furthermore, to say Christie operated without an agenda is hardly fair even to her. It's a significant undertaking to operate truly objectively. At the very least our reporting is informed by what we know, what we perceive, our life experiences, and so on. Some try very hard to keep their views in check. But Christie quite often took sides, whether with a faction of society or from a moral perspective. In fact, that's something that very much made her the particular journalist being remembered here. Moreover, much of the work Christie did was explicitly as a columnist and a commentator. Her "agenda" was very much out in the open, evident for all to see. Some agreed with her; others didn't; and in some cases feelings were mixed and nuanced - some agreement, some disagreement. I often liked the way she cut through prevailing political correctnesses even when I felt she didn't portray the overall issue as I happened to see it.

Let's remember a tough-talking firecracker of a broad (her word) who committed journalism in arguably somewhat of an old-fashioned, hard-edged way. But let's not recast her into what she clearly wasn't.
 

 

February 14, 2020 2:57 pm  #20


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

Saul wrote:

It's not quite accurate or fair to say Christie Blatchford was, "by the end of her career, one of the only journalists left in the country, in that she relentlessly pursued the story and not her agenda or the angle."
<snipped, see above>
Let's remember a tough-talking firecracker of a broad (her word) who committed journalism in arguably somewhat of an old-fashioned, hard-edged way. But let's not recast her into what she clearly wasn't.
 

Fair point. The point which I was was trying to make, and failed due to the hyperbole you accurately and loquaciously illustrated, was that unlike so many (but importantly as you say, not all, or even really almost all, as I erroneously claimed) of her contemporaries, her work never read as if she started with the conclusion and then set about gathering the story to support it. And yes, she was not impartial, she had her favourite causes and groups and she championed them, but nor was she partisan really. Her criticism of things and those she disliked stuck to the facts and stayed away from ideological generalizations, again unlike so many others.

Last edited by 6079 Smith W (February 14, 2020 2:58 pm)

 

February 14, 2020 5:55 pm  #21


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

@ Saul and 6079 Smith ...

Two excellent posts. Bravo. And thank you.

 

February 15, 2020 9:12 pm  #22


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

 

February 19, 2020 12:37 am  #23


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

THANK YOU.

Finally one person willing to speak the truth. 

She made a career providing a voice to the unafflicted.  How noble.

 

February 19, 2020 1:22 am  #24


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

Saw this in the Sun's Letter To The Editor section:

[size=100][size=125]BLATCHFORD WAS ALL CLASS[/size][/size]

Way back when I was a Toronto Police officer, I was off-duty trying to buy two tickets to a Canada Cup hockey game that was being played at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. All the scalpers took one look at me and my brush cut and refused to deal with me fearing that I was working undercover. I spotted Christie Blatchford in the crowd and explained my dilemma. I had never met her before. She laughed and said “stay right here and leave it with me.” Five minutes later she returned with two tickets. When I asked her how much I owed her, she waved her hand and said, “Enjoy the game.” Class, pure class.

Tom Newell

Niagara Falls

Last edited by Dale Patterson (February 19, 2020 1:49 am)


"Life without echo is really no life at all." - Dan Ingram
 

February 19, 2020 2:11 am  #25


Re: Christie Blatchford dies

Dale Patterson wrote:

Saw this in the Sun's Letter To The Editor section:

[size=100][size=125]BLATCHFORD WAS ALL CLASS[/size][/size]

Way back when I was a Toronto Police officer, I was off-duty trying to buy two tickets to a Canada Cup hockey game that was being played at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. All the scalpers took one look at me and my brush cut and refused to deal with me fearing that I was working undercover. I spotted Christie Blatchford in the crowd and explained my dilemma. I had never met her before. She laughed and said “stay right here and leave it with me.” Five minutes later she returned with two tickets. When I asked her how much I owed her, she waved her hand and said, “Enjoy the game.” Class, pure class.

Tom Newell

Niagara Falls

Maybe I'm mising something here. It's late. But if this is meant to convey respect for her, how?