The idea of creating No Frills–inspired merchandise as a food bank fundraiser, via the Instagram account @parkdalelife, was a unique enough idea to get mainstream media attention. But this classic type of “culture jamming” is now quick to be co-opted by a company: Parkdale Life’s swag seemed to inspire No Name’s recent marketing overkill.
Requiem for free transit dailies
Torstar touted a new era of investigative journalism in April 2018, when five editions of Metro—which factored in a newspaper swap with Postmedia that remains under investigation—were retooled to try and drive paid digital subscriptions. The scheme is being discontinued with layoffs, but Torstar is creating a few new digital bureau jobs.
Christie Blatchford couldn’t make it to her induction into the Canadian News Hall of Fame. Cancer treatments have temporarily sidelined the National Post columnist, whose career legacy was honoured at a gala in Toronto. Also inducted was Toronto Sun fixture Lorrie Goldstein, who has rebounded from a stroke that he suffered last year.
Bell voices out in the cold
The latest round of Bell Media staff cuts included CFRA Ottawa host Rob Snow and CKTB St. Catharines host Larry Fedoruk amidst its talk radio stations shuffling slots around a national Evan Solomon. Economics also appear to be behind the dismissal of a longtime morning duo in Lindsay, Ontario, whose fans took to the streets in protest:
Celine Dion’s new record inspires contemplation about how anyone ever loathed her. Carl Wilson’s review for Slate revisits the thesis of his 2007 book examining Dion’s album from a decade earlier. Back then, Dion symbolized its subtitle, A Journey to the End of Taste. (Now she’s a queer icon who sings “shit” on a song from Courage.)
A city blogger leaves the city
Vancouver Is Awesome, which aging skateboarder Bob Kronbauer launched in 2007 as a solo website about a city he moved back to, became a professional outlet owned by a division of Glacier Media. But that still didn’t mean Kronbauer could find a suitably affordable place for his family to live—and so, he’s started commuting from suburbia:
