A Star is (Re)Born
28/05/07 09:00 AM
May 28th, 2007, better
write that date down in your diaries as the day the
world changed.
The venerable, (they say) Toronto Daily Star, Canada's largest city's entry in the rapidly becoming irrelevant world of print media, introduced their first format change since they invented coloured ink a couple of decades ago. They said it would be smaller, but it is exactly the same size as yesterday's edition so I can't tell. They point out that they have changed the typeface, which the modern world calls "font", and made some wonderfully exciting changes to the size of the headlines and column widths. All very thrilling and bound to revitalize the subscriber base and bring in new readers.
There is no doubt that they need to do something. They keep trumpeting any increase in circulation but you would have to be a moron to not notice that you can hardly walk into a hospital, government building, or Business Depot without tripping over a pile of FREE, TAKE ONE, Star papers already counted as being part of that days "circulation" numbers, anything to keep the advertising rates up.
What has my sphincter tightened however is not the new font, or the not very new size but the pearls of wisdom on the front page from the chief gnome of the day, one Jagoda Pike, Editor. Jagoda takes the occasion of this exciting format change to write about the NEW Star and how thrilled she is to be part of the NEW team, and bringing us NEW and exciting fonts and headline sizes, it is all very dizzying and makes me reach for more expresso to calm my nerves.
Jagoda also takes the occasion to tell us in breathless prose that she CANNOT THINK of a better occasion then this to announce that the Star is opening a brand NEW dialogue on one of the most important issues of the day for all Canadians, MULTICULTURALISM. That's right folks, the NEW Star's NEW direction is going to tackle the big issues of the day head on. Too bad that the "day" in question was back in 1971 when the concept was first accepted by the Federal Gov. and we first started out on the now decades long guilt trip that was sold as the pursuit of national harmony using the tools of reason and understanding of one another's sacred cultural heritage. Multiculturalism was enshrined into law in 1982, (and again with Bill C-93 in 1988) and as you can imagine, millions and millions of dollars rained down on anyone with an accent, a colorful native costume and an axe to grind or a grant to apply for. Pimping out your cultural differences became the new currency of exchange between "Community Leaders" of all stripes and any politician with access to a bank account full of OPM, (Other Peoples Money) to exchange for votes or a good Photo Op. A practice which sadly flourishes to this day.
I was there, I remember it well. Before I became a Lapsed Liberal and subsequently further evolved into political independence, I used to swallow, and (full disclosure with much shame.) spout the mantra that the world would be a better place if we all just tried harder to "embrace the rich tapestry of cultural diversity and heritage....blah, blah..." . It was pathetic. You couldn't throw a stick at a Liberal convention or meeting of any size without hitting someone dancing around wearing feathers in their hair, beads around their necks and covered in dead deer skins. It became obligatory to have a gaggle of little Greek kids in those nifty little tutu outfits bouncing around to bouzouki music at the ribbon cutting of any building or road project. I could have gotten rich if I had opened a "Rent An Ethnic" stand in any Liberal riding.
As you can tell, I could go on, and probably will some day soon, about the dumb things we did in the Age of Enlightenment Era that was the beginning of the Trudeau years. However, the point of today's post is to point out to Jagoda that her NEW direction, is not only NOT NEW, it is boring. It was boring then, boring now. Welcome to the 70's Ms. Pike.
Just further proof that your life and mine, is one big Circle song. Peter Allen, that swishy Australian boy who was married to Liza Minneli at one point, wrote and sang the lyrics that perfectly capture today's Front Page news at The Star. Mrs. Geek and I saw Mr. Allen perform "Everything Old Is New Again", in the old Imperial Room at the Royal York back in the early 70's. He was not only a great performer but a prophet as well. Truer words were never spoken.
30
The venerable, (they say) Toronto Daily Star, Canada's largest city's entry in the rapidly becoming irrelevant world of print media, introduced their first format change since they invented coloured ink a couple of decades ago. They said it would be smaller, but it is exactly the same size as yesterday's edition so I can't tell. They point out that they have changed the typeface, which the modern world calls "font", and made some wonderfully exciting changes to the size of the headlines and column widths. All very thrilling and bound to revitalize the subscriber base and bring in new readers.
There is no doubt that they need to do something. They keep trumpeting any increase in circulation but you would have to be a moron to not notice that you can hardly walk into a hospital, government building, or Business Depot without tripping over a pile of FREE, TAKE ONE, Star papers already counted as being part of that days "circulation" numbers, anything to keep the advertising rates up.
What has my sphincter tightened however is not the new font, or the not very new size but the pearls of wisdom on the front page from the chief gnome of the day, one Jagoda Pike, Editor. Jagoda takes the occasion of this exciting format change to write about the NEW Star and how thrilled she is to be part of the NEW team, and bringing us NEW and exciting fonts and headline sizes, it is all very dizzying and makes me reach for more expresso to calm my nerves.
Jagoda also takes the occasion to tell us in breathless prose that she CANNOT THINK of a better occasion then this to announce that the Star is opening a brand NEW dialogue on one of the most important issues of the day for all Canadians, MULTICULTURALISM. That's right folks, the NEW Star's NEW direction is going to tackle the big issues of the day head on. Too bad that the "day" in question was back in 1971 when the concept was first accepted by the Federal Gov. and we first started out on the now decades long guilt trip that was sold as the pursuit of national harmony using the tools of reason and understanding of one another's sacred cultural heritage. Multiculturalism was enshrined into law in 1982, (and again with Bill C-93 in 1988) and as you can imagine, millions and millions of dollars rained down on anyone with an accent, a colorful native costume and an axe to grind or a grant to apply for. Pimping out your cultural differences became the new currency of exchange between "Community Leaders" of all stripes and any politician with access to a bank account full of OPM, (Other Peoples Money) to exchange for votes or a good Photo Op. A practice which sadly flourishes to this day.
I was there, I remember it well. Before I became a Lapsed Liberal and subsequently further evolved into political independence, I used to swallow, and (full disclosure with much shame.) spout the mantra that the world would be a better place if we all just tried harder to "embrace the rich tapestry of cultural diversity and heritage....blah, blah..." . It was pathetic. You couldn't throw a stick at a Liberal convention or meeting of any size without hitting someone dancing around wearing feathers in their hair, beads around their necks and covered in dead deer skins. It became obligatory to have a gaggle of little Greek kids in those nifty little tutu outfits bouncing around to bouzouki music at the ribbon cutting of any building or road project. I could have gotten rich if I had opened a "Rent An Ethnic" stand in any Liberal riding.
As you can tell, I could go on, and probably will some day soon, about the dumb things we did in the Age of Enlightenment Era that was the beginning of the Trudeau years. However, the point of today's post is to point out to Jagoda that her NEW direction, is not only NOT NEW, it is boring. It was boring then, boring now. Welcome to the 70's Ms. Pike.
Just further proof that your life and mine, is one big Circle song. Peter Allen, that swishy Australian boy who was married to Liza Minneli at one point, wrote and sang the lyrics that perfectly capture today's Front Page news at The Star. Mrs. Geek and I saw Mr. Allen perform "Everything Old Is New Again", in the old Imperial Room at the Royal York back in the early 70's. He was not only a great performer but a prophet as well. Truer words were never spoken.
30
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