In the business of independent community newspapering, we expect foul play from some of the politicians we write about, hypocrisy and even plagiarism from other newspapers. In the sometimes tough business of investigative journalism, we note how some stories enterprised by Our Toronto, turn up in other newspapers.
We've been plagiarized by Frank Magazine, which presented our 1996 cover story 'Cityhome Used To House Wealthy', as its own. (At least Frank editor Michael Bate did call to tell us the story had been run without crediting Our Toronto by mistake.)
We were proud of September 1998's cover story, 'Helicopter Hopscotch', "about how politicians on the Police Services Board turned down two free helicopters when Toronto has one of the few police forces in North America operating without them", and were proud to see the story picked up by other media.
In August 1997, just two weeks after Our Toronto broke a front page story detailing how The Dock’s restaurant and entertainment complex had fenced in part of the boardwalk, on land that is unquestionably public, the Toronto Sun ran the same story.
In that expose, City of Toronto Director of Inspections and Chief Building Official Pam Coburn told private investigator Bill Joynt that Dock’s owners were breaking the rules.
When asked if the public boardwalk area facing the lake, now fenced in by the owners of the Docks is still public, Coburn answered: "Yes, and that they are doing is illegal."
When the Sun ran the story two weeks later, it did not credit Our Toronto.
This January, long-term Our Toronto sports editor Ed Zawadzki tried his first hand at investigative journalism in an Our Toronto story entitled `Ladies of the night lose their souls on T.O. streets.'
…"We don't know about the Santa Claus Parade, but writer Edward Zawadzki, who worked undercover on this story as a driver for one of the literally hundreds of escort services operating openly in the GTA, found Christmas Eve and Day the busiest time of the year in Toronto for Ladies of the Night)," wrote O.T. in its editor’s note.
On March 6, Zawadzki's Our Toronto story appeared as a 'Special to the Sun', on page 17: "Recently, Toronto journalist Ed Zawadzki decided to take a first-hand look at that world (prostitution on the streets of Toronto) going undercover to work as a driver for one of the city's many escort services that are in reality mere fronts for the prostitution trade."
Nowhere in its editor’s note did the Sun mention that the story had already been run in Our Toronto. Nor do we know if pre-Christmas, when Zawadski went underground, can still be considered "recently" by the first week in March.
In the original O.T. story, Zawadski used graphic language in his lead or opening paragraph, in a direct quote from one of the ladies of the night. He says Sun editors told him they would not allow the use of this language in their article. (This is the Toronto Sun, Ed, which makes money by running advertisements for the same escort services which promote the industry of the people you wrote about in your article).
While Our Toronto expects to have other newspapers pick up its stories and run them under the bylines of their reporters without ever crediting the source, we hardly expected it of the holier-than-thou, Progressive Conservative boostering Toronto Sun.
We believe that Toronto Sun editors could not come up with a scoop of their own on Saturday, March 6, and were too self-important to credit Our Toronto as the story's original source.
The Sun hasn't broken many scoops for some time, indeed long before it sold out to Quebecor, portrayed from day one as the 'White Knight'. The downhill slide of Peter Worthington's once feisty Sun, began even before top investigative journalist Christie Blatchford departed for the integrity of the National Post.
The decline of the Sun as a credible investigative journal began the day it took on a publisher, who was not a journalist, but one who came from the lowest stair in the political cellar, from wasteful, doleful municipal politics. The first day the Toronto Sun took on municipal politician Paul Godfrey as 'newspaper publisher'.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Privacy Statement