Thursday, September 17, 2009

Toronto Sun: Too Hot for Real News

2009-09-17b

Today must be a slow day in the world of news. The Toronto Sun cover features a Playboy model whose Facebook account was de-activated for no apparent reason.

Facebook countered that her account violated its terms and conditions and “nudity and sexually explicit content is not allowed” on the site.

I agree with the model - I’d also be very upset if my Facebook profile was deleted without warning - but this is hardly worthy of being a cover story.

I guess showing cleavage on the front cover is just another way to sell newspaper in difficult times.

Updated: Here are the failed headlines that were turned down by the Sun:

  • TOO NAKED FOR FACEBOOK
  • TOO LUCIOUS FOR SOCIAL NETWORKING
  • TOO SEXUALLY EXPLICIT FOR MARK ZUCKERBERG
  • TOO BOOBILICIOUS FOR THE INTERNET
  • TOO SMOKING FOR FACEBOOK POKING

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

In an effort to make up for some lost time, here are some Toronto Sun covers over the last week or two that I’ve taken notice to:

2009-09-04a

When I saw this cover, I had a hard time believing that a guy slipping on the wave dock and breaking his leg is worthy of a front page news story. I mean, people probably break their legs in public places all the time: on sidewalks, on escalators, on playgrounds, on soccer fields.

Now he’s suing the city because he misjudged the incline and slipped and fell in a “use-at-your-own-risk” public space? Gimme a break.

This man’s motive might be revealed in this quote from the article: “Thomas said he was forced to live on credit cards and loans from friends while off work. Gluckstein said it hasn't been determined how much the claim will be but would likely seek damages for pain and suffering and lost wages.

2009-09-05a

Here’s an attempt by the Toronto Sun to prove to the world that cyclists are a danger and a menace to society. The Sun’s Jenny Yuen counted the number of cyclists passing through Queen and Spadina heading eastbound during lunch hour last week.

She counted 85 cyclists, of which 21 rode through pedestrian crossings, 13 didn’t use hand signals when turning, 5 ran red lights, 4 rode on the sidewalk, 4 rode the wrong way, 3 swerved into different lanes or rode between cars and 2 passed the open doors of the streetcar.

Wow, great job Jenny. Maybe we should all confine ourselves to our homes because cyclists are so dangerous.

I mean, look at the scary University student carrying his backpack. That is a man who should be locked up and off the streets before he wreaks havoc on our city.

It’s a dangerous world we live in Jenny, a dangerous world.

Here are a couple positive covers I thought the Toronto Sun did a standup job on:

2009-09-07a

2009-09-06a