04.29.2015 02:23 PM

Me, sunsetted

Just got word: I won’t be back at the Sun papers. They wanted to make a change, and I was one of the changes.

I wasn’t surprised, at all. They’ve brought in someone who is close to CEO to be the “Liberal” voice, and I wasn’t very close to the CEO.

It was a fun four years, but as I predicted more than once, it wasn’t going to last.

Now, at least, I get to write about how bloody outrageous it is that a New York hedge fund owns most of the English-language newspapers in Canada, and how it accelerates the end of journalism in this country. And I will.

So stay tuned here, and elsewhere. With nearly three million views a year, this web site reaches more folks, anyway!

Screen Shot 2015-04-29 at 3.12.24 PM

19 Comments

  1. Matt says:

    So, who exactly is the CEO?

    Godfrey?

      • Ian Howard says:

        I think owning most of the English language newspapers is an appropriate punishment for a New York Hedge Fund.

        Paul Godfrey has given the province, the Skydome, the massive debt at Post Media with another round of bankruptcy in the near future, and the modernization of the OLG.

        Why would anyone trust him? Dwight Duncan learned the hard way about trusting him and Godfrey was a very large reason why he knew the Premier’s job was never going to be his.

  2. Ron W. says:

    Warren, is this what you were referring to when you spoke of the new CEO and the new ownership of Sun English-language newspapers in Canada? The choke-hold is that they now own and control most of the newsprint printing presses in Canada and that effectively stops anybody else from starting a newspaper in Canada. It’s a death grip on publishing newsprint in Canada.

    Can you comment on how politics will be reported in Canada now and in the future under the thumb of the “New York hedge fund” owners? Canada USA?

  3. gyor says:

    Have you concidered your own youtube channel, with 3,000,000 subscribers you can make some money off advertizers.

  4. cynical says:

    Sucks to lose a gig. Sucks worse that we lose local editorial control of newspapers in our own country. Next thing we know the Koch boys will be buying Parliament Hill.

  5. Ridiculosity says:

    “If journalism is good, it is controversial, by its nature.” – Julian Assange

    Fuck Godfrey.

    At his age, he should recognize that there should be more to life than making (yet another) dollar.

    Or, perhaps, he’s OK with meeting his Maker and saying, “Don”t take it personal. It was just business.”

  6. Liam Young says:

    I always admired your willingness to walk around Sun with a big target painted on your back, face, front and elsewhere for the litany of Con attacks. It seemed pointless, but you know better than I why it was a good thing.

    A few years back, Godfrey was on CBC supporting his new set of pay-walls for Postmedia and I was trying to tell him they don’t work. That were eventually taken down. Because they DON’T WORK. There was a distinct lack of knowledge about the digital economy and it’s sad that its future still lies in his hands, as with Bell and Rogers and other conglomerates. Our media consumption, copyright rules and political fates are determined by people that still want to ‘control’ everything and this needs to come to an end.

    It’s time we tried to figure out our own independent media. Shows like Canadaland are doing real work and with talents like yours, Warren, your opportunities are endless!

  7. P Brennan says:

    not sure its such a big deal anymore – I doubt there was a lineup at Quebecors doors to buy Sun chain …there are so many other sources of news and comment that there is no need to worry about Sun/Post dominating anything….both Globe and Star represent differing opinions on a national basis and many community newspapers thriving ..

  8. Kaiser Helmets 'n Motorbikes says:

    Three things:

    1. Cable doesn’t matter, but Local TV matters more than ever: Local “over the air” TV news and sports are the only reason to watch TV. I get more than 9 free channels with my $20 antenna. Sooner or later Netflix will start offering sports and local news.

    2. Newspapers don’t matter, unless they do: Who cares about useful idiots in The Star calling for “Welcome Back Kotter” to receive the Order of Trudeau. The only “e-news papers” that matter today are the great ones; the NY Times, WSJ, Economist, etc. Come to think of it, those were always the only ones that mattered. Pay a few bucks a year and get access to all three, and one or two more you like (National Post has a great site by the way).

    3. Blogs Matter more than ever: It seems hard to believe. From their humble beginnings over a decade ago, when millions of Bourr-idiots spilled out their useless drivel, but something changed along the way. The invisible hand of the market worked its magic, and today Warren’s patrons are keeping him in the lifestyle he deserves. What are you up to now, Warren, $60 per month? It may not be great, but it is a sign that good blogs, and I would argue Warren’s is a great blog (and I am a dyed in the wool Con), will continue to gain influence in the public square.

  9. Derik Hodgson says:

    Godfrey has Liberal friends? Ha. Is there anybody left who can spell ‘progressive’?

  10. Richard Besserer says:

    Not that you’re bitter, obviously 🙂 Though I can’t imagine how rough it must have been defending this particular client to the bitter end.

    I second gyor’s suggestion. Have you considered YouTube? I mean, if Levant can do it…

    All I’d add about the NY hedge fund is that at least the Sun newspapers are in the hands of the private sector now, which is as they should be. Before that Sun Media was owned by a firm who claimed a government run pension fund as one of its biggest shareholders. Champion of the free market my grandmother. In a real sense, it was Quebec taxpayers whose money got washed down Sun News’s drain.

    Can we stop pretending now that Quebecor is anything but a creature of government privilege run by the bored son of a bush-league Murdoch who wants to amuse himself in semi-retirement by becoming a bush-league Berlusconi? Among business-world megalomaniacs PKP doesn’t rank as even one of the more amusing ones.

  11. Richard Fromm says:

    Get together with Lilley and Levant and build a new network. I miss the very enjoyable Sun News Network debates. If Glenn Beck can do it in the US, it can be done in Canada.

  12. patrick says:

    “At least now” …. Just out of curiosity, if you were still working for the Sun, would you be telling this story or would it be one to be filed for later.

Leave a Reply to Richard Besserer Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.