I saw a post this morning on FaceBook about the ongoing feud between Rob Ford, the mayor of Toronto, and the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper. Long story short, the Mayor’s office has apparently excluded The Star from receiving official notices or media releases and the people commenting on this were referring to the Mayor as “mean spirited and looking for enemies.” This is what I wrote in response…

“I trust most would agree that the Star is not a fan of the Mayor and often goes out of its way to criticize and/or paint him in a negative light. This is not a criticism but rather an observation. Accordingly, I find it amusing that The Star is up in arms for getting in effect some of their own medicine. The editorial board of the Star is now complaining that the Mayor is fed up with being, well, a target. You may not agree with his policies but he’s human (but at time you would even have difficulty discerning this from some of the coverage in The Star). Perhaps if the Toronto Star got into the habit of reporting the news instead of putting a left leaning editorial spin on much of what they write they would be more welcome at Toronto’s city hall. I was told when growing up that if you keep poking a dog you’re gonna get bit… Fair is fair. Just a thought.”

Frankly, it would be refreshing to see the Toronto Star and other media outlets (including Sun Media) focus their efforts more on informing the public instead of influencing it.

“World economy in ‘dangerous phase’ IMF warns” – Toronto Star

“EU crisis raises bank risk…” – Globe and Mail

“Volatility is the new norm” – New York Times

“IMF warns of new threat to banks” – BBC

I don’t know about you but the more I read newspapers the more I want to go fishing…

There was an article in the Toronto Star earlier this week in the Greater Toronto section entitled “Fishin’ by the Old Mill and the stream” by Liam Casey. This article is part of the Star’s Country in the City series and it featured, you guessed it, fly fishing in Toronto. I had the pleasure of meeting Liam and his friend Parker Carney a couple of weeks ago on the banks of the Humber River where I gave them a crash course in fly casting. If you would like to read the complete story please go to www.thestar.com/news/article/1039417–country-in-the-city-fishin-by-the-old-mill-and-the-stream