When do they get any work done? Canada's top party schools according to Maclean's

2015 frosh week at St. F of X ( Devon Chisholm)

Maclean's magazine has published its list of the top party schools in Canada, with number one being St. Francis Xavier in Antigonish, NS. There, according to a post, a typical weekend starts on Wednesday and the party (really a series of parties) carries on through Sunday. 

The ranking (Maclean's loves rankings, particularly when it comes to universities) resulted from a survey of more than 10,000 students at 100 universities across the country last fall. Responses about how many hours a week are spent partying ranged from 0 to over 40 hours a week. Interesting that U of T students reported they party the least. 

Top 20 party schools

Maclean's magazine launches books podcast

Anne Kingston and Brian Bethune, co-hosts

Maclean's magazine has launched a podcast about books that joins those it offers about politics and pop culture. The Bibliopod is hosted by Anne Kingston and Brian Bethune and the podcast is available on iTunes and other podding platforms. 
https://soundcloud.com/macleans-magazine/the-bibliopod-macleans-books-podcast-episode-3

Maclean's cover story features tough-guy Putin and impotent West

Maclean's magazine is pulling out the tab type for its cover story by Michael Petrou and commentary by columnist Paul Wells about the evolving situation in Ukraine. 

Maclean's names Rob Ford "Newsmaker of the Year"

There was lots of news and lots of individuals on which it pivoted this year, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to disagree with Maclean's declaring Toronto mayor Rob Ford as 'Newsmaker of the Year' for 2013. The pronouncement was made  in the 108-page Newsmakers issue, which features five other public figures, including royal heir Prince George, astronaut Chris Hadfield, girls' rights activist Malala Yousafzai, suspended senator Mike Duffy and Pope Francis. 

“Rob Ford was a larger-than-life figure whose story transcended borders. In a year of some great successes and heroics—and some great, roiling scandals—he was impossible to ignore, and the clear choice as our Newsmaker of the Year,” said Maclean’s Editor Mark Stevenson.

Rob Ford's "political train wreck": Maclean's

Maclean's magazine pulls no punches (as how could they?) with its November 18 issue on newsstands tomorrow. 

Big money tallied by Maclean's

It will -- and probably already has -- caused some buzz; Maclean's magazine's tally of who earns what in Canada in its September 2 issue. Compiled from a variety of sources, it  tells you the annual earnings of the following:

• Soccer superstar Christine Sinclair -- $350,000
• Justin Trudeau, incipient Liberal leader -- $245,000
• Bill Blair, police chief of Toronto -- $367,719
• Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne -- $209,272
• Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin -- $379,900
• Hockey superstar Sidney Crosby -- $12 million
• Hockey loudmouth Don Cherry -- $800,000
• Cirque de Soleil CEO Guy Laliberté  -- $1.5 million
• Ontario Art Gallery director Matthew Teitelbaum -- $281,008
• Canada Post CEO Deepak Chopra -- $597,740

Maclean's cover story reports on "slow-motion implosion" of Toronto mayor Rob Ford

In the June 10 cover story of Maclean's, senior writer Nicholas Köhler describes "the slow-motion implosion of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford", which Köhler says is following "a relentless chronology". The issue is on newsstands starting tomorrow (Thursday). An online sneak peek says:

The pressures of the job, one source tells Maclean’s, led Ford to drift into substance abuse problems early on in his term as mayor, when he stopped listening, came into work late or not at all, ceased alerting his office to his whereabouts, and refused to be accompanied by handlers from his office.

Soon top aides began hearing that Ford was buying mickeys of alcohol, purchases he asked his lower-rung staffers to keep secret.

His mayoralty has unspooled according to its own unforgiving logic since then, and his options have now diminished to one between resignation and self-destruction.

Maclean's sums up the Shafia "honour killing" trial with special 22-page section + ebook

Maclean's magazine  has published an impressive 22-page special insert in its current issue, devoted to the so-called Shafia "honour killing" trial. Plus it is offering a 99-cent e-book for the iPad app. Writer Michael Friscolanti attended the three month trial and writes a narrative that gives an in-depth look into the horrific dysfunction of one family.

The story of the murders of the Shafia sisters and their "stepmother" Rona Amir Mohammed, is not just an account of what happened on that pitch-black night at the Kingston Mills locks, where the victims were found drowned. It's also a story of cries for help that were missed or ignored; sibling rivalry and family snitches; passionate young love; and old-fashioned police detective work. And it's a story about a custom-built courtroom, where father, mother - but not son - took the stand to proclaim their innocence.

Maclean's writer savours vindication for Quebec "most corrupt" story

Martin Patriquin

Martin Patriquin, the Quebec bureau chief of Maclean's magazine, wrote a cover story last September which dubbed Quebec the most corrupt province in the country, illustrating it in part by detailing the dark heart of the province's construction industry. He was roundly criticized for publishing it, including a motion in the legislature by Pierre Paquette of Joliette expressing "profound sadness at the prejudice displayed and the stereotypes employed by Maclean's magazine to denigrate the Quebec nation, its history and its institutions."

Patriquin wrote an editorial refusing to apologize (though Rogers Publishing management distanced itself). The Quebec press council later reprimanded Maclean's for the story for what it called its inflammatory headline and "lack of journalistic rigour".

So Patriquin might be forgiven for feeling a little smug today when posting about a leaked report written by former Montreal police commissioner Jacques Duchesneau, detailing widespread, long-standing and deeply rooted corruption in the construction industry.

In fact, Patriquin was asked by radio reporter whether he felt like crowing a bit and answered:

"Not at all, I said. Zen is a wonderful thing, and anyway the fact that the province of my birth has a political culture that allows such a thing to fester for so long is nothing to be happy about."

Maclean's reprimanded by Quebec press council for "corrupt" cover story

Maclean's magazine has been reprimanded by the Quebec press council for declaring it was "the most corrupt province in Canada" in the cover story of its October 4, 2010 issue.

The council released the results of its March 18 decision Tuesday, criticizing the magazine for "lack of journalistic rigour" and for its inflammatory headline. The decision said that Maclean's journalist Martin Patriquin and columnist Andrew Coyne did not offer proof, but merely their perceptions.

"We are forced to conclude that they (the comments) reveal prejudice and are all the more condemnable under the circumstances as they carry prejudices against all Quebecers," the council wrote.

Following the appearance of the article Rogers Publishing -- but not Ken Whyte, the publisher and editor of Maclean's --  issued a tepid apology. Later, Maclean's and the Quebec winter carnival settled out of court over the use of the image of Bonhomme Carnival as an illustration of the controversial story.

Comedian Rick Mercer writing weekly election column for Maclean's

Comedian, commentator and TV personality Rick Mercer has signed on to write an exclusive column for Maclean's magazine during this federal election. According to a Rogers Publishing release the first column will be in the issue on newsstands today.

Mercer is the host of The Rick Mercer Report, the highest-rated comedy show in Canada, returning to the CBC for its ninth season this fall. He launched his television career in 1994 as one of the creators, performers and writers on the hit weekly show This Hour Has 22 Minutes. His CBC Television special Talking to Americans, based on the regular This Hour segment wherein he poked fun at Americans' ignorance of Canada, became the highest rated Canadian comedy special of all time with 2.7 million viewers.

In his first column he observes: 

"Being a political junkie in this country is a bit like being a diehard Leafs fan.  Year in and year out you believe you will witness magic; year in and year out you experience the opposite. But yet, you continue to show up, cheer on the team, pay through the nose for a hot dog—and it almost always ends in tears."

Controversy over Maclean's's "Too Asian?" article kept on boil

Maclean's magazine's so-called "Too Asian?" controversy simply will not die down. A group called The Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) has rejected a letter from Rogers Publishing offering them a full-page ad in the magazine to "directly express to Maclean's audience your concerns" about the article in November. 

“We believe that Maclean’s has not adequately addressed our concerns and we seek an unqualified public apology from Maclean’s,” Victor Wong, CCNC Executive Director said today. “In our view, since Rogers is the parent company of Maclean’s, then Rogers should step up and take ownership of this controversy.”

Even more interesting is that the CCNC has apparently arranged a meeting in the new year with Heritage Minister James Moore and has asked in writing for the Commons standing committee on Canadian Heritage to initiate a study of the Canada Periodical Fund -- presumably to see if Maclean's's funding can be revoked, similar to a letter written earlier by Senator Vivienne Poy (see earlier post).

The CCNC has also done a detailed parsing of the original article and contacted people quoted in it, some of whom said they were misquoted or their remarks were taken out of context. 

“These responses from interviewees themselves point to numerous significant errors by Maclean’s writers and editors, Victor Wong added. “There are just so many problems with the “Too Asian”? article that it simply doesn’t meet the standard for good journalism.”

Is CBC required to share sensitive and competitive information, Maclean's asks?

Maclean's magazine's Quebec bureau chief Martin Patriquin this week chronicles the siege being laid on the CBC by Michel Drapeau, a fervent and frequent user of Access to Information act and how his campaign may be fuelling a feud between Quebecor and the CBC. The story reports that Drapeau -- a lawyer and retired colonel -- has filed nearly 800 ATI requests with the CBC since the fall of 2007 when, under the federal accountability act, the crown corporation became subject to access to information requests. 

“The CBC has not made the psychological and corporate turn,” [Drapeau] says. “They don’t understand that they are no longer a private-like organization that they can do as they wish without any public oversight. They have a sense of hostility toward anybody exercising their right to have access to records.”

For its part, CBC management maintains that much of the material Drapeau has requested is of commercial value to his client, the Quebecor-owned Sun Media chain, and giving it up would be tantamount to Macdonald’s sharing its secret sauce with Burger King. Yes, the CBC is a taxpayer-funded organization, they say; but it is also a broadcaster whose competitors aren’t similarly compelled to divulge sensitive journalistic, creative and programming information.

Drapeau says his requests are his own initiative and Sun Media had no input into them. But it's clear that the results of his requests are providing a stout stick with which Quebecor can beat their hated rival. 

Quebecor's Sun Media chain has been hammering away at the CBC, a major competitor in the French television market, but the impetus for the campaign (vendetta?) is that Quebecor boss Pierre Karl Péladeau, is steamed about a  2007 Le Devoir interview with Sylvain LaFrance, head of CBC's French service, who said that Péladeau "was acting like a thug" by pulling out of the Canadian Television Fund. Péladeau launched a $700,000 defamation suit against LaFrance, which is in court now.

The trial has taken on elements of the absurd. La­france’s lawyer brought in an expert to distinguish the difference between calling someone a thug and saying that they are acting like a thug. (“It’s not an identity, it’s an analogy,” testified linguist Jean-Claude Corbeil.)

Liberal Senator asks for revocation of $1.5 million in federal funding from Maclean's

Senator Poy

Oh, boy, this is simply going way too far. 

A Liberal senator from Toronto, Vivienne Poy, wants Canadian Heritage to yank $1.5 million in funding from Maclean's magazine for its recent article now indelibly labelled "Too Asian?", a headline which the magazine acknowledged was misunderstood. 

From a story in Georgia Straight, by Steven Hui:

Senator Vivienne Poy of Toronto has sent a letter to Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore, calling the magazine's controversial “Too Asian?” article "offensive material" and a "legitimate reason" to revoke the publication's federal funding.

In her letter dated December 16, Poy notes that the city councils of Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto have all passed motions condemning the piece.

The November 10 article, since retitled "The Enrollment Controversy", has been described as "offensive and full of stereotypes" by the Chinese Canadian National Council, which has demanded an "unqualified public apology" from Maclean's.
Poy, a former University of Toronto chancellor, points out that the magazine has also garnered complaints that it has exhibited an "anti-Islamic bias".

"It has offended large portions of the Canadian population through its divisive journalism, which is increasingly unprofessional," Poy wrote in her letter. "As such, given Maclean's propensity for speculation, editorializing, and courting controversy merely for the sake of publicity, it should no longer be deemed worthy of public funding by Canadian Heritage."

Maclean's is due to receive $1.5 million in funding from the Canada Periodical fund, the maximum available, and is one of only a handful of larger titles to do so.

From a report in Saturday's Globe and Mail:

A month after the article first appeared, critics continue to agitate against Maclean’s and its parent company, Rogers.

Organizers have begun distributing 12,500 buttons with the words “Too Asian for Maclean’s” and “Too Asian for Rogers.” Protests are being organized at the University of Toronto, the University of Victoria, McMaster University and Ryerson University, according to Brad Lee, who created a Facebook page as a venue for criticism. He said his page received more than 17,000 hits in the last 24 hours, and more than 100 groups have endorsed a letter opposing anti-Asian racism.

“As Canadians we strongly believe in freedom of the press,” he said. “As taxpayers we don’t want our money spent on a media outlet that misrepresents us.”

Related posts:

•  Toronto City Council censures Maclean's's "Too Asian?" article

Toronto City Council censures Maclean's's "Too Asian?" article

Toronto City Council last night voted 30-11 to ask Maclean's magazine to "apologize unreservedly" for an article published last month with its "Too Asian?" headline (later amended online). The thrust of the article was to question whether the preponderance of Asian students at the University of Toronto was turning away other students.

The Toronto vote is the most recent such censure motion to be passed by municipalities with large Asian populations: Victoria was the first, Vancouver passed a similar motion a week ago. 

The motions are more than pro forma; in fact, it seems that Maclean's may be happy with the kerfuffle, which keeps its brand in the public eye on a daily basis.

The magazine essentially acknowledged that the headline was over the top by its decision to amend it, though it pointed out that it was a direct quote from an authoritative source.

"Although the phrase “Too Asian?” was a question and, again, a quotation from an authoritative source, it upset many people. We expected that it would be provocative, but we did not intend to cause offence."

But pursuing such provocative topics is a commonplace for Maclean's these days. By its vote last night, Toronto City Council won't be changing that strategy anytime soon and may encourage it.

Maclean's and Quebec winter carnival settle over use/misuse of image of Bonhomme

Maclean's magazine has settled out of court with the organizers of Quebec's winter carnival. Though Maclean's didn't apologize for its controversial cover story declaring Quebec "the most corrupt province", the carnival committee's lawyers began legal proceedings over the use (or, from their perspective, the misuse) of the iconic image of  Bonhomme Carnaval.

According to a story from Postmedia News, carried in various papers across the country, the terms of the settlement are confidential but provides for the magazine to publish a letter in its next issue expressing its regrets for the use of the Bonhomme image on its cover.

(Though the magazine itself didn't apologize, its parent company Rogers Publishing, had earlier issued a carefully worded statement of regret -- driven in large part by concern that Quebecor's TVA, a major rival for Rogers's wireless business, was using the Maclean's controversy to gain an advantage in the competitive battle.)

I said Maclean's story was bullshit, and I'm glad, says Regina mayor

Regina's mayor Pat Fiacco, told a reporter for Maclean's magazine that its reporting of the crime situation in his city was "bullshit', according to a story in the Regina Leader Post (which used a euphemism). Actually, Mayor Fiacco said, he was referring to a story two years ago about the north central area of the city rather than the most recent crime stats round up, in which Regina had moved up (or down) the rankings to be third behind Victoria and Prince George.

"Actually, he was a very nice reporter," said Fiacco.

New York Times takes an interest in the fallout from Maclean's cover story about Quebec

Bringing up the rear somewhat on the story about Maclean's dissing Quebec as "the most corrupt province" is no less than the New York Times. Its Media Decoder blog reported that the statement of regret from Rogers Publishing president Brian Segal was insufficient for Quebec premier Jean Charest:

“He didn’t ask Rogers for regrets,” [M. Charest's press secretary Hugo] D’Amours said. “He asked Maclean’s for an apology.”

The column also pointed out that the critics of Maclean's cover story came from some unlikely quarters:

Among them was Carole Beaulieu, the editor of L’Actualité, a general interest magazine based in Montreal, which, like Maclean’s, is owned by Rogers Communications. She, among others, faulted Maclean’s for not providing any comparisons between Quebec and other provinces.

Provocation for the nation: Maclean's slammed for calling Quebec "most corrupt province"

October 4 edition

[This post has been updated]Maclean's magazine has provoked a good deal of anger with its October 4 cover story saying that Quebec is the most corrupt province in Canada. Clearly intended to have exactly that reaction, the story by Quebec correspondent Martin Patriquin got immediate response from across the country, according to a story in the Montreal Gazette and other sources.

Parti Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe sent an open letter to the media saying, in part

"Unfortunately, this attack is representative of a belief widely held in Canada that Quebec is racist, corrupt and always looking for a handout. It appears that the only group in Canada that can be singled out in this way, the only group that can be insulted, is Quebecers."

Quebec Vice-premier Nathalie Normandeau told reporters it was completely unacceptable and a "senseless" attack:

"Enough with the Quebec-bashing," Normandeau told reporters. "The magazine takes on our institutions, our history, our symbols, our events. Enough is enough, we are not going to tolerate this."

Liberal MP Marc Garneau said the story was “sensationalism.”

“I found this shocking. It’s not worthy of a Canadian magazine. It’s an image that divides the nation.”

[Update: The controversial issue was sold out in Montreal by Sunday, according to a story in the Toronto Sun.]
[ More reaction to come, doubtless.]

Ken Whyte of Maclean's springs to the defence of Chatelaine publisher Kerry Mitchell

Ken Whyte, the publisher of Maclean's, Canadian Business, Profit and MoneySense  has sprung to the defence of his colleague Kerry Mitchell (right), recently the subject of a critical profile called "There's Something about Kerry" in the Ryerson Review of Journalism.

The article, which relied on both unnamed and named sources, paints a picture of the Chatelaine publisher having an  intrusive management style paired with a "hungry ambition". Whyte wrote a letter to the RRJ that said, in part:

I am disappointed that the official publication of a leading Canadian journalism school would publish an article about a senior publishing figure based on "rumours," "whispers," unsourced allegations and the testimony of disgruntled former employees.

The supposed criticisms of my Rogers Publishing colleague Kerry Mitchell are ridiculous. It is not a "transgression" for a publisher to be involved in the cover and contents of her magazine; it is a duty. A "hands-on" management style is not a flaw or a problem but something Kerry has in common with the founder of our company, Ted Rogers (whose name, incidentally, is on the wall at the Ryerson School of Management).

I can say from first-hand knowledge over the last several months that Kerry's relations with the staff at Chatelaine were exemplary. She was of enormous help to me as I became involved in the magazine.

 The article was by Maiya Keidan and Robyn Urback and was posted on the RRJ website on March 31. Whyte clearly wasted no time responding, since his letter to the editor was dated April 1. We could see no evidence that it was fooling.