Like many of you, I no longer subscribe to a paper newspaper. I subscribe to three paper magazines, and many online newspaper news sites - but I rarely peruse a daily newspaper any more.
And I know I am missing so much. Newspapers expose you to headlines and news you didn't know you were interested in, so they broaden your horizon - unlike the skeletal links on a news website. I no longer know what is happening that doesn't make the front page. And among many other things, as I have mentioned recently to friends, I no longer know who is alive or who is dead.
This morbid condition came to my attention today when I watched a few videos from the Canadian Journalism Foundation's annual awards dinner, held last month. One video I watched was the annual "In Memoriam" tribute to journalists who have passed away in the last year -- and I was shocked to see so many names and faces who were giants of journalism, many of whom I looked up to when I was just starting out.
In case you missed the news, here are some of the legendary journalists who passed away in 2023-24. You'll recognize quite a few of them. (I have attached a credit or two to each, but most of them enjoyed many other accomplishments as well.)
Hail and farewell to:
John Howse: Southam News energy writer, Maclean's magazine
Keith Spicer: Reporter, editor, CRTC chair, and head of the vital Citizens Forum on National Unity (aka the Spicer Commission).
Robert MacNeil: TV newsman who spent most of his career in American media. He was onthe spot when JFK was shot in Dallas in 1963; also anchored the MacNeil Lehrer NewsHour (which later became PBS NewsHour).
Rex Murphy: CBC commentator.
Helen Brimmel: Guelph journalist who was one of the first women to work in the Parliamentary Press Gallery,
Elizabeth Gray: CBC, former host of The Journal, As It Happens, and Cross-Country Checkup.
Peter C. Newman: Legend. Reporter, book author, Toronto Star editor, and the editor who turned Maclean's magazine into a newsweekly.
Joan Hollobon: Pioneering Globe and Mail medical reporter, 1959 to 1985.
Geoff Stevens: National columnist, managing editor, Globe and Mail; CBC political commentator. He once pointed out we had the same haircut.
Susan Kastner: Edgy Toronto Star writer and columnist.
Danny Stoffman: Business writer, movie critic, and co-author of the bestseller Boom, Bust and Echo.
William (Bill) Lawrence: Long-time CBC and CHCH Hamilton TV broadcaster/weatherman. Best known as the host (for 35 years!) of Tiny Talent Time.
Gordon Jaremko: Long time energy journalist, Southam News.
George Gamester: Irrepressible Toronto Star "people" columnist.
Stephen Douglas: Photographer, reporter, journalism teacher; Douglas passed away under murky circumstances in Sierra Leone last December, during a time of violent unrest. He was only 60.
Here is Douglas's last tweet:
Artillery fire, gunshots can be heard in my neighbourhood... several times my windows have shook. Gov't says everyone should stay indoors and things are under control.
https://x.com/redpageletters/status/1728672054138790349
Cheers to all these heroes!
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