The decision by the owners of the Toronto Star to outsource subbing duties - as reported here yesterday - has been greeted with something less than enthusiasm by Canadian media commentator John Gordon Miller.
The 'last set of eyes' are disappearing, he writes, before extolling the virtues of his own Star career in which he wrote headlines, laid out pages and checked reporters' stories for fairness, accuracy and completeness. He continues:
"I founded and edited the Sunday Star and innovative sections like What's On. A special section I edited on the death of John Lennon was singlehandedly responsible for the Sunday Star overtaking the Sunday Sun as the largest Sunday paper in the country.
Good editing increased circulation and added to the paper's profit and readership. That's what the Star is throwing overboard. The things it needs most right now.
God help quality journalism when the Star, which once sent Ernest Hemingway to cover wars, Milt Dunnell to cover games, Peter C. Newman to cover politics and Gordon Sinclair to cover life, is short-sighted enough to let $25-an-hour strangers dress up the news every day and shove it on stage."
Profits plunge at the Toronto Star group
Staff appear to agree with Miller. Star reporters have gone on a byline strike in protest at outsourcing and the consequent loss of editorial jobs. Such strikes are aimed at drawing readers' attention to internal affairs.
The Toronto Star's owners, Torstar Corp, said profit fell almost 65% in the fourth quarter, reports the Globe & Mail. The company posted a $24m (£15.5m) profit, down from $64m (£41.2m) a year ago. Revenue fell 5%.
Chief executive David Holland said the Toronto Star division was hit hardest by a weak national advertising market, suffering an overall 8.5% decline in print advertising revenue in 2012.
