Oct.23-Toronto Sun - CTV

Toronto has four daily newspapers ranging from a very conservative broadsheet to a blue-collar style tabloid. Although not as sensational as British tabloids, the Toronto Sun is the newspaper of choice for the city’s working class.

The Sun Canada’s first daily tabloid was established about 30 years ago. It bills itself as the ‘little paper that grew” and has become the voice of the ordinary man. Its columnists often delight in writing about the injustices of society and the shortcomings of big government and big corporations.

DMC students met several columnists and editors including Andy Donato, one of Canada’s foremost political cartoonists. It was interesting to see how Donato uses humour and caricatures to raise questions about important political and social issues.

Our next stop was the CTV television network, Canada’s largest privately owned national network. Actually, the CTV facilities are home to several networks and specialty channels including Channel 9, which serves the Toronto market, and ESPN the national sports network.

A 24-hour news channel called Newsnet also operates from the same complex. Using state of the art technology, technical directors at CTV Toronto actually control broadcasts at CTV affiliates all across the country.

One challenge faced by networks in Canada is dealing with four different time zones. In order for viewers coast-to-coast to receive their newscast at 11pm, a total of four newscasts are produced starting at 9pm Toronto time and running until midnight.