If you've been paying attention to the 12:36 episodes of Toronto Mike'd, we've talked quite a bit lately about the demise of the entertainment section in the Toronto Star. Marc thought an end-of-2019 piece about podcasting featuring yours truly might be the last of its kind. I brought this up when Toronto Star film critic Peter Howell visited a couple of weeks ago.
Peter Howell, who had been at the Star for over three decades, and Ben Rayner, longtime music critic, have both guested on my podcast recently, and both are part of substantial changes at One Yonge Street, slowly leaking out throughout the day. Here's what I've heard.
Morgan Campbell, Toronto Star Sports Reporter - Left in December.
Amy Pataki, Toronto Star Food Critic - Left in December.
Peter Howell, Toronto Star Movie Critic - Just left. This must have just happened because there was no inkling of this when Peter visited me on January 17.
Tony Wong, Toronto Star TV Critic - Just left.
Paul Hunter, Toronto Star Sports Reporter - Leaving summer 2020.
Mary Ormsby, Toronto Star Sports Reporter - Leaving summer 2020.
Ben Rayner, Toronto Star Music Critic - Reassigned (hear his recent appearance on Toronto Mike'd).
Debra Yeo, Toronto Star Entertainment Editor - Reassigned.
Garnet Fraser, Toronto Star Entertainment Editor - Reassigned.
I'm told more are leaving between now and the end of the summer. These are bleak times for Canada's largest newspaper. Heck, these are tough times for the entire industry.
The Star will now rely on wire copy from Canadian Press and other such sources for their entertainment content. I'll update this page as I learn more.
