In a self-congratulation piece to pre-launch its "new Sunday paper," Star Editor-in-Chief Giles Gherson wrote this:

At the Star, unlike the two national papers and the commuter freebies, we have no interest in picking off one demographic group - say, younger readers, or upscale urbanites etc. - at the expense of others. As the GTA's only mass medium with 40 per cent more readers a day than our next biggest rival, with 1 million readers a day and with 1.4 million on Saturdays, one of our defining characteristics - apart from our unwaveringly progressive voice - is our sheer size. We are, in effect, Toronto's community newspaper - its bulletin board. We are the only newspaper through which all the distinctive groups that make up our large metropolitan area can find a voice and speak to each other, an important attribute in a democracy. But if the Star is going to continue playing this lubricating role between the GTA's many moving parts, we need to continue building readership in every age group, cultural community and neighbourhood.

One wonders if Mr.Gherson has ever read the Star. Let's take a look at his points one-at-a-time…

The Star has no interest in picking off demographic groups like its rivals:

Really? You could have fooled me, Giles. For at least the last five years, the Star has been pandering to Limousine Liberals and Toronto's minority communities. That's good business - the guilty rich buy the nonsense that so often fills the newspaper's pages as well as the goods of advertisers and minority communities are the fastest growing demographic in Toronto - but it is still demographic targeting.

Perhaps, the Star doesn't realize that there are other people out there.

The Star is the GTA's only mass medium with 40 percent more reader than its next biggest rival:

That's true - if you are only talking about newspapers. On television, CFTO's 6 o'clock newscast leaves its competitors in the dust, but because of the way ratings are calculated it is difficult to compare. If I were to venture a guess, though, I would say CFTO could credibly say almost the same thing, and while it might be a bit of a stretch, some radio stations could make the same claim depending on how you digest the numbers.

I guess the Star doesn't consider television or radio mass-media.

The Star is Toronto's "community newspaper:"

The Star is decidedly not a community newspaper. A community newspaper would understand its community enough not to insensitively publish an inaccurate list of dead and missing from the Asian Tsunami and claim it was in the public good. A community newspaper would not refuse to publish letters to the editor that criticize its coverage of the news.

The Star is the only newspaper through which all the distinctive groups... blah, blah, blah:

This is the newspaper that has systematically sought to suppress conservative voices in Toronto. This is the newspaper that openly campaigned against a government. This is the newspaper that thinks you are a bad person for not believing in its editorial position.

This is Bovine Scatology of the worst kind.

Oh, and if you are silencing dissent, then you are not "lubricating the GTA's many moving parts" you are gumming them up.

Giles, time to get your head out of the sand.

For the rest of you, here's what's really going on. The newspaper war is not going well for any of Toronto four dailies. The National Post is losing money hand over fist, but has stolen enough market-share from the Globe and Mail that it has made a (so far successful) play for Toronto Star readers. [As an interesting aside, the Post's "Arts" section has been strong enough to lure readers away from the Star.]

The Star, trying to keep its circulation numbers up, has resorted to the expensive practice of handing out freebies. If you go to McDonalds, you'll get a free Star with your McMuffin (if the latter doesn't make you puke the former surely will). When you get off your train at Union Station or any of the busy downtown subway stops, someone will hand you a free Toronto Star.

This is, of course, a short-term solution to a long-term problem, so the Star is retooling and couching the whole thing in this "aren't we great" mumbo jumbo. If I were advising the Star, I'd tell them that part of the retooling might be to lose the attitude, but I doubt they realize they have one. After all, they did tell the CBC during the election campaign that they are not a biased newspaper.

Further Reading:
Staying relevant a challenge