October 1, 2002 Editorial Integrity in Toronto
Gay publications
By Michael Paré, Toronto ON
Every year, the good folks at Xtra a local Lesbian and Gay Newspaper mock their readers and flatter their advertisers with their annual "Best of Toronto" issue, when the editors, sales staff, and (allegedly) readers pile awards upon an elite group of businesses and services--a scant 114 or so in all, with a mere four outside of Toronto. A suspiciously large number of the "winners" will be businesses whose ads appear regularly in the pages of The Newspaper. There is even a list prize donors with company logos, to help you choose the winners, a.k.a. biggest advertisers, in case you were going to pick some no name place that only you go too. And like the Special Olympics, no one seems to get out of the “Best of Toronto” issue without a prize, this year there are some 52.
In its never ending effort to leave no advertiser behind, The Newspaper has gone to great lengths to create categories that roughly jibe with businesses whose ad dollars it is after. Take for example No. 71 Best Martini Bar, think of a bar were the word “martini” is in its advertising slogan, the only place in the Toronto gay village. A new and unprecedented low asking their readers to vote for this bar. For shame, for shame.
We carry no direct advertising and the indirect advertisings we do carry, because of some free service we signed up for, are swell and you should buy whatever they're selling, from inner-ear damage to lung cancer (cigarette ads). But we've always felt that the best thing we could do for our indirect advertisers was to surround their ads with content that people actually wanted to read--which results in their ads getting noticed, which brings in the customers for them--and not a lot of fawning compliments and repulsive "advertorial" content.
All we are asking for, is some semblance of editorial integrity from our main stream Toronto Lesbian and Gay publications.
By Michael Paré, Toronto ON
Originally published on Toronto Digital Queeries
Every year, the good folks at Xtra a local Lesbian and Gay Newspaper mock their readers and flatter their advertisers with their annual "Best of Toronto" issue, when the editors, sales staff, and (allegedly) readers pile awards upon an elite group of businesses and services--a scant 114 or so in all, with a mere four outside of Toronto. A suspiciously large number of the "winners" will be businesses whose ads appear regularly in the pages of The Newspaper. There is even a list prize donors with company logos, to help you choose the winners, a.k.a. biggest advertisers, in case you were going to pick some no name place that only you go too. And like the Special Olympics, no one seems to get out of the “Best of Toronto” issue without a prize, this year there are some 52.
In its never ending effort to leave no advertiser behind, The Newspaper has gone to great lengths to create categories that roughly jibe with businesses whose ad dollars it is after. Take for example No. 71 Best Martini Bar, think of a bar were the word “martini” is in its advertising slogan, the only place in the Toronto gay village. A new and unprecedented low asking their readers to vote for this bar. For shame, for shame.
We carry no direct advertising and the indirect advertisings we do carry, because of some free service we signed up for, are swell and you should buy whatever they're selling, from inner-ear damage to lung cancer (cigarette ads). But we've always felt that the best thing we could do for our indirect advertisers was to surround their ads with content that people actually wanted to read--which results in their ads getting noticed, which brings in the customers for them--and not a lot of fawning compliments and repulsive "advertorial" content.
All we are asking for, is some semblance of editorial integrity from our main stream Toronto Lesbian and Gay publications.
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