By Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper
If you are a Niagara, Ontario resident and receive at your door each week a copy of a newspaper called Niagara This Week (they call it the Post in Fort Erie, the Town Crier in Niagara-on-the-Lake and whatever else in the Lincoln and Grimsby area) you may notice something missing in the Thursday, July 19 edition.
In 2004, Paul Forsyth (left), Doug Draper and Doug Youmans earned Niagara This Week a national newspaper award for a series on a controversial plan to build an amusment park ride at the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It was quite an achievement for a paper that, at the time, was less than a year old.
For the first time in years, there will not be a weekly column by yours truly, Doug Draper.
There won’t be one next week or in the weeks after that either, because Niagara This Week – a TorStar/Metroland publication run out of the GTA – has decided to drop the column, and put a quick and unceremonious end to a relationship I have had with Niagara This Week since its launch eight years ago this spring.
Because my column for Niagara This Week often dealt with issues that were heated or controversial, there will no doubt be some who jump to the conclusion that it was nixed for that reason. I almost wish that was so because it would make for a more interesting story, but that is not the case at all.
The reason had to do with something that is far more mundane in today’s world – cost-cutting measures.
Some bean counters in a distant office decided cuts had to be made to shore up profit margins for the shareholders and all freelance or syndicated columns were among the things that had to go. So that included me, and by the end of this July, it also includes William Thomas, a well-known and popular humourist whose column appeared each week a page or so away from mine, and Lynn Ogryzlo, an internationally respected, award-winning food writer whose weekly ‘Just a Taste’ section so often advocated for purchasing food from our local farmers. In another week or two, their columns will be gone from Niagara This Week and its local affiliates too.
Now I know that what I am about to say is going to sound self-serving, but I am going to say it anyway, because it is true. If I had a Canadian loonie for every person who has ever said that about the only reason they open Niagara This Week up before tossing it in the recycling box is to read William, Lynn and I (and not particularly in that order), I’d be enjoying a view of the bay at a beach-side home in Cape Cod right now.
So I could argue that it is crazy for Niagara This Week/Metroland to cut three columns that compel readers to open the paper and turn its pages (you would think that is what people who advertise in the paper would also want) but I don’t think that is the way much of the mainstream media – so driven by advertising and the bottomline – sees it any more. I believe there is an illusion (or maybe a delustion) that today’s newspaper readers are so numb over a few decades of dumbing down news content, that you could dish out what is not much more than a shopper with infomercials in it and people will shrug there shoulders and accept it.
Having said that, I have few regrets over my eight-year relationship with Niagara This Week and its Post, Town Crier, etc. spin offs. Everyone, right up and including, Dave Bos, the general manager of Metroland’s Niagara operations, has been pretty good to me. And why not? During the very first year the paper was in operation, my colleague Paul Forsyth and I, with the direction of our then managing editor Doug Youmans, produced a three part series on a controversial plan by the Niagara Parks Commission to install an amusement park ride at the Horseshoe Falls (a plan that was thankfully later trashed), and it won us and Niagara This Week a national newspaper award. That was a pretty amazing achievement for a newspaper fresh out of the gate and it made it possible for the paper to add the words “award winning” next to its logo.
I went on to win the paper one or two other impressive awards, but I can’t remember the details of those right now.
What I do remember is a time when I left Niagara This Week for about a year to work in communications for Niagara’s regional government. After I wrote a swan song column at the time (in the spring of 2006) there were several nice notes and letters to the editor. One of them was headlined; ‘Draper Made A Difference’.
I am sure there will be some who are happy I no longer have a voice in Niagara This Week. When you throw hard balls, you have people who applaud you for ‘having the guts to tell it like it is’, and you also make your share of enemies.
All I can say though is that I hope some of what I wrote on health care, public transit, the environment and other topics for Niagara This Week made a difference, and I plan to continue to do that on Niagara At Large.
I will have more to say on some of this and the state of the media in Niagara later. But in the meantime, I ask all of you who care about the state of our media to inform your friends and associates that my voice is still here on Niagara At Large at http://www.niagaraatlarge.com .
I also will have more to say in the days ahead on how very important it is for all of us to get together as a community and support and build new independent media venues for our region, whether it be Niagara At Large or some hybrid of it. I encourage you to share any views you may have on that subject in the comment area below.
Thanks for all of your years of support for Niagara At Large, for my work at Niagara This Week and for many years as an environment reporter at The St. Catharines Standard going back to 1979. Doug Draper
Niagara At Large 
We have appreciated your column and it was the main reason, along with Thomas, that I used the local paper for anything other than lining my bird cages.
LikeLike
What utter rubbish! I am one of the readers who check out the columns mentioned above in every issue. Niagara This Week has impressed me far more than the ‘Substandard’ since it was last taken over. How sad. At least it will now be put to good use in my live traps for TNR. Shame on Tor/Star-Metroland!
Best of luck Doug! I will be reading you at Niagara At Large.
LikeLike
The ways of BIG business – I shall miss you in print but I shall look forward to reading you on line!!!
LikeLike
I miss you already. Thank goodness we will still be the recipients of your wit and wisdom online. Its the newspapers loss and my gain….more sheets for puppy pee pad.
LikeLike
Holy crap! Sorry to hear that Doug, although I can’t say I’m really surprised. Local newsprint journalism has been steadily declining over the last few years and cuts are happening everywhere.
To be honest, the only reason I open Niagara This Week is to shake my head at what passes for news these days, and to find subjects to write about for Niagara At Large! And, of course, to read your column.
So now you’ll have more time to focus on NAL, right? Thank you for doing what you do, whether it’s popular or feasible or not!
LikeLike
Sorry to hear about the parting of ways!
Niagara This Week (and all the other Metroland “This Week”) papers are what a fellow I used to work with at MTO called “throw in the ditch papers” because the one he received, up in the Barrie area, was usually in the ditch at the end of his driveway.
What this basically means is that the owners (Torstar) could give a bigger rats-ass about columnists, etc. All they are interested in is the advertising dollars. The news(?)paper is basically intended as a wrapper for all the flyers they distribute.
Some of the Metroland papers actually tried to do a good job of covering news and events in their local communities – Niagara This Week is one that did very well at it. The ones in the Hamilton area do a good job too. But there were others – such as in the Region Of Durham that were absolutely useless! Even Rogers cable did a better job of local news coverage in Durham than the local Metroland papers!
Thankfully though, we can still get our “Draper fix” here on Niagara At Large!
LikeLike
Doug, the newspaper industry is so rarely an instrument of democracy these days… removing local content is the eventual outcome of removing investigative journalism. Without a keener getting to the bottom of a good story people stay uninformed and apathy prevails… People descend into talk radio and the ‘news’ is weighed by the baritone and reverb in some ones voice rather than the soundness of the investigation. So I wish you well in your new adventures and hope your are successful like so many small newspapers in creating appetite for democracy informed by the free press.
LikeLike
I am constantly aware of the fact that we are losing so much in our daily lives that is worthwhile and has some lasting meaning, because of the philosophy that seems to permeate our lives in every corner – every day – and that is, the paramount importance of “the bottom line”. We see it everywhere — the success of a movie is rated by how much is taken in at the box office — all of our decisions are based on economic return — and all of this is not enriching our lives. Not everything can be measured in dollars and cents ! The three main reasons to read Niagara this Week are now gone ! I am so thankful I am on the mailing list for Niagara at Large – thank you Doug for the integrity that you possess, for your honest and common sense reporting, and for being there for all of us !
LikeLike
A few short years ago in a conversation with Niagara At Large Editor David Bos, I stated that I once read “Niagara This Week” but had given up on it because of the lack of controversial content and the lacklustre presentation of the tid-bits they were calling worth while reporting. Your name came up and He, , was informed there was reality and vive “ONCE” but since Draper left (for a period four years ago to work in communications for Niagara’s regional government) everything fell flat. That has happened again Mr. Bos. and once again this is nothing more than another rag similar to our local rags. I looked for Mr. Draper’s column this week and re-looked again thinking I must have somehow missed it. BUT I had not. So I rolled the paper up and threw it in the recycling bin with the other trash. Consequently that will probably be its fate in the future as there was little or nothing that drew my attention, whether a smile or a leer………..Amen and goodbye Niagara this Week.
LikeLike
Hey, Doug, the issues are still out there, and the people want to know. Sadly the aim these days isn’t to get the news out, but to get the advertising dollar(s). If the news were critical, there would be more reporters working, and highlighting the ISSUES! Niagara may be small but it definitely has issues. An informed public is important. You’ve contributed to that over the many years you’ve been working. You and I have had our differences, but the real point is that information is power. So simple, but not necessarily easy to get and to distribute.
LikeLike
Hey Doug keep in touch with big Mike Willscroft I am sure you are aware that he has resurfaced with a new paper in Grimsby. If there is any one who can come off the mat and make a small paper thrive it’s him!! We need people with your passion and dedication to cut through the mud for the rest of us !! Take Care —John–
LikeLike
Doug you have no idea how I relate and have sympathy for you. I was in business nearly all my life and the biggest problem I had was the interference by the Government inventing new regulations and legislating laws to be able to take more of my ability to earn money to make a living. The one thing I can say is that I tried to be honest and innovative how I could stay in business. When I received a decrease on my contracts I had to use my head how I could save money without decreasing the safety in my company. It WAS HARD BUT I MANAGED TO FIND WAYS TO DO IT. I did not do this by getting rid of employees. Today big businesses do not try to use common sense to solve their money problems. Here is an incident and it was true. A person (big business) went into store and asked the owner how much his box of strawberries were and the owner said 8 cents a box the customer said are there any deals and the owner said three for a quarter. The customer said give me six then took them home and because he kept them too long, most of them spoiled. My point in this is big greedy businesses and governments do not stop to use common sense mainly because they are not required to use their heads. To use an example I have 100 items for sale at a dollar apiece and I sell sixty so I raise the price to a dollar and a quarter and loose more money. Would it not have been more wiser to lower the price and sell a lot more and maybe the profit would not have been as much but it would increase sales and work for more people and then they would not have lay off workers for lack of work. I don’t know if this makes sense but would it not make sense to sell by quantity ( at an affordable price) and not keep raising the price because of lack of sales. The biggest cost to businesses is the unnecessary maintenance and high cost for all things look so modern and fancy. Do we have to live as multimillionaires and charge the people more than they can afford? This does not exactly apply to you Doug but by getting rid of you they are getting rid of lot of buyers whtedo read the ads in thier papers?
(Talk is cheap by the many who care.) I do not get THE NIAGARA AT LARGE but have appreciated your column, you have hit the nail right on the head many times. Bill
A response from Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper – Hi Bill and thanks for your nice note …. BUT DON’T SAY YOU DON’T GET NIAGARA AT LARGE!!!! In fact, you must have found it or you would not have shared such a supportive and throughtful note. What you and everyone else you know have to do, if you believe in supporting independent media in this region, is to support this site by visiting it regularly at http://www.niagaraatlarge.com . Also encourage all of your friends and associates to visit it and to contribute it with comments and commentary …. that is the only way we are going to beat the corporate chain carpetbaggers that are offering the people of this region garbage so they can suck ad dollars out of here. You can bet Niagara At Large Bill. You can and so can everyone else who has a computer and access to internet …. Support this site and let’s get back some real community journalism in our greater Niagara region.
LikeLike
Doug
You are right on! There is less and less every day to draw thinking people to the media, especially print. Television and radio are following close behind–consider how selective Bell is through its CTV programming. That newscasts are referred to as “shows” is just one simple indication how news is changing. If it is not entertaining, it ain’t news! (Yes, I know “ain’t” may be wrong but how can one tell by reading today’s newspapers.)
Perhaps, Doug, it is the economy and a need to save money. I think, rather, the problem is that more and more people want to think less and less. They confuse texting tripe to each other with real news. Ah, but then again, that just may be the new news!
As it is now, I generally only get the local paper to keep track of the obituaries so I don’t miss out on knowing if someone I knew has passed on since we last were in contact. Certainly, reading your column when I have seen it in various papers, Thomas’s columns (“You know you’re from Wainfleet ..) about a town I do love very much (and know to be full of people who don’t mind a joke on themselves), and other writers–syndicated and otherwise–has proven informative, motivating, and even a pleasure. Certainly, I miss the real news.
You know when you’re getting tripe when the front page, “above the fold” story, is about the cattle slipping on the floors at the Fall Fair, or someone puts in a heading, “Alzheimer’s Society Loses President” that gets one wondering what they meant by that.
Entertainment is the be all and end all. The Doug Drapers of the world who do some real thinking about the issues that actually do make a significant difference in our lives are more and more preaching to the converted. Just look at the list of thinkers and doers (and yes, shakers) who have responded to your piece!
I for one will pass the word and encourage as many people as I can to log in and take part in one of the best town meetings in the region: Niagara At Large.
Thanks for making a difference. Hang in!
LikeLike
I live in Fort Erie so get two weekly papers, one the Fort Erie Times – a mouthpiece for the Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor – and now we have another purveyer of pap and pablum the Niagara Post this Week. Neither now qualify as a newspaper so thank goodness for the internet. We still have the number # 1 news and commentary site (Niagara At Large) to discuss the important issues of the day. Between the Conrad Blacks and the Rupert Murdochs of this world,it is getting harder to find the truth on any subject.
LikeLike
My mistake I should have said I do not receive the paper at my door although in my travels around the region I see many papers in plastic bags on the side of many roads. I have been tempted to see what they are but I can only think what shame it is that they are polluting the environment because they are enclosed in plastic.
Doug I am happy I will still be able to read you ONLINE, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. BILL
LikeLike
No doubt in my mind. The best, most informative, involving, and honest news and commentary are found on the Internet at Niagara At Large. It provides a forum for public input and covers the most news that makes the most difference in the lives of the citizens of Niagara Region. As far as I can tell there is not “party line” or advertiser bias shaping the news. It’s the real thing: and I don’t always agree with what I read and can say so!
LikeLike
Doug, I am sorry to hear that. Sometimes there is an expression that one cuts off their nose despite their face, or makes cuts to the mainstay of the business enterprise, losing its best product, only to become mediocre again. When it was first started, I did find NTW pretty boring as it did nothing much other than cover society pages, charity events and the occasional festival or concert. Perhaps, that’s what they want to revert back to. I was actually getting to the point of wanting to advertise in NTW, but with news of this kind of cutback, I probably will not. Niagara at Large, at least, is still around and I will continue to contribute what I can.
LikeLike
I concur with all the comments, Doug. Your column was the one thing I looked for in NTW, occasionally William Thomas. The paper will fit nicely under the cat boxes now. My hope is that a non-bean-counter will produce a print newspaper in NIagara, but I am not that naive. Looking forward to more NAL pieces with original content.
LikeLike
HI Doug
You are a class act. I always made a point of reading your columns. You were always fair and always put the commuinty first..
Thanks for the kind note Kim, which means even more coming from a member of a party that I have taken more than a few editorial shots at. The only words in your note I feel compelled to respond to are the words – “you were” – with a past tense that may give the impression to people that it is over or I am going away. Please be assured that I am not . Through Niagara At Large, which has received a good deal of support over the past week through calls and emails from people across this region, I will continue to keep slugging through this and any other venues that care to publish my work … stay tuned, Doug Draper
LikeLike
Kim’s got it right. And I don’t always agree with him. This time for sure I do. I appreciate also Kim’s respect for Doug’s integrity and contribution to our Niagara Community. Niagara This Week has shot itself in the foot. It’s rapidly becoming just another flyer full of ads and little hard news. Perhaps they will see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ah, but then, it may be a train headng their way!
LikeLike
Agree again with all of the above. I would write a letter to Niagara This Week, if I thought any of the honchos in Metroland would comprehend, but know they would not. They turf the best of the best, understand nothing Niagaran, and leave no local content whatsoever. My respect for Mr. Craitor rises almost continally. If we had more people who didn’t kowtow to the party line, we would be in much better shape.
LikeLike
Sorry to hear Doug, like others, our outlooks sometimes conflicted, but your editorials were one of the first things I would look for in NTW. Now I guess I am relegated to reviewing realestate and autolistings when I open this publication as there really is very little else.
Here is a suggestion for everyone that reads this paper. NTW like every other publication requires Ad revenue to stay afloat. Ad revenue is directly related to readership. I wonder what would happen if everyone cancelled their subscription to this substandard publication? Think about this the next time you open it; what is contained in this paper that substantiates the wasted natural resources required to produce it? The answer is increasingly becoming nothing.
Good luck moving forward.
LikeLike
The concentration of mainstream Canadian media in the hands of a few corporations has contributed in no small measure to the serious erosion of democracy in this country — as all thinking Niagara residents are well aware. As independent community newspapers were swallowed up by the big chains, Canadians living outside the major urban centres have been left with little that reflects what really goes on in our communities or brings a local sensibility to non-local issues.
This decision by TorStar/Metroland is typical of the contempt with which mainstream media treats its employees as well as its audience: Niagara This Week has been forced to shoot itself in the foot. And that’s a real shame, because there have been many who have fought hard over the years to make the paper relevant to the concerns of this community.
It seems to be a losing battle, unfortunately. As editorial content has been increasingly sacrificed to advertising space, Doug Draper’s column has remained a sort of lifeline, reminding us, over and over again, of what really matters.
I commend Doug on the grace with which he has received this news, and I am delighted to see that he has every intention of continuing to fight the good fight to keep a true journalistic presence here in Niagara. We need the Doug Drapers of this world — and we need to support them.
LikeLike
Very disappointing news Doug, but we still have you online.
NTW will definitely leave a gaping hole.
As a long time subscriber to the daily of the area I have seen it really drop in quality over the years. It’s sad.
While many of you choose to bash the free weekly we get I do feel NTW does a great job at what it is – a community paper. Given the shrinking space it seems to get for news Dougs column was one that was consistent and I looked forward to.
That said, I do understand business and being a free paper I’m still happy to get NTW at my door. Those of you talking about subscriptions are obviously a lul misinformed… This is a free news service we get Twice a week. The news industry has been hammered over the past decade so glad to see there is still some healthy choice here in Niagara.
I do hope they have a plan to replace such valuable content with something meaty as your column was. The ball is in their court.
Doug hopefully they see the err of their ways. Keep up the great work here on NAL.
LikeLike