Modest Mouse
Newsstand: July 6, 2009
Strike Watch: Day Fourteen
Strike Watch: Day Fifteen
The Daily Photoist: June 6, 2009
When you publish up to a dozen articles a day, it's sometimes easy to lose sight of the big picture, what really matters. But over the past few months, we at Torontoist have taken a long, hard look at ourselves, and we don't like what we see.
We've come to the realization—a realization echoed by commenters both here and elsewhere—that we are negative far too often. While we have certainly had our lesser moments, in the past we've dismissed comments attesting to a Torontoist-wide attitude of negativity as hyperbole, as unfairly painting an entire site with one brush, or as outright mistakes.
But looking through our archives, it's clear that those complaints are merited. We've forgotten how to be positive, how to be happy, how to be optimistic, how to praise, and instead have, without exception, become snarky, mean, contemptuous, and jaded. We're not quite sure how we got to the place that we're at now, but we feel pretty bad about it.
What is clear, now, is that Torontoist needs a significant change, and that that change must come at the top. We've gone too far astray, and what we need is a fresh start and a fresh set of eyes.
We are thus pleased to announce Torontoist's new co-Editor-in-Chief—someone we're pretty excited about and who we think you'll be pretty excited about, too.
Welcome Mr. Adorable Puppy.
Though quite young, A. Puppy brings exuberance, determination, and, most importantly, positivity and love to Torontoist. Fiercely loyal, A. Puppy came to us highly recommended, described by his previous employer as "suuucch a good boy." Having since spent many hours with A. Puppy, we couldn't agree more, and we are confident that with A. Puppy on staff, Torontoist will be finally headed in the right direction.
Beginning immediately, A. Puppy will concentrate on encouraging a new positive attitude on Torontoist—in large part by spending plenty of time with our staff and our readers and commenters—and will work on increasing our coverage of certain key areas that A. Puppy is particularly passionate about (namely food, walking, parks and public spaces, snow, the environment, and sports) while gradually phasing out coverage of others that A. Puppy is not (street art, politics, transit, the media, cycling, and advertising).
And this is only the beginning: A. Puppy is still growing and still learning, and the possibilities for his future with Torontoist are limitless. We couldn't be happier to have A. Puppy on board.
Sincerely,
David Topping
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Torontoist
Photo of A. Puppy by David Topping. Graphic by Karen Whaley. A. Puppy was graciously provided to Torontoist by Evelyn Salvarinas.
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
David,
Here's where I go when I need a smile!
http://dailypuppy.com/index.php?query=terrier&amount=0&blogid=1
Barrroooowwww, indeed!
Cute!
I hope you guys are going to take this a step further by having A. Puppy author articles. Suggestions:
"Butt Sniffin': A. Puppy's time with City Council"
"My Ruff ride on the TTC" by A. Puppy
"Bikes go VROOOM" By A. Puppy
"Great Torontoist Challenge: Dog Treat Edition"
"OMG IT'S A BALL"
"Pooping Indoors: When Dog's rights are attacked"
I, for one, welcome our adorable new canine overlord.
Those editors, they work like dogs.
But . . . is A.Puppy a bellyrub tramp?
but will he bark at me for formatting errors?
"...we at Torontoist have taken a long, hard look at ourselves..."
I knew right away.
Great thinking. Now if someone complains about a a pile of crap in the middle of an otherwise useful and enjoyable website, you can blame it on the puppy.
David:
... or stick a little flag in the poop with George Bush's face on it, as they did in Paree.
I was wondering when you'd back off poor, poor Tom Ford.
Can we get a Pleo instead?
That new graphic is sexy.
that dog is tooooo freaking cute.
but I also have to second the request for a Pleo!
"Tom"? Where the hell am I?
Rosie DiManno writes great editorials... for A. Puppy to poop on!
"We've forgotten how to be positive, how to be happy, how to be optimistic, how to praise, and instead have, without exception, become snarky, mean, contemptuous, and jaded."
See? There you go again!
You're going to need a much bigger dog.
"I don’t know anything about puppies. What I’m interested in is, how can we generate additional interest in our product and additional revenue, so we can make our product better and better. And hopefully we get to the point where our revenue is so significant that we can do puppies and Iraq. F**k you."
-- Samuel Zell, owner of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and New York Newsday.
cute. on the other hand, kind of sad that torontoist can only joke about taking a more positive direction.
Joke?
Finally, an editor who will sniff Rob Ford's crotch and not bite.
SHAAAAME.
then i expect a daily report from the new staff member!
love the puppy...love the graphic...you should keep them both