Bob Cox

Why pay for the Free Press? Because good journalism doesn’t come cheap

Bob Cox 4 minute read Friday, Apr. 3, 2015

The Winnipeg Free Press is about to start asking readers of our digital content to pay for it and readers are justifiably asking why they should do so.

We try to answer that question every day with unique, well-researched, concise content that tells you what is really going on – as opposed to the flood of information and misinformation flowing all around us every day in the new-age world of infinite media.

Example No. 1 is the work done this week by our reporters to debunk a story widely reported in other media on a Facebook page that seemingly showed its racist views on natives and was "liked" by thousands, supposedly proof positive of deeply entrenched racism in Winnipeg.

There were interviews with native educators, community activists, university professors and others on the development, with appropriate disgust expressed by on-air radio folks.

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Maple Leaf making tracks in Sweden

Bob Cox 3 minute read Preview

Maple Leaf making tracks in Sweden

Bob Cox 3 minute read Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

If you are alarmed by the yellow and blue symbols that seem everywhere since the arrival of IKEA in Winnipeg, you can take comfort in the fact that a similar invasion is  happening on the other side of the ocean.

The maple leaf seems everywhere in Sweden, the land that gave birth to self-assembly furniture -- on boots, hats and pretty much any article of clothing you can imagine.

My daughter now proudly wears a pair of winter boots with a red maple leaf stamped on the side of the sole, purchased on our recent trip to Sweden. It's a model known as "Brandon," though the store clerk had no idea the name refers to a city in western Manitoba.

My older daughter, who attends university in Sweden, was browsing in a local shop this week and found a throw pillow designed to look like a letter sent by "Canada Air Mail" from Winnipeg, dated 1930.

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Friday, Jan. 23, 2015

Astrid Cox
The Winnipeg pillow

Astrid Cox
The Winnipeg pillow

Lesson of Charlie Hebdo: Support Many Publications

Bob Cox 3 minute read Monday, Jan. 12, 2015

| It is ironic that the terrorists who murdered staff at Charlie Hebdo in Paris last week gave life to a publication that had been dying.

Often overlooked in the coverage of the terrible crimes aimed at the freedom of expression is the fact that the satirical Paris weekly was barely surviving.

Yes, it had a rich history of breaking every taboo and bravely facing the fallout – firebombing, death threats, etc.

There is lots of excitement - mixed with lots of bad jokes - about the purchase of all the Sun newspapers by Postmedia.

"This is the biggest news since you cornered the covered wagon market. #AmishBusinessTycoon," one Tweeter commented shortly after the announcement yesterday.

Regular readers of this blog know I do not share such pessimistic views about the newspaper industry.

Personally, I think Postmedia's purchase of all English-language Sun properties is a bold bet on the future of Canadian newspapers and their substantial reach into the lives of people across the country.

Winnipeg journalist blazed trail for female newsroom managers

Bob Cox 3 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 30, 2014

You should always thank the person who gave you your first real job in your chosen field.

So it's with some regret that I read of the passing of Shirley Sharzer, a Winnipegger who made a difference in journalism in Canada.

The Globe and Mail ran a detailed account of her life that is worth reading, another great story of a Winnipeg-born talent better known in Toronto for what she accomplished than in her home city.

Born Shirley Lev, she grew up here and started as a newspaper reporter in 1945 at age 17. She eventually worked for the Winnipeg Free Press, married, had a family and then moved to Toronto.

Broadcasters want to force you to pay for news

Bob Cox 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 15, 2014

Imagine being forced to subscribe to, and pay for, the Winnipeg Free Press, if you want to look at any other newspapers or magazines.

Ridiculous? Of course. But it is exactly like what Canadian TV providers are asking the federal broadcast regulator to put in place.

The CRTC is holding hearings that will help determine what rule changes it makes for how TV signals are distributed -- and how you pay for them.

Both the CBC and CTV networks have told the CRTC that the business model for local TV stations is broken and that the way to fix it is to force cable and satellite companies to pay for their signals -- and, by extension, have consumers pay for those signals. The situation is outlined well in this Globe and Mail article.

Banana peels and other organic material overlooked in recycling

Bob Cox 3 minute read Wednesday, Sep. 3, 2014

I'm waiting for the day when I see a sticker on a mailbox saying: "No Bananas, Please. Save Our Planet."

You see, organic material is one of the biggest contributors to residential waste that goes to landfills in Manitoba. Yet it is often overlooked while people focus on other things that are not going to the dump.

Like newspapers. The most recent statistics show newspapers are recycled at a higher rate than any other material in Manitoba -- 97.5 per cent of newsprint that enters the market is recycled. That's an amazing success story.

Paper overall has a recycling rate of 92.5 per cent. The next most successful substance is glass, at 70.8 per cent.

Newspaper orphans can do just fine

Bob Cox 4 minute read Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014

This week has brought another spate of items in the news predicting the death of daily newspapers.

I’ve gotten used to these over the years. Such predictions have long been a favourite of online commentators, who gleefully predict people will be reading only them in the future.

The main thing such writers have in common – apart from massive use of self-serving arguments -- is that they have little knowledge of the complex nature of newspaper business models or of how these models are being transformed. Attend a newspaper conference these days and you will be overwhelmed by the sheer number of new ideas being developed around the globe.

Admittedly, I was a bit alarmed to see David Carr, the respected media columnist for the New York Times, write a piece headlined: "Print Is Down, and Now Out."

“Stop the Presses!” for a memorable front page

Bob Cox 3 minute read Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2014

The last time I ever heard an editor say "stop the presses" was on a cold January morning in 1986 in the old Carlton Street offices of the Free Press.

The paper still had an afternoon edition at that time. It was mid-morning and the vibrations in the newsroom floor told us that the presses were already churning out that day's paper.

A few reporters and editors were watching a TV as the space shuttle Challenger launched in Florida -- and then spectacularly blew up in the sky.

We looked on, stunned for a moment. Then an editor at the city desk -- I can't remember who -- said: "I guess we better stop the presses."

They fought for a country that sent them away

Bob Cox 3 minute read Tuesday, Jul. 29, 2014

A century ago, my grandfather did something remarkable.

He signed up to defend Britain, a country that had found no place for him and banished him as a young child to servitude on a farm in southern Ontario.

A story in today's Free Press tells of a long overdue commemoration of the contribution and sacrifices of thousands of British Home Children in the First World War, which began 100 years ago this week. Hockey commentator Don Cherry lent his support to the effort, as his own grandfather was a home boy who fought in the war.

The Home Children were British orphans, or children whose parents could not care for them, who were sent to Canada in the later 1800s and early 1900s to placements primarily as farm hands and domestic servants.

Pot decriminalized in the heart of the U.S.A.

Bob Cox 3 minute read Monday, Jul. 21, 2014

Get caught with a small bag of marijuana in the heart of the capital city of the United States and you are in store for an unusual punishment -- a $25 fine.

On a visit to Washington, D.C., last week I was surprised to read in my morning Washington Post that a law passed by the local council for the district went into effect to decriminalize possession of up to one ounce of marijuana.

Surprised because the U.S. federal government remains staunchly against decriminalization or legalization of pot, even though it can now be legally purchased in Colorado and Washington state for both medical and non-medical use and a number of other jurisdictions have also loosened rules.

Washington, D.C., is a microcosm for the debate and the dilemma over marijuana use in the U.S., and an example for Canada where pot is almost certainly going to be a big issue in the next federal election.

The spam flood continues, despite new law

Bob Cox 5 minute read Preview

The spam flood continues, despite new law

Bob Cox 5 minute read Friday, Jul. 4, 2014

Great news! Today I learned I have won the INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL RAFFLE and am entitled to a payout of 17 million euros ... so long as I provide some personal details.

I also received a rare business opportunity to help a nice Egyptian gentleman free up $12.5 million that he put in a European securities firm while serving as chief security officer to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.

And a United Nations organization has informed me that $10 million has been released from the Federal Republic of Nigeria and will be deposited to my VISA card ... so long as I provide some personal details.

Much as these offers are tempting, I have a strong suspicion that they are scams, filling my email inbox with unwanted spam.

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Friday, Jul. 4, 2014

The Canadian Press
Canada's new rules -- touted as among the toughest in the world -- will have little impact on the steady flow of crap that flows electronically into our lives.

The Canadian Press
Canada's new rules -- touted as among the toughest in the world -- will have little impact on the steady flow of crap that flows electronically into our lives.

CBC should focus on broadcasting

Bob Cox 5 minute read Friday, Jun. 27, 2014

If the federal government set up an agency to publish publicly funded newspapers to provide news and information across Canada, the move would be met with almost universal opposition.

There’s no need to pour tax dollars into something that the private sector is already doing without a subsidy, unless the goal is propaganda.

So why is the CBC promising to turn itself into something that looks a lot like what newspapers are already doing in every community across the country?

CBC President Hubert Lacroix could have been mistaken for a newspaper executive when he outlined the public broadcaster’s dilemma and its solution. The traditional model of broadcasting is broken and the new model of digital media doesn’t generate enough revenue to make up for lost funding. The solution is a leaner organization that does mobile first, targeting smartphones and tablets to find an audience.

How’s the Free Press doing?

Bob Cox 3 minute read Friday, Mar. 14, 2014

It's the question that I get asked virtually every time I am out in public: "How's the Free Press doing?"

It often comes with a note of concern, given the heavy dose of bad publicity newspapers have been getting in recent years about their future.

Luckily, I have the facts right at my fingertips on how the Free Press is doing.

The newspaper is by far the largest part of FP Canadian Newspapers, which is 49 per cent owned by FP Newspapers Inc., a publicly traded company.

Welcome debate over political ads in newspapers

Bob Cox 4 minute read Preview

Welcome debate over political ads in newspapers

Bob Cox 4 minute read Monday, Sep. 8, 2025

 

It appears we’ve caused a bit of a stir today by selling advertising to the Liberal Party on the front of the Brandon Sun.

A full 4-page section purchased by the Liberals is wrapped around the Sun’s Friday edition in advance of the federal byelection in Brandon-Souris on Monday. The first thing readers see is Justin Trudeau’s smiling face.

I’ve seen the word “controversial” used in a number of tweets and blogs about the advertising. Some are a bit more graphic.

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Monday, Sep. 8, 2025

winnipeg free press
A full 4-page section purchased by the Liberals is wrapped around the Sun’s Friday edition in advance of the federal byelection in Brandon-Souris on Monday.

winnipeg free press
A full 4-page section purchased by the Liberals is wrapped around the Sun’s Friday edition in advance of the federal byelection in Brandon-Souris on Monday.

Why following the journalism is important

Bob Cox 4 minute read Wednesday, May. 29, 2013

| So Stephen Harper does not follow the news.

At least that is what you have to think if you also believe his repeated assertions in the House of Commons that he first learned that his chief of staff, Nigel Wright, personally paid back the dubious expenses filed by Senator Mike Duffy on the morning of May 15th.

Problem is, the story was a major national news story on May 14th.

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