4 ~ Friday, May 17, 1991 - North Shore News Have newspapers turned soft and ingratiating? NEWSPAPERS HAVE turned soft. Trevor Lautens Rue GARDEN OF BIASES They have become ‘‘far too quict — far too bland.”’ I's better to upset readers than to bore them. So said Tina Brown, editor of Vanity Fair, to the convention in Vancouver last week of the — what else? — American Newspa- per Publishers Association. Masochism being about as even- ly distributed among néwsnaper publishers as it is among the gen- eral population, I imagine her au- dience loved every word. Here are a bunch of people who have spent scores of millions of dollars gussying up their newspa- pers to keep and woo readers. And what does Ms, Brown tell them? “Entertaining is a word that makes newspaper people very ner- vous. That is ... the fault of TV. When newspaper editors think of ways to get more entertaining, they inevitably think it means an increase in Hollywood stories, jazzy color photos, and short, frisky articles. The reverse is true.” The reverse is true. Gad. Now she tells us — after all those mil- Hons spent on consultants, surveys, fancy color presses that sometimes work — and are even occasionally capable of keeping the color within the proper lines, just as your three-year-old tries to USE YOUR Walk away from heart trouble — a brisk 15-minute daily walk works wonders. hproving your odds against anada’s #1 killer. For heartening information, call 1-800-663-2010 asp srone | FOUNDATION OF | BC A YUKON | do wit) his crayons coloring Mickey Mouse. (And with about the same level of success in getting the cight color mix, so that Brian Mulroney's face doesn't end up bright magenta, or — a favorite and almost exclusive newspaper color — Body-Recovered-In- Swamp-Green.) OF course [speak of the daily papers. Not the one you are now reading with rivetling attention. It is a cardinal rule that if you pick up a paper with excellent color and flawless register —~ a word meaning that the said color is actually laid down on the in- tended image, instead of slopping half over from Mickey onto Pluto — it’s likely to be a small-town weekly or less-than-daily. If it looks like a reject from pre-school class, it’s probably a big daily published ina sophisticated city. The problem being that good color, cheap newsprint, and high-speed presses don’t mix. Which explains the maxim: ‘‘No great newspaper uses color.’’ Notice that papers with excellent content like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Times of London are as black and white as a Woody Allen movie. But that deals with only one part of Tina Brown’s criticism. What about her theory that news- Papers are too safe, that it’s better lo upset readers than to bore them? The short answer is: a splendid theory. The longer answer follows. In the real newspaper world, taking risks — that is, the op- posite of playing safe — is a pain. It’s a pain for the writer. For the copy editor. For the page or section editor. For his boss. For the boss’ boss. And for the super-boss — the publisher of the paper or president of a newspaper chain, precisely the (mostly) men who doubtless applauded Tina Brown’s speech. And Iam not unsympathetic toward any of the above. I spent more than 20 years run- ning an op-ed page — which, especially in earlier days, gloried in its unsafe and even bizarre opi- hions — and, more recently, as occasional straw boss of an edito- rial pages department, So | know Editorthink, And | have done stints of vary- ing length since 1965 as a cofum- nist, radio commentator, and edi- torial writer, producing quiet and temperate opinions that have drawn hate mail, midnight phone calls, organized protests around my place of employment, and death threats. In the last month alone — fun- ny, until this moment I've never even thought of toting it ail up, because it’s so routine, so much part of the occupational wallpaper that I don't notice it — Pve been on the carpet before the B.C. Press Council, received nuisance calls from a periodic cowardly caller who is gay (he once crooned to me *‘Sing out it’s good to be gay, good to be gay"’), received a stinging protest from the consul of an important country, was handed a message from a cabinet minister who was (the exact words) ‘‘pissed off” by something I'd written, was hysterically attacked in the most inane criticism I’ve ever ex- perienced (written by a reporter for Canada’s biggest daily, in the trade journal Content), and got wind of a high-level complaint from an editor of a publication 10 my bosses. Honestly, I didn’t intend to list all that. I meant to ruminate on colum- nists like Doug Collins, Les Bewley, Ted Byfield. Each in his way a real risk-taker, a writer on the ‘tunsafe."” Vaughn Patmer’s toughness is so quiet, so day-to-day, that his front-line courage can slip by unheralded. Denny Boyd, Nicole Parton, Jamie Lamb... But I know my own situation best, of course. Which is why I've told you. And J consider my views ploddingly middie-of-the-road. Never have I sat down with the intention of writing something “‘controversial.”’ Aad you, dear reader? Come now, don’t you prefer the safe stuff? Rational, sensible, logical? Meaning: your own opinions. a Beautiful cultured pearls with detachable mabé pearl an? diamond enhancer (sold separately) Following the conclusion of our Close Out Sale, the remain- ing assets must be liquidated at the falt of the gavel. 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Eamings allowed Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's Credit Union to declare a 12% dividend on Non-Equity Shares and a 12% dividend on Equity Shares. Gross income of the credit union totalled nearly $21 million dollars of which 75% was retumed to tha members in the form of interest on deposits and divi- dends on Equity and Non-Equity Shares. Under the Financial Institutions Act all credit unions must maintain a capital base of at least 4% of its risk-weightad assets as defined by the Act. Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's Credit Union currently maintains a capital base of 10.44%; well in excess of the requirement. Chief Executive Officer, Mr. U.S. (Len) Gatto, in his report to shareholders stated that ‘Over the past 50 years Gulf and Fraser Fishermen's Credit Union has always stood as an outstanding example in the credit union movement. We are determined to remain that example for the next 50 years.” Copies of the 1990 Annual Report may be obtained from: GULF AND FRASER FISHERMEN’S CREDIT UNION Steveston Branch 3471 Chatham Street, Richmond, B.C. V7E 2¥9 Telephone: 271-5911 Fax: 271-6033 Vancouver Branch 803 E Hastings St, Yancouver, B.C, V6A 1R8 Telaphone: 254-9811 Fex: 254-0215 Head Office Second Floor, 603 E Hastings St., Vancouver, B.C. V6A 1 Telephone: 254-7270 Fax: 254-7332 RAAT PUREE UATE MEAT