 |
| Andy Riga |
 |
| Mike Boone |
 |
| James Mennie |
Will
The Montreal Gazette introduce a new city columnist to succeed Mike Boone, who
has moved over to the sports section?
My
sources at the paper indicate that thus far no decision has been made. There
are in fact whispers that they will not fill the position, choosing instead to
profile National Post writer Christie Blatchford as their main columnist.
Replacing
Boone in the first place will not be an easy task. I rarely missed one of his
columns, be it one of his wonderful community or personality profiles or a
firsthand account of his frustration with the internet and the memorable pieces
about his late mom. Boone really covered Montreal the way a city columnist
should.
 |
| Aaron Derfel |
I
truly believe The Gazette needs to park someone in his place. But who can that
be? If they hire from within, I believe Andy Riga would be an excellent choice.
He is married, has a few kids, covers transportation and blogs on community
affairs. David Johnston, presently the communities reporter, would provide some good
angles as well. James Mennie had a regular column in the past. Perhaps
it is time to give him another go at it. For anyone who has ever heard him fill
in for Tommy Schnurmacher on CJAD, he is opinionated, knowledgeable on a wide
variety facts and has a good sense of humour.
Jeff Heinrich has covered news and now works in the entertainment
section. He’d be fun to read. Has
Aaron Derfel grown tired of the health beat? What about Sue
Montgomery, the holds no punches justice reporter whose gutsy pieces on Haiti
deserve much praise. I always enjoyed her weekly column in the old Sunday
Gazette.
Let’s
hope the void is filled. There are a lot
of great city stories out there to cover.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment