The Arts section in Saturday’s Globe and Mail carried a positive piece about The Tyee, the headline calling us “A Site for Sore Journalists”. If that conjures for you images of carpal-tunnel afflicted reporters getting physio massages between filing stories…well, no, that’s not part of the culture here. Nor does anyone today at The Tyee seem sore in the sense of being in an unpleasant mood.
But we would like to very cheerfully clear up a few errors in the piece.
The Tyee’s traffic is actually around 600,000 page views per month, not 250,000. David Levi is on the board of The Tyee as liaison to Working Enterprises, which is one of our investors, but he hasn't personally invested in The Tyee. Most important, just before the May provincial elections our readers donated almost $25,000 for campaign coverage on issues of their choices, not $10,000 as the story says. Your generosity cannot be underestimated. Thus, this correction.
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MichaelT
2 years ago
as a sometimes Tyee critic
- well okay maybe more often an occasional on pet peeves like distribution and misandry - I gotta say "Sore Journalists" is a big slur by big corporate cash money media, upset that someone else is actually reporting something that does not automatically serve to increase shareholder value.
Ever since the ROB editor took over, their reporting and editorials have been really hitting the wrong notes - profit cheerleaders and lovers of unaccountable power as long as they have access.
Really bad - it's like they drank some Asper KoolAid an decided t was good.
MichaelT
2 years ago
sleepy mikey should not post anything prior to his morning tea
sigh - edit button please...
southdeltawalker
2 years ago
The Globe and Mail-The Newspaper For Journalists Who Make Errors
The Tyee is being much to nice about the Globe's errors.
If the shoe was on the other foot you can bet the Globe and other mainstream media would be all over why "alternate" media is unreliable.
As for "...sore journalists"-they must be desperate for headline writers.
perplexis
2 years ago
Alexa stats reveal huge page
Alexa stats reveal huge page views jumps during election time.
Hint: noisy partisanship engages the public.
Frankly, the dainty, over-sensitive regulars bring this site down. I won't name names, but they are nothing but wallpaper to this site. Tyee is largely a forum for insipid, logic choppers. Delivering insipid, unsupported blather raises status here.
There are a lot of issues you won't touch, starting with the exclusion of public participation in BC's sham Justice Review Process.
David Beers needs to sit in motions hearings, and hear court masters - player pianos for politicized chief justices of the supreme court of BC - deliver judgment after judgment to the private benefit of government and regime connected parties. There were 60,000 registered cases in the bcsc last year, and only 495 trials. Why? For the same reason why the Queen of the North case resulted in negligible awards to tragic victims. BC has 9000 Barristers, most of whom direct youthful legal staff on sandbagging cases in chambers, regardless of trial import. With 16 times our population, the UK has only 1000 barristers. And even our opposition won't ask why.
This year over 25,000 persons who were refused legal service under the Law Society's corrupt, Barrister driven system, will have their case - whatever the merits - sandbagged at their own expense. At that means the $840 cost plus $62 filing fee to appear before a partisan goof in chambers.
Van Isle
2 years ago
If the Globe & Mail got so
If the Globe & Mail got so much info wrong about the Tyee ya got to wonder what they get right in doing some other article?
Norman Farrell
2 years ago
Wrong headline
Come on. Humble has nothing to do with anything here today.
The Blackbird
2 years ago
"It's hard to be humble"
... as Don Cherry says. So, why bother?
The inaccuracies pointed out in the article weren't "errors." Based on the "mistakes" quoted here - all skewed in one direction (to make The Tyee appear less successful, less popular, staffed by potentially unscrupulous "investors" and therefore less worth reading) - I'd say the Globe's intent in publishing their piece was to minimize the importance of The Tyee as one of Canada's finest independent news sources.
Why? Fear. Big media is hurting now as it never has, laying off many reporters and photographers and inviting the public to do things like submit photos for publication without reward and turn all rights over to them. And for what, the privilege of knowing your work, which is no longer yours, might appear in their paper?
As a photographer, I'll stick with The Tyee which has always paid me for the content I have provided.
Skywalker
2 years ago
I guess it depends ..
"over-sensitive regulars bring this site down. I won't name names, but they are nothing but wallpaper to this site. Tyee is largely a forum for insipid, logic choppers." It's amusing to label all those who frequently disagree with you in this way. You did forget to "support" your comment. What does that mean?
Tom Hawthorn
2 years ago
Bunch of soreheads
As someone who contributes to the Globe (frequently) and The Tyee (not as often as I'd like), I've got to point out the sheer number of facts in any single article leaves plenty of opportunity for error, or misunderstanding.
Let's just take a few of the comments here. "The Tyee's being much to nice about the Globe's errors," writes southdeltawalker. That should be "too." " 'Alternate' media" should be "alternative media." "Shoe on the other foot" is a cliche. Van Isle incorrectly spells the Globe and Mail with an ampersand. See how easy this is. These are not substantive errors, of course, but once you start picking nits you'll find nits. Glass house, I'd like you to meet rock.
The suggestion the article seeks to diminish The Tyee is ridiculous, as will be obvious to anyone who reads the piece at http://tinyurl.com/mys3wt
As for the editorial cabal that ensures all headlines "serve to increase shareholder value" and otherwise tries to "minimize the importance of The Tyee," they must have been asleep (or attending a Trilateral Commission meeting) when this subhead somehow slipped into print: "Frustrated by the ‘corporate media,' David Beers founded thetyee.ca. Now, he and his team are winning awards – and making waves"
Sheesh.
MichaelT
2 years ago
baah
baah
Allan In Toronto
2 years ago
Sillee Tyee - vain expensive futile
This is an online publication that I don't really like, and also one that I understand really well.
A small start-up in the field of journalism, trying to score points, be interesting and different.
Those are all areas that I'm very familiar with. And I believe I actually do know what is good journalism when I see it, and also good copy when I see it.
I understand the challenges The Tyee faces, and I've read it's history.
It's good, it's competent, makes a real effort at looking professional and credible and of course, responsible.
But that goes without saying because there's a lot of money involved in paying for the manpower that creates this web site every day.
It's kind of a fun gig, often creatively challenging, to put out a paper every day.
Does it not also have to make money?
The Tyee disputes The Globe's reporting of its traffic numbers, but not what it's costing to keep the project alive.
"With an annual operating budget of about $600,000 (about 20 per cent from advertising)"
But what chance does The Tyee have to succeed and recoup its investment?
Doesn't it have to begin going from $500,000 in the hole every year to suddenly or eventually to $1,000,000 in profit , just to begin paying back investors and break even?
What is the likelihood of that happening any time soon, if ever?
The Tyee would have to increase its impact and popularity to a phenomenal extent compared to where it is right now. And where they are right now, after several years, is presumably the best they can do.
It's doing the best it can and the best it knows how to do right now.
And it isn't working.
And why would it?
The topic of The Tyee is B.C., with a focus on B.C. politics, and as popular and fun as that is, it can only go so far in attracting a broad audience. In other words, there's a limit to how many "hits" such a site could ever seriously hope to get.
This is a very localised area of interest, and The Vancouver Sun has access to the same revenue stream and more, much more. It has both the internet and a printing press.
How is The Tyee going to compete let alone beat that?
It isn't.
So that means it's just an expensive indulgence for the egos of under-employed writers and a bottomless money-pit.
Anyone can surely see that The Tyee is an unrealistic pipe dream, and if anyone wants to pretend otherwise I'd say their judgement can't be trusted.
I know the air is funny out there on the west coast, causing people to become too "stoned" to see that they're stoned.
And of course, they like it that way.
But eventually you'll have to fold this do-it-youtself newspaper because, worst of all, it's really just doing what everyone else is already doing, which is basically just run of the mill stuff.
Nothing groundbreaking about The Tyee.
David Beers
2 years ago
Gotta agree with Tom Hawthorn
We posted these corrections to the Globe story just to get them on the record, not to score any points or disparage the Globe or its intent with the piece. There's a difference between correcting the record and bashing.
southdeltawalker
2 years ago
David/Tom
I'm not a "sorehead". I may not be a professional journalist but at least I know how to make a point without name calling.
Well i guess i will "hit the hay" as "the early bird gets the worm".
Enough cliches for you?
Good night.
Jeffrey J.
2 years ago
Tyee having an impact
First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then you win.
The Tyee is obviously making a significant impact in BC and Canada's media world. Very, very impressive for a "small start up". If its so small and insignificant, why would the large, media monopolies comment on the Tyee in the first place? And why would people who hate the Tyee become so interested in commenting??
Great job Tyee. Just remember, the more readers you get, the more flak you will receive from the elites. Your strength is in your diverse readership, who will not let you down.