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    fancyMcEntireJohn Cook
    11/04/13 5:06pm

    This is very interesting content. Can't think of anyone who would not be thrilled at the prospect of reading a 10-email exchange of barbs between the publisher of a Canadian newspaper and the Gawker features editor.

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      Tom ScoccafancyMcEntire
      11/04/13 5:26pm

      Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. Reader engagement is our goal.

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      GoalieLaxTom Scocca
      11/05/13 8:44am

      OHHHHH - ree-der en-gage-o-ment. ho ho that is a good one, suh

      is that what you call fucking this story by not paying for the video and instead trying to screw your readers out of the 200 grand to buy it?

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    showingmybiasJohn Cook
    11/06/13 2:38pm

    So let's see.
    GAWKER role: answered phone, heard offer of video for sale, flew to Toronto, saw video, wrote about it.
    STAR role: reported on public drunkenness and misconduct before video known (Sun actually broke DUI story long before that), took phone call about video, saw video, got copy of photo of Ford with druggies, tracked down house where photo and video taken, dug into Lisi connection, kept digging long after video story broke etc. etc. etc.
    Methinks Gawker and Tom protest too much, wants ongoing credit for doing a driveby story in comparison to ongoing effort from a locally-based in Toronto.
    Sure, Star could have mentioned Gawker's role more, but what do you want, mention in EVERY story? It's not Star didn't report right off the bat that Gawker had seen and reported video too.
    Could Star have been more humble? Sure. But so what?

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      John Cookshowingmybias
      11/06/13 3:53pm

      Gawker was the first outlet to publish the "photo of Ford with druggies." It was also the first outlet to "track down the house where the photo and video were taken," as well as the first to report that the house where the photo and video were taken were one and the same. It was also the first to report that a pipe-wielding thug visited that house shortly after Gawker broke the story of Ford's crack use and demanded that the video be handed over. It was also the first to report that the thug returned shortly thereafter and brutally beat two residents of that house. That thug is—now we know, thanks to the Toronto Star's excellent reporting on this story—believed by the Toronto police service to be Ford's close associate Sandro Lisi, who has been charged with extortion.
      For Sale: A Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Smoking Crack Cocaine For Sale: A Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Smoking Crack Cocaine For Sale: A Video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford…

      Rob Ford, Toronto's conservative mayor, is a wild lunatic given to making bizarre racist… Read more Read more

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    Esmerelda FoofypantsJohn Cook
    11/04/13 4:24pm

    Translation:

    GIF
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      Mok, the Magic ManEsmerelda Foofypants
      11/04/13 4:47pm

      Exactly what I was thinking:

      GIF
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      dogstoevskyEsmerelda Foofypants
      11/04/13 4:52pm
      GIF
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    Alexander_Crouton-SkitchJohn Cook
    11/04/13 4:28pm
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      AproposOfNothingAlexander_Crouton-Skitch
      11/04/13 5:46pm

      Is that used for measuring dicks?

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      TheDiscordianAproposOfNothing
      11/05/13 12:26pm

      Yup, why else would Europe have chosen metric. It was the only way the French could hit double digits.

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    fauxrarriJohn Cook
    11/04/13 4:30pm

    This conversation epitomizes the relationship between the U.S. and Canada.

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      SeanibusJohn Cook
      11/04/13 5:02pm

      I only understood half of this exchange because I don't speak Canadian and for some reason Google Translate doesn't have a Canadian-to-English function. Next time please provide a translation.

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        raincoasterJohn Cook
        11/04/13 5:21pm

        I absolutely love this.

        The real threat to any media organization is not Canadian libel laws (which are LESS sympathetic to the plaintiff than American laws) but British libel laws, the ones that let Roman Polanski successfully sue Vanity Fair for besmirching his reputation. As far as I'm aware, Gawker is available in a special UK version but the Toronto Star is not, meaning Gawker is undertaking substantially more risk than the Star.

        GIF
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          Context-Free Kelsey GrammerJohn Cook
          11/04/13 5:50pm

          Breaking: Website that published "Fuck Boston" column not taken seriously by other media outlets

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            AyeCaptainJohn Cook
            11/04/13 5:23pm

            Tom, I've become a huge fan of Gawker (and some of your other sites, too) since your initial reporting of the Mayor Mc Crack video. It's been enormously gripping reading and very enjoyable to follow. Your comments to The Star editor don't cast you in a great light. Clearly you already know that you have been mentioned many times by The Star in their continuing coverage. Surely, you've added thousands and thousands of Canadian fans since you started your coverage of Ford. You don't really need any more praise than that, do you? Nope. Keep up the great work. - Love, Canada.

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              lemonistaAyeCaptain
              11/04/13 11:02pm

              The Toronto Star published an editorial tooting their own horn and claiming it proves how essential the mainstream media is without even mentioning that the story was broken by Gawker. That is just dishonest. If they said it proves how new and old media can work together that would have been one thing, but to completely disregard Gawker's role is dishonest. If they think Gawker ruined their scoop (or opportunity to boot Ford out of office) they should say so publicly. And they really need to stop acting like they've uncovered some major conspiracy; it is a shocking story but it isn't going to bring the city to its knees.

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              AyeCaptainlemonista
              11/05/13 6:58pm

              I think Gawker has recieved a lot of recognition and praise for their work. Some of it from the Star. Deservedly so. That said, some of Tom's comments just came across as being petty.

              Gawker might have broke the story, but they certainly weren't the only media outlet working on Rob Ford. Though, I'd say that their coverage made me laugh the most.

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            victornightingaleJohn Cook
            11/04/13 4:53pm

            John Cook, guurrlll, give it up already. No matter how many different ways you find to keep your Rob Ford story going, NOBODY CARES.

            GIF
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