Weive been fans of blogTO for a while now. Itis a team blog that covers Toronto with an indie arts and cultural slant thatis carved out a space for itself in a saturated media marketplace. Tim Shore, the siteis publisher, came across Buffalo Rising Online a little while ago and fired off a few questions that he published as an interview on blogTO. That resulted in a lot of Torontonians coming to BRO to check out some of the cool stuff going on in Buffalo and we wanted to return the favor and introduce our community of readers to blogTO–what itis all about, what are itis plans, and the similarities in how we both cover our respective cities and in how we fit in the larger media landscape.
Hereis our interview with Tim:
How long have you been publishing blogTO? How many contributors to you have?
blogTO has been around for more than a year now. We have 17 contributors.
In cities as large and media-rich as Toronto, how do you as a publisher break through? What was the need in the media landscape of the city that blogTO specifically fills?
There’s no doubt that Toronto is one of the most media-saturated markets on the planet, but at the end of the day the majority of these publishers are focused on traditional mediums such as television and print. Sure, most have web sites but the online medium isn’t their core focus.
In recent years, most large publications such as The Globe and Mail, and to a certain extent the Toronto Star, have made efforts to beef up their international coverage. This has been done at the expense of local news. Further, the news coverage that’s out there tends to be more sensational in nature such as gun crimes and celebrity sightings. What we try to do is focus mainly on local arts and culture-related happenings that more often than not fall under the radar of the mainstream media.
Also worth noting is that the blog format provides the opportunity for real-time reader dialogue. On blogTO, like most blogs, the reader comments often end up being more interesting and informative than the original post. This is a feature that traditional media (and even some web sites) just can’t (or choose not to) offer.
The blogs in the Freshdaily network and blogTO specifically focus heavily on culture and arts. What are some of the important civic matters (educational, built environment, urban planning) issues that Torontonians are concerned with presently?
Generally speaking, there is a wave of civic pride sweeping over the city unlike anything that I’ve previously experienced in my lifetime. It’s probably not a stretch to claim this has been highly influenced by a passionate group of civic-minded activists and non profit organizations as well as the active online community (bloggers and photobloggers). Toronto just seems to have a lot going for it right now and citizens are really proud of that.
Toronto is currently experiencing a cultural renaissance. In addition to the grassroots activity, there are a number of high profile cultural projects at various stages in development including the Libeskind designed ROM, Gehry’s AGO, the new Opera House and the recently completed National Ballet School. There’s also been the rejuvenation of historical and industrial areas in the city such as the Distillery District.
In terms of specific issues, there are too many to name. But recent hot topics include gun crime, public transit and development of the waterfront.
Whatis next for blogTO?
Our readership continues to grow, so I guess we’re doing something right. But, we’re always trying to get better. Watch for improvements across a number of areas including editorial, new functionality and an enhanced user interface.
Photo by Sabrina Cariati.