ottawa foodies

Peter Hum is going to be the new restaurant critic for the citizen.

www.ottawacitizen.com

Is it just me that can hear the crickets? ;o)

Has the entire OF forum stopped reading the Citizen since Anne Desbrisay was shown the door, or does anyone have an opinion on Ms. Desbrisay's replacement? I no longer read the Citizen but occasionally check the restaurant reviews online.

Much as I like and respect Peter Hum as a music writer, I'm at a loss as to how his voice and culinary perspective is an improvement over those of Anne Desbrisay. I'm also waiting to hear what relevant experience he brings to this column, you know, other than eating 2-3 times per day like the rest of us.

I've taken Anne up on a number of recommendations over the years and was never once was let down. Since she's been dispatched OF reviews mean more to me than anything the Citizen has published. But to be fair, Peter Hum's reviews are the only ones I've actually been able to read in their entirety.

But enough about me, what about the rest of you?

The quality of the "food content" of the Citizen seemed to me like it was lower than it used to be in the last few months, but I pretty much stopped reading the Citizen when I started getting the screen saying "you've already read your 10 free articles, pay us to read more". So I can't comment on anything now written in there. (And I get slightly annoyed when people post links to a story there, as I know it's probable I'll be blocked from reading it... maybe there is a workaround they know about and I don't?)

I also stopped reading it when they wanted me to pay ten bucks a month to read it. Which turned out to actually be a good thing, because every time I read the comments I came away a little more dumb than I was when I started. The level of ignorant on that site is so bad I'm scared it's contagious.

I gave up on the Citizen's food reviews shortly after Desbrisay left. The rotating arts writers' reviews just weren't working for me. I'll check in from time to time but I won't be looking forward to them like I used to.

On another note, though-- and at risk of throwing this thread into a tizzy-- is it so unreasonable to pay to read newspaper articles?

Unreasonable? Not if there was some value in exchange for the money paid. There are many other newspapers offering articles online for free, as well as many websites specializing in news. If the Ottawa Citizen articles where better than the ones from those other sources, maybe I could be convinced to pay. But they don't seem any better to me.

I might pay for a paper copy a few times a year, but I wont suscribe just to have access to a virtual copy.

Isabelle:

I get that screen, too, but if you let it load w/o scrolling down it leaves that notice at the top of the screen and you can pretty much read the entire article (esp if there was a photo at the top). It's greyed out, but legible.

I wasn't even aware that they were now charging for their online "content". That's rich IMO. Cut your editorial team to the barebones, have the 5 staffers left produce original, relevant content for multiple sections, regardless of their interest or experience, fill out the rest of the paper with recycled news from wire services such as Reuters, and then charge $10 per month to view said content online, along with a slew of ignorant, anonymous blather labelled as "comments".

Whatever. I'm sure I can peruse mutilated body parts elsewhere online at no cost, should the urge hit me.

If you are a print subsriber (my 82 y.o. father lives with me and insists on this archaic style of reading the news) then the online Citizen is included. I was going to say "free" but, well, that's not free is it.