Rick McGinniss is now a former TV critic with Metro, the Toronto freebie commuter paper. He describes getting the axe (see this post).

From Life With Father: (seen first at Twitter, but actually posted Feb. 5)

I KNEW SOMETHING WAS WRONG when my boss led me past her office, past the lunchroom and the accounting department, to the publisher's office where I noticed the company HR person and the union shop steward already waiting.

It took me a moment to realize what was happening, but once it started, I couldn't wait for it to be over. What made it so awful was the tedious scripting of the whole thing, and the boilerplate language: "unfortunately we've had to eliminate some positions ... I'm sorry to have to tell you ... just tell Ruth what you'd like her to get from your desk..."

I call my wife on her Blackberry, tell her I'll be home soon, and we arrange to meet in a coffee shop to talk about how to tell the girls.

The cab arrives, and I walk outside. It's a bright winter day, the light and the cold both sharp and urgent. My unemployed life begins now.

From the Feb. 9 Globe and Mail:

A Toronto free daily newspaper has laid off all of its staff writers – but it won't be without copy for its pages because it will be using non-paid interns instead.

Metro, which has published in Toronto since 2000, terminated four unionized staff writers last week and two managers, citing economic reasons. The paper is owned by Torstar, which publishes the Toronto Star and Metro International, which publishes giveaways in a half dozen other Canadian centres as well as numerous cities worldwide.

A few days before the layoffs, Metro management brought in the interns. The union representing the laid-off writers says the labour contract allows interns to stay in the event of layoffs; however, it has launched five grievances over this.

The fires that have devastated Australia in recent days may not be "caused" by climate change, but some experts think they could be a grim harbinger of what could come as the world's temperature continues to rise.

From the NYT:

Even as C.I.A. drone aircraft pound Al Qaeda in Pakistan’s tribal region, there is growing concern among American military and intelligence officials about different militants’ havens in Pakistan that they fear could thwart American military efforts in Afghanistan this year.

   more »

The Canadian Press is looking at a new business model as it seeks to cope with current pressures -- pressures that could result in job loss.

That's a reference to a speculative Atlantic Monthly piece, but the NYT says it has a plan to keep going through these very trying times for advertising-dependent news organizations.