| rev:text
| - I won't comment on the merits of the writing, as the paper will likely appeal most to those of a conservative bent. The paper makes no bones about it, and that is not why I am rating the paper. The Sun reinforces the views of those who generally support small-c conservative viewpoints (not surprising for a western Canadian news outlet), just as the CBC has an obvious bias towards small-l liberal points of view. These are not reasons to rate highly, or poorly.
What I can comment on are some of the business practices of the Sun. I've had several letters to the editor published in the last 15 years and I get the impression they are honest in their editorial dealings. My comments were sometimes compressed or cleaned up, but never substantially altered. I can't say I always enjoyed the one-liner from the Sun's editor that followed my comments in print, but was always happy to see my comment was given consideration.
On the other hand, my concerns about the editorial tone of the paper in recent years, particularly with the most recent editor, were dismissed. In particular, the use of language previously considered vulgar, which I thought was employed for shock effect in the main editorials. The editor took the time to respond, to his credit, but dismissed and even minimalized my concerns rather than acknowledging them. I felt the paper had continued on a trend towards sensationalism which in retrospect is probably considered necessary (by them) in order to maintain flagging numbers.
I began subscribing three years ago mainly because I like the tabloid size of the paper - it fits on a table at a food court perfectly, is portable, and the outlook of the paper is one that matches my own. However, home delivery has been poor. My delivery guy drives a car with no muffler, arrives at 5 a.m. to throw the paper onto the front step, sometimes hits it, sometimes lands it in a puddle or snowbank, then departs. Sometimes he overshoots and I listen to the Sunday edition bounce off the glass of my screen door, or put dents in my siding. Sometimes it doesn't show up at all. The Sun's complaints line rectifies the missing issues quickly enough, but in recent weeks I decided I had enough. I complained for two weeks that I wanted the paper in my mailbox. They agreed it was not an unreasonable request; people shouldn't have to bend injured backs, put on shoes and parkas to forage for papers, or fish them out of puddles. The driver disagreed, apparently, as not once did the paper make it to the mailbox despite repeated assurances from the help line staff that they were 'escalating the issue'. Either the driver wasn't getting the message, someone plain didn't care, or the help staff were lying to me.
The final indignity came when the paper stopped coming altogether - my subscription lapsed due to an expired credit card. Despite my email address and phone number being on file - no one bothered to tell me. They just stopped sending the paper, on a weekend.
I left the subscription lapsed. I love the idea of paper newspapers, but I suspect I will look to the National Post, or perhaps just save my money and read the news online, as much as I hate the idea. Too bad, as the short articles in the Sun were of great interest to me, and I enjoyed reading veteran reporters like Peter Worthington, and even opposing points of view from Liberal-insider Warren Kinsella. Their obnoxious driver, and the total lack of commitment to customer service on the part of the paper, has robbed them of what would probably have been a life-long customer.
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