10 ? THE SUBURBAN, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11, 2009

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NEWS & ANALYSIS

n

Borough gets into the ?newspaper? business

By Dan Delmar The Suburban A slick new tabloid was delivered to Côte des Neiges-NDG homes in recent weeks and, with the closing of The Monitor?s print operations recently, some are wondering if the borough administration is trying to fill the void with fake news. Le Citoyen is a bilingual 16-page newsletter that the borough?s Division des communications, du protocole et des relations publiques will put out five times a year, at a cost of at least $73,000 to taxpayers. It replaces the Savoir Faire flyer, which communications and public relations director Michel Therrien said was so ?1990s.? The first issue, which has a circulation of 86,250 (in comparison, The Suburban prints 135,000 copies), features a toque-clad borough mayor Michael Applebaum on the front cover, smiling with Montreal Canadiens alumnus Réjean Houle. Applebaum and Montreal Mayor Gérald Tremblay both have small columns in the paper touting recent successes, traffic commission chairman and Loyola councillor Warren Allmand wrote a complimentary article about his own report, and, on page two, councillor Marcel Tremblay is profiled ? three weeks after the second page of this newspaper featured a more comprehensive profile on the mayor?s eccentric brother. Although Le Citoyen contains some basic information on borough events and activities alongside the self-congratulating articles, its creators freely admit that ?our newsletter will now be much more like a newspaper,? according to a blurb written on the front page. From the gothic, classic newspaper font used for the title page, to the news-style headlines, it?s understandable that some residents may not realize that it is a document created by the borough?s public relations office. ?The borough?s now-expanded newsletter was remodelled to have the appearance of a weekly, complete with smiling borough councillors and positive spins on all the issues that have dogged Michael Applebaum?s administration,? said NDG activist Raj Ramtuhol. ?Effectively, our tax dollars are being used to promote the Union Montreal party since all six of the councillors belong to it.? Therrien, who is a former TVA and Radio-Canada journalist, was hired by the borough last year to improve its communications department. Remodelling the newslet- PHOTO BY DAN DELMAR Le Citoyen borough newsletter looks too much like a real newspaper, say critics. ter was his idea and said there was no trickery involved in its design. He also said that if there were any Vision Montreal councillors in the borough, they would get equal space because he works for the city of Montreal, not the ruling party. ?I wanted to modernize it and make the packaging a lot more pleasant for the reader,? Therrien said, adding that the cover page was inspired by The Suburban?s design. ?I?m not trying to trick people. I think people can realize that it is not a newspaper ? there?s the borough logo right at the top. I wanted to have a journalistic look. We?re not talking about disinformation?it?s a matter of graphic design.? Ramtuhol pushed his criticism even farther, suggesting that the borough was in cahoots with the newsletter?s printer, Transcontinental, which also happens to be the parent company of The Monitor. ?In this 2009 municipal election year?Transcontinental decided to stop printing and disseminating The Monitor, while keeping its online version active,? he said. ?Has the business relationship between Transcontinental and the Applebaum administration strategically been arranged to take away the common voice of CDN-NDG, while strengthening that of the borough ? all in order to secure a Union Montreal win come November? If this is the case, it is a frightening day for democracy in CDN-NDG and Montreal in general.? Therrien scoffed at the conspiracy theory, pointing out that all expenditures have to go through a tenders process and that Transcontinental is one of the largest and most efficient publishers in the country, which is why they won the contract. ?Come on!? he said, reacting to Ramtuhol?s accusation, calling it gratuitous. ?I don?t know whether to be incredulous or angry. Should I laugh?? He pointed out that The Monitor had been having financial difficulties for years and that other newspapers across North America are also closing down. Free of advertising and funded only through tax dollars, Le Citoyen is one publication that is not in danger of folding. Therrien said the minor controversy caused by the newsletter?s appearance can only do good things for the borough?s communications apparatus. ?People are talking about it, so obviously I did the job.? n

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