City
Messing with the (Print) Media
We all know that the state of news media has been in constant evolution, as technology changes the way we send and receive information. This has been especially relevant to print media.
As I was browsing the blogTO Flickr Pool this morning, I came across these two reader submitted photos. "The Revolution is Coming" (above, by saharsh) depicts a row of Toronto newspaper boxes completely empty and logoless, with the exception of the front panel of one box (which bears the sign that inspired the title of the photo). It looks like it's been set up and photoshopped, but it's clever nonetheless.
Another photo (below, by Carl W. Heindl) depicts an Eye Weekly box hacked by Toronto street artist Posterchild - into a flower planter.
I wonder what other creative uses we may find for the thousands of metal newspaper boxes in Toronto that may one day no longer serve their original purpose?
Thanks to saharsh and Carl for sharing these photos with us.
Have interesting photos of things seen in Toronto? Please add them to the blogTO Flickr Pool if you'd like us to share them with your fellow readers.
Discussion
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http://www.bladediary.com/flyerplanterboxes/
http://www.bladediary.com/flyerplanterboxes-2/
http://www.bladediary.com/flyerplanterboxes-3/
on the other hand, does.
Would it be possible to get newspaper boxes off Toronto
streets? Wouldn't the absence of clutter at street
corners be worth it?
This is both on and off topic but, Astral Media actually has a contract with the City of Toronto to replace all street furniture which includes the new transit shelters that have been popping up.
They will also be replacing the traditional newspaper boxes with new multi-publication structures. Take a look at http://www.toronto.ca/involved/projects/streetfurniture/pdf/proposals/astral_media_outdoor_lp.pdf
Page 12. I'm going to miss the old boxes.
Clutter vs. character?
I remember seeing photos of the new Astral Media newspaper stands designed for the city. I thought the newspapers owned their boxes? Why is the city involved with these new stands? I love how the colourful boxes dot our city right now and it'd be a shame to switch to these characterless new newspaper banks.
The revolution is coming and it's creating a paperless society where Joe Schmo can report from his homegrown soapbox. It's a charming idea, but let's see how well that works when covering real news like politics and missing persons. Will all news be trivialized? Only time will tell...