John Downing (born 1936) is an author, reporter, editor and columnist, most notably writing for the ''

Toronto Telegram ''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was a conservative, broadsheet afternoon newspaper published in Toronto from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the Conservative Party at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed wit ...

'' and later the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Pos ...

''.

Journalism

He was editor of the ''

Whitehorse Star The ''Whitehorse Star'' was a newspaper in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. History The newspaper was founded in 1900 about a year after the Klondike Gold Rush ended. The paper was originally called the ''Northern Star'', by was later changed to th ...

'' in 1957, and reporter and editor on the ''

'' from 1958 to 1971. He was a "Day Oner" of the ''

'' first as city hall columnist and then as the Editor from 1985 to 1997.

Professional associations

Canadian National Exhibition 2012 Entrance

John Downing has been president of the

Canadian National Exhibition The Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), also known as The Exhibition or The Ex, is an annual fair that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on the third Friday of August leading up to and including Labour Day (Canada), ...

, Toronto Press Club and Press Clubs of Canada, and director and governor of the Toronto Outdoor Art Show, Runnymede Health Care Centre, Exhibition Place,

Toronto and Region Conservation Authority The Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) is a Conservation authority (Ontario, Canada), conservation authority in southern Ontario, Canada. It owns about of land in the Toronto region, and it employs more than 400 full-time employee ...

, Ontario Safety League,

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair (RAWF), also known as The Royal, is an annual agricultural fair that is held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the first two weeks of November. It was inaugurated in 1922 in the Coliseum, on the grounds of Exh ...

, and

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

Safety

He has written chapters for books on the CNE and Toronto politics, two political biographies, and articles for ''Time'', ''Macleans'' and other publications. He appeared on the

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

CityTV Citytv (sometimes shortened to City, which was the network's official branding from 2012 to 2018) is a Television in Canada, Canadian television network owned by the Rogers Sports & Media subsidiary of Rogers Communications. The network consis ...

, the

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language terrestrial television, terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's se ...

CFTR Cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is a membrane protein and anion channel in vertebrates that is encoded by the ''CFTR'' gene. Geneticist Lap-Chee Tsui and his team identified the ''CFTR'' gene in 1989 as the gene lin ...

and

CFRB CFRB (1010 AM) is a commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. One of the oldes ...

. Downing has been credited with popularizing the term "Red Rocket" for the Toronto Transit Corporation's (TTC) streetcars.

Images

File:Clinton and Downing.jpg, Clinton and Downing

Chronology

* 1957 - Downing joins ''Whitehorse Star'' as Editor * 1958 - Downing joins the ''Toronto Telegram'' first as Reporter then City Editor and Managing Editor * 1971 - Downing joins the ''Toronto Sun'' as a columnist * 1985 - Downing becomes ''Toronto Sun'' Editor * 1999 - Downing becomes President of Canadian National Exhibition Association

Publications

* Phillips, Nathan and Downing, John. ''Mayor of All the People'',

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

Canada, 1967. * Downing, John. "Ryerson University - A Unicorn Among Horses
John Downing (April 17 2017)
Canada, 2017.

References

External links

John Downing's Blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downing, John 1936 births Canadian columnists Journalists from Toronto Toronto Metropolitan University alumni Living people Toronto Sun editors