'CTV News' misspells 175-year-old downtown street name

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Getting something wrong is nothing new for Toronto's CTV News – but making two mistakes in one report doesn't happen very often.

Evidently the people behind the nightly newscast were too busy trying to medicate Tom Brown and Andria Case to look up the spelling of a downtown street name. On tonight's 11:30 pm newscast, Michelle Dube reported live from the scene of an accident in which a young boy was struck by a van – near the corner of Parliament and Shuter St.

But on screen, CTV News informed viewers that she was at "Parliament and Shooter" (pictured top) and, seconds later, identified the scene of the accident as "Shuther & Sumach St." (pictured bottom). Curiously, the intersections are half-a-kilometre apart.

Surely CTV News can't be expected to keep up on the correct spelling of street names, especially one that was named "Shuter" more than 175 years ago in honour of John Shuter, a director of the British American Land Co. While he is likely rolling in his grave over the renaming of his street to both "Shooter" and "Shuther," we suggest someone at CTV News explore the wonders of Google Maps.

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What are you ordering from McDonald's?

PopGoesTheNews.com >> McDonald's likes to talk about how it's acting responsibly by offering healthy menu options like salads and wraps (even though many of these items aren't as healthy as you might think) but judging by its current marketing the fast food chain is still focused on pushing its fatty foods.

McDonald's kicked off the new year this week by sending out booklets with a dozen coupons promoting its traditional calorie-packed foods. And many of its restaurants currently have point-of-purchase signage promoting a new S'mores pie and a Creme Brule McFlurry made with "caramelized sugar bits."

The widely-distributed booklets include several "Buy One, Get One Free" coupons for a Big Mac, Quarter Pounder with Cheese, McChicken, Filet-O-Fish or a six-piece McNuggets. Eat two Big Macs and a medium order of fries and you're sucking back 1430 calories, 76 grams of fat, 2.3 grams of sodium and 18 grams of sugar. Other coupons allow customers to buy higher-priced items like an Angus Burger with Bacon and Cheddar and receive a medium fries and soft drink for free. A meal consisting of an Angus Burger with Bacon and Cheddar, a medium fries dipped in one pack of ketchup, and a medium Coke packs a total of 1330 calories, 63 grams of fat, 1.5 grams of sodium and 64 grams of sugar (that's more than 15 teaspoons of sugar).

Finish the meal with a large Creme Brule McFlurry and you're adding 650 calories, 14 grams of fat and 24 teaspoons of sugar. Or choose a S'mores pie, which has a modest 4 teaspoons of sugar, 12 grams of fat and 250 calories. To its credit, the S'mores pie has less fat and calories than McDonald's famous apple pie.

Which deep-fried sandwich is worse for your health: the McChicken (made of processed chicken meat and skin) or the Filet-o-Fish (made of pollock or hoki)? The latter has 410 calories and 20 grams of fat – slightly less than the McChicken.

Of course, you can toss the coupons in the trash and select something healthy from McDonald's, right? Do your homework first. The company touts its grilled chicken sandwich as a healthy alternative to burgers but since it's made with processed chicken (ingredients include chicken meat, chicken fat, dehydrated cooked chicken powder, silicon dioxide, caramel, corn maltodextrin, modified rice starch, artificial flavour and colour) it has 360 calories and 11 grams of fat. A Mediterranean Salad with Crispy Chicken and dressing serves up 370 calories and 23 grams of fat – three times the fat of a McDonald's hamburger.

A Chicken Snack Wrap contains 310 calories and 15 grams of fat – almost the same as a Bacon and Egg McMuffin, which happens to have less sodium and more protein, vitamins, calcium and iron. A carrot muffin at McDonald's has a whopping 430 calories, 16 grams of fat and 35 grams of sugar. You'll get 140 fewer calories, 4 grams less fat and 33 grams less sugar by ordering an Egg McMuffin, not to mention significantly more calcium and protein.

And what makes those famous McDonald's fries so irresistible? They're made with potatoes covered in canola, soybean, safflower and corn oils, natural flavour, dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate, citric acid and dimethylpolysiloxane (an anti-foaming agent). Polish off a medium order with two packs of ketchup and you're getting 380 calories, 17 grams of fat and only 4 grams of sugar. That's better than McDonald's Caesar salad with warm crispy chicken and dressing, which packs a staggering 670 calories, 52 grams of fat and 1.5 grams of sodium.

All nutritional information herein provided by McDonald's Canada.

TMZ takes a blow after posting fake JFK pic

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Popular website TMZ, which has a pretty good track record of breaking news, suffered a blow to its credibility this week after posting a photograph that supposedly showed John F. Kennedy on a yacht surrounded by naked women. In an "exclusive," TMZ boasted that it had the photo that "could have altered world events" had it surfaced prior to Kennedy's presidential run.

Problem is, the distressed black and white photo (pictured top) posted by TMZ is a fake. A full-colour version (pictured bottom) was published in a November 1967 issue of Playboy as part of a feature entitled "Charter Yacht Party: How to Have a Ball on the Briny with an Able-Bodied Complement of Ship's Belles."

TMZ claimed that it acquired the photo, "taken in the mid-1950s" from the son of an East Coast car dealer who died 10 years ago. The picture was taken, according to the website, while Kennedy was on a Mediterranean boating trip with his brother Ted and a U.S. senator. TMZ claimed it consulted with experts – including two unidentified Kennedy biographers and forensic photo expert Prof. Jeff Sedlik – to verify the authenticity of the photo. Sedlik said the photo is printed "on paper consistent with what was used in the 1950s."

According to TheSmokingGun, who first busted TMZ, the women and the Kennedy lookalike in the Playboy photo, taken by Larry Dale Gordon, were paid models.

More than 10 hours after the original posting, TMZ reported that it had learned the true origin of the photo.

'Toronto Life' left red-faced by sloppy travel story

PopGoesTheNews.com >> At a time when magazines are struggling to hold on to readers and advertisers, Toronto Life is wiping egg off its face over a bizarre travel story in the January issue.

The one-page article by Courtney Shea is raising eyebrows for its geographical and factual errors, leaving readers to wonder if the writer has ever been to the destination – and if the magazine has any fact-checkers.

Shea should have consulted with a map before writing what is supposed to be a profile of South Beach. Under the headline "South Beach, Miami" (South Beach is actually in the city of Miami Beach, not Miami), she erroneously describes Miami as "Florida's southernmost city." Miami is, in fact, a four-hour drive north of Florida's southernmost city, Key West – and there are nearly a dozen cities located between them.

The Toronto Life piece correctly reports that "South Beach" is emerging as a big player in the arts and culture scene but then credits the arrival of Design Miami in 2004 – even though it's never been held in South Beach. Shea goes on to credit the Art Basel festival for drawing hipsters to "Miami" – even though it takes place in Miami Beach. In the profile of South Beach, Shea oddly plugs the South Florida Art Center's monthly tours of the Design District, which is located west of downtown Miami and not in South Beach.

The writer elicits giggles by reporting that Hotel Astor is "legendary for its art deco architecture" – an odd observation since it's no different than almost every building around it. (The Astor is located in the heart of Miami Beach's famous Art Deco District, the largest collection of art deco architecture in the world.) More evidence that Shea has never actually been to South Beach comes in her description of Lincoln Road as "a Rodeo Drive-esque retail experience." Lincoln Road's retail offerings – several souvenir shops, Payless Shoes, Gap and the like – are not even close to those of Rodeo Drive. Perhaps Shea was thinking of Bal Harbour Shops, located several miles north of South Beach, which is often described as "the Rodeo Drive of Florida."

Any shred of remaining credibility is lost when Shea declares that CJ's Crab Shack "has the city's best crab claws." Never mind that crowds of people line-up at the world-famous Joe's Stone Crab every day (after 97 years in business) to savour the best crab claws. A simple Google search for "best crab in Miami Beach" shows Joe's rightfully at the top.

A representative of the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau says the story's flaws are disappointing but admits that anything drawing attention to the destination helps.

UPDATE >> The online version of the article was revised on Jan. 8 to describe Miami as Florida's southernmost "major" city.

Stars take turns running with the Olympic torch

PopGoesTheNews.com >> A major Bollywood star had his Olympic torch run cut short tonight by protesters who blocked the route. Akshay Kumar, a big screen superstar in India, was pulled off Yonge at Wellesley Street just half a block after his portion of the relay began.

"Running with the Olympic Flame in Toronto gives me an exceptional opportunity to represent India and all of my fans," Kumar said before his brief run. "The flame is a symbol of freedom, peace and global friendship, and I would like to thank Canada for this honour and recognition."

About an hour earlier, famed Canadian director Jason Reitman (pictured) ran with the torch north of Eglinton. The Golden Globe nominee shared his reaction on Twitter. "That was simply incredible. Had such a hard time holding back tears. Never felt so Canadian. Heart pounding."

The 32-year-old, who helmed the critically acclaimed Juno and the new feature Up In The Air, started his run with the support of his wife Michele Lee. He took over the relay from his famous father, producer/director Ivan Reitman. "I came here as an immigrant with my family and to be able to take part in something like this is just so special and I'm just so proud to be a Canadian, to be a part of this," he told reporters.

Photo by John R. Kennedy / PopGoesTheNews.com. Click on image to see full size.

CHFI and CHUM remain Toronto's top radio stations

PopGoesTheNews.com >> The latest ratings for Toronto radio are in and 98.1 CHFI continues to be the city’s favourite. The Rogers-owned station leads the pack with a 12.9 share, followed closely by CTV’s 104.5 CHUM FM with a 12.1 share.

The ratings, released by BBM Canada, cover the period of Aug. 31 to Nov. 29. The “share” number is the percentage of total hours tuned to radio stations in the market.

Trailing 98.1 CHFI and 104.5 CHUM FM is CBC Radio One, which had a 9.3 share. Toronto’s fourth-place radio station is 680 News, a Rogers-owned AM station with an 8.4 share – just barely beating Q107 (8.3).

Astral-owned stations EZ Rock and Virgin Radio are tied with 6.5 shares, although the latter has a slightly higher daily audience. Following these two stations are 102.1 The Edge (5.4), Newstalk 1010 (4.5), Classical 96.3 (4.2), AM640 (3.0), The Fan 590 (2.9), Z103.5 (2.7), Zoomer Am 740 (2.5), Kiss 92.5 (2.0), Flow 93.5 (1.8), CBC Radio 2 (1.7), Jazz FM 91 (1.5), and 88.5 The Jewel (1.4).

The lowest-rated radio stations in Toronto are CP24 at 1050 AM (0.1), CBC’s two French-language stations (0.1 and 0.3), and the recently rebranded Vinyl 95.3 (0.9).

Swiss Chalet's holiday commercial is turning consumers off

PopGoesTheNews.com >> Canadian restaurant chain Swiss Chalet is creeping out consumers this Christmas with a commercial showing an awkward father-daughter reunion.

"This is an awful commercial," opined YoungIvyTV on YouTube. "Terrible job by the agency who did this. I never want to eat at this place." Viewer dumfree254 wrote: "If you are gonna meet the man that killed your mother 20 years ago, then you better meet in a public space like Swiss Chalet."

"The awkward daughter just creeps me out," wrote rockgirl5455. "It's almost like they're hinting at sexual tension."

"This commercial honestly scares me," DaveofBlades admitted. "It's like the father sexually harassed his daughter when she was little, and that's why she seems so skeptical to go with him."

Indeed, many viewers of the commercial are wondering about the back story of the two characters due to the daughter's palpable uncomfortableness with her father. "You can cut the sexual tension with a knife," wrote SaylaFriske on YouTube.

Blogger Scott Stratten of Un-Marketing.com says the commercial "turned me off so much from the place that I’ve dined at countless times it actually turns me off the brand entirely." He questions why the daughter doesn't remember her "favourite place" and why the father is suddenly showing up at her door. "The vibe of the commercial is daddy has been away for a very long time."

Stratten adds: "I don’t even have the words to describe the looks on both of their faces during the table exchange. It almost makes me feel Chris Hansen [of Dateline NBC's To Catch A Predator] is going to bust in at any moment with the line, 'Why don’t you have a seat over there?'"

The commercial, by ad agency BBDO Toronto, is posted at SmartCanucks.ca with the headline: "What the F...?" Comments there include "This does not in any way make me want to eat there" and "It’s horrible and very disturbing."

Daisybelle wrote: "My mind started racing when Dad fingered that sauce...had no idea WHERE the advertisers were going with THAT inappropriateness."

Some YouTube commentators agree and have shared their theories on why the father puts a dollop of cranberry sauce on his nose. "He is definitely trying to remind her of the menstrual blood when he went down on her as a child," wrote anthmar35. Tonius15 offered: "Maybe the sauce reminded her of how he killed her mother and the blood everywhere."

Smellyface101 has a different take on the commercial: "His recent restraining order was lifted after she failed to laugh at [his] stupid reindeer joke and he beat her senseless with a quarter chicken, now like a sick bastard he's brought her back to the scene of her ordeal."

Most viewers who find the commercial unsettling blame the casting. "They should have hired a better actor for 'dad', he's just too stiff-creepy-eager-awkward," wrote Enitsenresnah. "The only way I remembered it was Swiss Chalet was because it was so terrible. Not the kind of image you want viewers to retain."

Therein is the issue for the Cara-owned restaurant. Having people talk about your commercial is priceless – but only if it drives consumers to your restaurants. As YouTube commentator corriest123 admitted: "This makes me NOT want to go to Swiss Chalet."

Ottawa news icon Max Keeping is going off the air

PopGoesTheNews.com >> A respected television icon and a celebrity in the nation's capital, Max Keeping is stepping down from his role as anchor of the local CTV News after almost four decades.

The veteran broadcaster announced today that his last day as vice-president of news and co-anchor of the six o'clock news show will be March 31. CTV News national reporter Graham Richardson will take over Keeping's chair next to Carol Anne Meehan.

"Max Keeping is the greatest news anchor that the Ottawa and Seaway Valleys ever had,” said Robert Hurst, CTV News president in a statement. “He is a beacon in the community and has touched thousands of people through his work on-air, with various charities, service groups, neighbourhoods, and schools."

For the last 30 years, Keeping has helmed the region's top-rated news broadcast. But his community involvement and charity work, particularly with the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario where a wing is named in his honour, have earned him broad respect. Keeping is said to have helped raise more than $100 million for charities in his 37 years at CTV Ottawa. A member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario, he has received a string of honourary doctorates and awards for citizenship and community leadership.

While he won't be on TV every night, Keeping says he has no intention of slowing down. “I will continue to give my time to the countless community events and programs that do much good works in our community,” he said.

The 67-year-old Newfoundland native has had health problems over the years, including a fight against prostate cancer in 2003. There are whispers that Keeping could land himself a Senate appointment (he ran for the Conservatives in 1972) or even be named Lieutenant Governor of Ontario or  the Governor General.

Canadian singer offering his car for promotion

PopGoesTheNews.com >> In a clever marketing move, Canadian musician Greg Sczebel is offering to drive his brand new Nissan Cube to a fan's house to perform a free concert – and then leave the car behind.

The Juno-winning B.C. singer won the vehicle in a nationwide contest earlier this year and decided to give it away (hard to blame him, since it looks like a tissue box on wheels) in a contest wherein he is asking people to spread the word about his new album Love and the Lack Thereof. Fans can click here to collect ballots by completing monthly challenges that involve social networking on sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

The contest is open to residents of Canada and the U.S. (excluding Quebec) and closes on June 30, 2010, when a random draw will determine the winner.

Sczebel, who won a Juno Award in 2005, has released his sophomore album on iTunes. It will be in stores in February and a Canadian tour is in the works.

Iconic rockers to ring in 2010 in Niagara Falls

PopGoesTheNews.com >>  Legendary rock band Styx and iconic Canadian band Glass Tiger will headline a free outdoor concert in Niagara Falls to ring in the new year.

The party, hosted by ET Canada personalities Rick Campanelli, Kim D'Eon, Rosey Edeh and Roz Weston, will be broadcast across the country on Global starting at 11pm. The celebration will take place in Queen Victoria Park at the edge of the Horseshoe Falls. Fireworks will light up the sky at midnight. Organizers expect as many as 30,000 people to attend.

Glass Tiger was one of Canada's hottest acts in the '80s thanks to hit singles like "Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)" and "Someday." Fronted by Alan Frew, the band recently reunited for live performances. Styx, an American group that had hits like "Come Sail Away" and "Mr. Roboto" has had several line-up changes over the past three decades. Canadian singer Lawrence Gowan, who had a successful pop music career in Canada in the mid-'80s with tracks like "Strange Animal" and "Criminal Mind," has replaced Styx lead singer Dennis DeYoung.