Northern
Light
By Jason Miller &
Tony Sutton
22 June, 2007
Countercurrents.org
Tony Sutton of ColdType
interviewed by Jason Miller
Nearly asphyxiated by the fetid
stench wafting from the mendacious corporate media pundits I’ve
been profiling, I decided to ascend from the intellectual sewer into
which I had crawled in order to observe them in their natural habitat.
At last some detoxified air! It was an incredible boost to my faltering
faith in humanity when I recently had the privilege to conduct a cyber-interview
with Tony Sutton, the editor and publisher of ColdType, an online journal
which presents “Writing Worth Reading from around the World.”
As you will discover, Tony and his marvelous publication are two of
the best kept secrets we political educators and agitators for social
justice have in our arsenal. Domiciled in the Great White North, Tony
publishes one of the finest radical journals in existence.
In terms of content, contributing
writers, and presentation, ColdType’s quality is unparalleled.
Judge for yourself:
http://www.coldtype.net/
To learn more about ColdType, Tony Sutton, and Tony’s highly refined
insight on the dynamics of oppression (which was forged in the crucible
of his involvement in the struggle against South African Apartheid),
let’s move on to the interview:
1. Your publication has been characterized as the “Counterpunch
of Canada,” yet many US Americans are unfamiliar with it. How
would you describe ColdType?
“I’m flattered by the comparison; I’ve been a fan
of Counterpunch for years. But it’s a bit like comparing a newspaper
with a magazine. As a monthly service, ColdType can never provide the
quantity of information put out by the daily Counterpunch, nor do we
want to. The acid test for ColdType content is: Will it still be relevant
in six months’ or two years’ time? We’re interested
in journalism that has legs as well as style.
“On a philosophical level, however, there is a similarity: both
CP and CT are as interested in the quality of the writing as the subject
being discussed, and both want to help foster a fairer, more equitable,
society.”
2. What is ColdType’s
mission?
“In its original tabloid format ColdType promised to provide readers
with “Writing Worth Reading From Around The World.” That’s
still our basic mission – I’m constantly seeking writing
that has something to say – and says it in an intelligent, well-reasoned
way.
“ColdType is dedicated to excellence in progressive thought: the
site is full of powerful book excerpts, wonderful essays and some of
the finest columnists in the online world. Great thinking. Great writing.
Great design. That’s what we try to achieve in each monthly package.”
3. What is the approximate
readership of your publication?
“The ColdType web site gets between 150,000-250,000 hits a month,
depending on the amount of cross-postings we get. Most of the hits come
in the first two weeks of publication, which is why I’d like to
publish more often. But, right now, there’s no time for that .
. .
The ColdType Reader, just one part of coldtype.net, has been lifted
by other web sites around the world, so we know it gets lots more downloads
than our web counter tells us but, as the other sites don’t supply
figures, it’s hard to find out the precise circulation. One of
the good about being an Internet-based magazine is that there’s
a completely different circulation model than that of mainstream publishing;
the numbers don’t grind to a halt when a new issue is published
– we’re still getting hundreds of downloads each month of
issues published 18 months ago.”
4. How long have you been
publishing Cold Type?
“ColdType began as a tabloid magazine 13 years ago in 1994. I
launched it while corporate design consultant for Thomson Newspapers’
North American operation. My ambition was to publish a weekly tabloid
highlighting great newspaper journalism from around the world, but I
didn’t have enough cash (or, if truth be told, the courage) to
do my own prototype. So I used corporate cash to do it, as a publication
for the group’s journalists. In hindsight, I realise I should
have gathered the cash and published it myself – that first issue
was a runner up in the Canadian National Magazine Awards contest for
an 8-page photo essay by Toronto photographer Russell Monk on the genocide
in Uganda; and the response to those first 2,000 copies was amazing.
“Five issues of the printed ColdType were produced, all of which
are on our web site http://www.coldtype.net/old.html Ironically, Monk’s
Rwanda photo essay isn’t there yet – I lost the page files
10 years ago, but we’ve just tracked them down, so it will be
in the next issue http://www.coldtype.net/photo.html
“When I left Thomsons in 1996, ColdType ceased publication. Thomsons
gave me the title when they got out of the newspaper business in 2000
after which it sat gathering dust for a couple of years until I had
a brainwave and registered ColdType.net to publish the magazine –
still as a tabloid – in pdf format. After one issue, I realized
that the newspaper format was not ideal for an online publication, so
turned it into the format you see it today, with long, essay-length
articles produced as downloadable pdfs.
“The ColdType Reader followed a couple of years ago. Its genesis
was in a collection of essays titled OtherVoices http://www.coldtype.net/voices.04.html
that I had introduced to coldtype.net in 2004, and later abandoned as
too time-consuming. (Look out for a separate e-book of the Best of OtherVoices
later this year). I realized there was a place for shorter magazine-length
articles a couple of years ago and ColdType/2 was born; I renamed it
The ColdType Reader an issue later as the title was confusing readers.”
5. You have published some
iconic figures from the Left. How do you draw such intellectual talent?
“I hope they’re attracted by the philosophy and quality
of the publication. Right from its first printed issue, ColdType has
carried the work of great writers and photographers, and I believe that
quality attracts quality – our contributors certainly aren’t
lured into ColdType by money, because there isn’t any. I’m
proud to have fine contributors such as George Monbiot, John Pilger,
Greg Palast, Edward S. Herman, Uri Avnery, Michael Parenti, Noam Chomsky,
Loretta Napoleoni, Robert Fisk (who has been with us since the first
printed issue) and many others, and I hope they feel the same way about
ColdType.”
6. Your PDF format is unique;
I am not aware of another sociopolitical or news site that employs it.
What led you to employ PDF?
“Although I appreciate the reach of the Internet, I’m not
too keen on its limited formatting. And, like many other internet readers,
I still like to print out stuff, read it and file it – holding
a publication in your hands and turning pages is so much more fun than
reading on a computer monitor. The great thing about the pdf format
is that it allows me to publish without having the hassles of advertising
or subscriptions or print runs or returns or paying printing bills and
postage – or making a profit! And I think there’s something
respectful in presenting great journalism in a manner that avoids the
generic blandness of html, making it instead enticing, unique readable.
Just look at our collection of 50 of Joe Bageant’s essays –
http://www.coldtype.net/joe.html – as an example of what I mean.”
7. ColdType provides peerless
quality in its visual presentation of its fine content. How are you
able to maintain such a high standard when you charge no subscription
fees?
“It’s as easy to produce quality, as it is to produce crap
– and I’ve had enough experience working in publishing over
the last 30 years to tell the difference. I don’t have to charge
because ColdType is not my day job – I travel around the world
consulting on editorial and design for newspapers and magazines. I think
of ColdType as therapy – working for commercial publishers imposes
intellectual demands that I’m not always happy with; editing ColdType
allows me to publish what I (italic) believe is relevant. I hope we’ll
be able to survive without accepting paid-for ads, begging for money
or charging subscribers.”
8. Please give us a quick
biographical sketch of Mr. Tony Sutton.
“I’m English, spent the early part of my career on weekly,
evening, Sunday and national newspapers in Britain. Then I became assistant
London editor of the East and West African editions of Drum magazine,
transferring to South Africa where I became executive editor of the
magazine – which was aimed at Black readers – a couple of
months before the June 1976 Soweto schoolkid riots (see more on my years
at Drum at http://www.coldtype.net/photo.html). After that I became
a consultant, working for the black alternative media as well as mainstream
newspapers and magazines. I moved to Canada in 1990 to redesign the
Globe and Mail newspaper in Toronto, transferred to the corporate office
as head of design for North America and then became an independent consultant
12 years ago. I also spent five years as part time editor of Design,
the magazine of the US-based Society for News Design.”
9. Also, please tell us about
your wife and her contributions to your endeavors.
“Jools has kept me sane and out of prison for the past 40 years.”
10. After the years you spent editing Drum and opposing Apartheid in
South Africa, what are your thoughts on the conditions that black South
Africans face today?
“I still consult for newspaper clients in South Africa and am
amazed how, despite the obvious signs of wealth in the cities; things
haven’t really improved for the majority of the people. There
have been positive changes, of course: Apartheid ended and everyone
got the vote but, after taking power, the ANC quickly abandoned its
socialist ideals and its leaders saw no problem in adapting to the ‘benefits’
of free market capitalism. The result is a small class of elite citizens
– both black and white – who have to barricade themselves
into homes surrounded by electrified fencing and patrolled by armed
security guards while the masses still live in squalor.”
11. What do you think of
the continued oppression of blacks in the United States via a deeply
entrenched system of institutionalized racism, including the prison
industrial complex, de facto segregation, structural barriers virtually
guaranteeing widespread impoverishment, and a grossly inequitable educational
system?
“I remember my trips to the United States in the 1980s when black
leaders were demonstrating for the introduction of sanctions against
South Africa. It seemed strange that so much energy was spent in decrying
the lot of their oppressed brothers in South Africa while ignoring the
inequality that was so obvious in their own country. Apartheid doesn’t
have to be institutionalized to be effective – much of South Africa
has learned that lesson since the ANC came to power. The fight for economic
and social freedom for blacks in both countries still has to be won.”
12. Living in a nation which
provides guaranteed health care to its citizens, what do you think of
the fact that the US plutocracy has worked furiously for years to block
“socialized medicine” in the wealthiest nation on the planet,
despite numerous polls indicating that 70-80% of US Americans favor
a system of national health care?
“Healthcare in the US is a disgrace. Until something is done about
a system that allows drug companies and other corporations to throw
so much cash into the electoral system the majority of working class
people will continue to be shafted. Change will only come when people
open their eyes, see what’s happening, rise from the comfort of
their sofas, take to the streets and do something about it.”
13. Many have drawn parallels
between the plight of the Palestinians and the black South Africans
who suffered under Apartheid. What is your view?
“The suffering of the Palestinians under the oppression of Israel
and, by extension, the United States is as bad, if not worse, than that
of black South Africans under the evils of apartheid. Why is it so too
easy to forget the lessons of recent history – Israel, the United
States and the world should be ashamed of what is happening in the West
Bank and, more recently, in Gaza. Israel, perhaps more than any other
nation, should know better . . .”
14. How did you wind up in
Canada?
“The main reason we left South Africa was because my son Oliver
was about to be drafted into the South African Defence Force, and there
no way Jools and I would allow him to fight for apartheid. But I was
also ready for change – we went to South Africa on a year-long
contract in 1975 and stayed for 14 – I was a newspaper and magazine
consultant at the time and had done everything I needed to do there;
even my unpaid work with the alternative media was becoming stale, especially
as the end of apartheid was on the horizon. At this time – late
in 1989 – I was invited to Toronto to lead the Globe and Mail
newspaper through a major redesign, so off we went. It was strange to
find myself in a hotel room in Toronto watching Nelson Mandela’s
release from jail – at that moment I thought I’d made a
serious mistake, a feeling not helped by the fact that we’d moved
from an African summer to winter in Canada . . .”
15. In what ways, and to
what extent, do you see the Stephen Harper administration moving Canada
into the realms of imperialism, militarism, neocolonialism and fascism?
“I hope Harper won’t be in power long enough to take us
too far down those paths. But I’m not sure the people of Canada
will make the right choice at the next election, whenever it happens.
It’s amazing how the promise of tax cuts and a bit of extra spending
money so easily persuades voters to elect a government that does not
represent their interests. And there’s no doubt that the propaganda
machine will be focused on the previous Liberal government’s insanely
corrupt handling of advertising contracts. There’s no excuse for
corruption, but it probably won’t be pointed out that at least
Jean Chrétien’s lot didn’t waste billions of dollars
and hundreds of lives by signing on to Bush’s war in Iraq, which
Harper likely would have done. Harper’s keenness to resupply the
military and to commit Canada to the futile war in Afghanistan is sign
enough of his belligerence – if he can be so dangerous running
a minority government, I dread to imagine the havoc and misery he might
wreak with a clear majority.”
16. What are your thoughts
on Canada’s participation in the imperial war crimes in Iraq and
Afghanistan?
“Simple. We shouldn’t be there. It’s time to return
to our traditional peacekeeping role. Canada shouldn’t be fighting
Bush’s wars. Nor should America.”
17. How do you feel about
Canada aligning itself more and more closely with the United States?
“Canada will always be linked with the United States due to the
proximity of its main centres to the border, but that doesn’t
mean the country has to become servile to whatever US interest is dominant
at any particular time. Right now Canada is about to implement its own
no-fly list on air travelers and seems likely to sign up for America’s
idiotic and paranoid missile defense system. I dread to think where
Bush and Harper will take us next.”
18. As a final question,
what strategies do you think radical writers, publishers, and political
educators need to employ to better penetrate the incredibly tenacious
false consciousness constructed and maintained by the ruling class?
“We have to keep telling the truth, we have to continue the fight
for social justice, and we have to spread the message to more and more
people that global capitalism and corporate greed are not in the best
interest of them, the nation or the world.”
For once I have little to
add excepting my assertion that if we had a legion of Tony Sutton’s,
our world would be a much better place. He truly is a “Northern
Light.”
Many thanks to Tony for participating in the interview and for his substantial
contributions to the cause of social justice.
Jason Miller is a wage slave of the American Empire
who has freed himself intellectually and spiritually. He is Cyrano’s
Journal Online’s associate editor (http://www.bestcyrano.org/)
and publishes Thomas Paine’s Corner within Cyrano’s at http://www.bestcyrano.org/THOMASPAINE/.
You can reach him at [email protected]
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