The Return of Frank

U.S. politics has Jon, and soon, Canadian politics will once again have Frank. According to a report in today's Globe and Mail, Frank magazine is to return on-line. Frank was the satirical tabloid that skewered Canadian politicians using (Menippean) satire to reveal the hidden ground that contextualized the machinations of federal and provincial politics. It ran aground after an ownership change, amidst rising costs, severe cutbacks in the editorial staff (and editorial quality) and being scooped by the major mainstream media. But the original owner is back, and so too are the original writers and editors.

The tabloid Frank was a biweekly publication which today is of relatively little use. The new eFrank should be sufficiently nimble to keep the temperature up on Martin, Harper, Layton, Duceppe and the rest of the gang. Satire, after all, focuses a bright light on an active medium, still able to do its damage, opening our eyes (if not our minds) to the active effects thereof.