The Toronto Star and its terrorism reporter Michelle Shephard are deservedly singled out by the New York Times for its tremendous coverage of the raids over the weekend.
The competition between Toronto's four major daily newspapers is often intense, particularly over crime news. But its results are rarely as one-sided as the coverage that followed the arrests of 17 Ontario residents in what the police call a terrorist bomb plot …
When asked how The Star managed to so outflank its competition, Stephen Meurice, the managing editor for news, replied, “I can't possibly tell you.”
The answer, said Giles Gherson, The Star's editor in chief, was mainly hard work by a single reporter.
About two years ago, before Mr. Gherson joined the paper, The Star's editors assigned Michelle Shephard, a police reporter, to cover national security issues…