The Metropolitan Examiner is the only regular, daily newspaper shown in the course of the Forever Knight television series. It is a fictional journal, usually of standard size, but a tabloid in the last two episodes in which it is seen. The paper appears in the following episodes: "For I Have Sinned", "Spin Doctor", "Only the Lonely", "Amateur Night", "The Fix", "Blackwing", "Hearts of Darkness", and "Trophy Girl". Of the editions that have appeared, all but the last two share a common look with respected "high brow" newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal. The last two editions, however, take on a much less respected look, resorting to sensational headlines such as those appearing in tabloids like The Sun.
For I Have Sinned[]
"For I Have Sinned".
In "For I Have Sinned", the Roman Catholic priest, Father Rochefort, reads the paper in the confessional while waiting for someone to come in. The lead story of the newspaper reports on the serial murders, of which the third has just taken place.
Above the headline are the words "Cover Story". The headline itself reads "Third Woman Brutally Murdered". The paper is dated Friday April (1 or 4?), 1992.
Spin Doctor[]
The Metropolitan Examiner reports that a mayoral candidate is a murder suspect in "Spin Doctor".
In "Spin Doctor", when the paper prematurely reports that one of the leading mayoral candidates—the one that Schanke supports—is a suspect in an ongoing murder case, Schanke shows the headlines to Captain Stonetree in his office.
Above the headline are the words, "Cover story". The headline is, "Murder Probe Targets Hiatt"; and the story was written by Victoria Dobson. Below are other stories: in the centre of the page (with a photograph) is the story, "Rum plant turns waste into energy"; and, on the left, is a column with two shorter stories, "AIDS battle lines drawn" and "Blast kills Mafia investigator". The paper seems to be dated Friday April (3 or 9?) 1992.
Only the Lonely[]
The Metropolitan Examiner reports on a series of sex slayings in "Only the Lonely".
In "Only the Lonely", Captain Stonetree is furious at the officers at the 27th Precinct when he sees that the newspaper has a detailed report on their current—and notoriously unsolved—investigation into a series of sexually based murders.
The headline reads, "Killer loose as police miss", with a separate story underneath, "Police probe suspects". The quality of the image is too poor to make out the date.
Amateur Night[]
The Metropolitan Examiner reports on the drive-by-shooting that left a child dead.
In "Amateur Night", a little girl is killed in a drive-by shooting. This is immediately reported by the Metropolitan Examiner.
The headline reads, "Six year old Shanice dies in drive-by shooting", with the subhead, "Gang war feared by the Metro Police in what appears to be a settling of gang accounts". It is not possible to make out more of the date except the month, April. In the upper right corner is "150 years", presumably indicating how long the paper has been published. Something similar is in the same location in other editions of the paper; but this is the only one in which it can be made out clearly.
The Fix[]
The Metropolitan Examiner reports on the corruption case in "The Fix".
In "The Fix", an old friend of Nick's partner, Don Schanke, commits suicide, and is posthumously implicated in a corruption scandal. After the case is solved and guilty parties arrested, Nick reads the story that the Metropolitan Examiner prints about it.
The headline reads, "Police Department Scandal Unearthed", with the subhead, "Officer's Suicide Brings Corruption to Light". The story is written by Anne Borchiver. The photograph has the arrested suspect holding up a sign that says, "Metro Police. M - 6143794. U - 250389." Sufficient of the text of the article can be made out to see that it has nothing to do with the headline, and is actually just a couple of paragraphs about the final withdrawal of Russian troops from Germany, repeated over and over.
Blackwing[]
The Metropolitan Examiner reports on the series of murders of people involved in a land claim case in "Blackwing".
In "Blackwing", enigmatic LaCroix broadcasts from his booth at the rear of the Raven. He has the paper with him and is using the lead story on the murders of two people involved in the Mississauga Indian land claim case to inspire his Nightcrawler broadcast, which Nick is listening to on the radio.
The headline says, "Two Slain in Land Claim", with a subhead, "Developer's lawyer is latest victim". Unlike the earlier papers, this issue does not have "Cover Story" written above the headline. The paper is dated Toronto Monday April 18 1994(?).
Hearts of Darkness[]
In "Hearts of Darkness", the banner on the Metropolitan Examiner points to an inside story on Marnecki's release from jail.
In "Hearts of Darkness", when Ellen picks up the Metropolitan Examiner and reads about Marnecki's release, Jacqueline's personality emerges bent on seeking vengeance for his treatment of his wife.
This time the Metropolitan Examiner has a new look and a new logo at the top of the front page. The general impression is of a much trashier tabloid than the more respectable looking paper of heretofore.
The name of the paper is written on two lines, centred in a red cartouche. On the left of this logo is the weather: two figures are given, 28c and 14c, presumably the high and low temperatures in Celsius degrees. On the right of the logo is the Quote of the Day; but the actual quotation is too small to be legible. Under the logo are the indicia; but they are too small to be visible except for the information that this is the Late Edition.
For once, the news story relevant to the plot of the episode is not the main front page story. Instead, it is the banner above the logo that reads, "Marnecki released", and under that, "Why did his wife drop charges? Page 4". The Marnecki story is therefore on the inside of the paper (which we do not see). The main headline reads, "Construction Causes Rush-Hour Traffic Jam", with a large picture that takes up most of the front page of the paper. Above the headline in smaller print it says, "Get the work done as soon as possible, Mayor is told: Page 2."
Trophy Girl[]
The Metropolitan Examiner reports on the dismembered corpse in "Trophy Girl".
In "Trophy Girl" we once again see LaCroix with the newspaper in the broadcast booth using the story about the dismembered corpse as inspiration for his Nightcrawler monologue.
As with the previous edition, the weather is on the left of the logo: 19c and 9c, presumably the high and low temperatures in Celsius degrees. On the right is the Quote of the Day; again it is too small to read. Under the logo are the indicia. There is no visible date; but we are told that this issue is Vol. 9 No. 47, it is the Late Edition, it has 80 pages, and it costs "60 cents plus GST". There's no doubt that it's a Canadian paper: GST (Goods and Services Tax) is added to all purchases.
Above the logo is a banner, "Cop killer escapes trial", with a subhead, "How did he avoid the wrath of justice?", and a direction to Page 4. A headline below the indicia introduces the lead story, which is the case that Nick is working on—the headless, handless corpse of a woman working for an escort agency. The headline reads, "Gruesome Find Stumps P.D.", with a subhead, "Bizarre Dismemberment Part of Serial Pattern?" The story is accompanied by a large photograph.
It should be remembered that the previous incarnation of the Metropolitan Examiner had been published for 150 years. By contrast, this version is only up to Volume 9.
Real Toronto Newspapers[]
Although the Metropolitan Examiner is fictional, there are four regular daily newspapers available in Toronto, as well as a number of small local papers. The Toronto Star and the Toronto Sun are prominent daily city newspapers, while the national dailies are The Globe and Mail and the National Post, also headquartered in the city:
- The Toronto Star maintains a liberal editorial position and targets a general audience for the majority of its readership.
- The Toronto Sun maintains a neo-conservative editorial position and targets the average working person for the majority of its readership.
- The Globe and Mail maintains no specific editorial position and targets an educated, professional audience for its main readership.
- The National Post maintains a conservative editorial stance and is available across the country.
For many years, newspapers in Canada were not permitted to be printed on Sundays. For this reason, some news journals still are published only six days a week. A large Saturday edition is the norm, even if a Sunday paper is also published. For some newspapers, this Saturday edition will include a section with major feature articles and in-depth discussions of national and international news.