1. BON APPÉTIT CRITICIZED FOR ‘50 BEST’ LIST THAT INCLUDES EDITOR’S RESTAURANT: Bon Appétit magazine on Tuesday released its list of 50 restaurants vying to be named the nation’s top new restaurant of the year. One of the restaurants, Carpenter Hall in Austin, is associated with former deputy editor and current editor-at-large Andrew Knowlton. The decision to include his restaurant has raised ethics concerns from food media pros including Hanna Raskin, president of the Association of Food Journalists, who said including a restaurant the magazine has a close relationship is an ethics breach, even with a disclosure. Washington Post: “A Bon Appétit spokeswoman offered a fuller explanation of what she characterized as an arm’s-length process by which Carpenters Hall made the list. Knowlton ‘was not involved’ in the creation of the list, she said in an interview with the Post. The decision to include his restaurant was made after Bon Appétit deputy editor Julia Kramer, who took over from Knowlton in spearheading the project, and other Bon Appétit editors dined there and determined it 'met the criteria,' she added. The magazine’s editors evaluate restaurants around the country that have opened since May 2018 to find their top 10 favorites, a whittled-down list that will be announced next week.”
2. TIFF CANCELS FORMAL AWARD CEREMONY: The Toronto International Film Festival is foregoing its formal award ceremony to announce its top audience award and juried competition winners on social media. The festival, which runs through Sunday, traditionally ends with a ceremony, but organizers said they wanted to unveil the winners on social media to get the word out faster. The Hollywood Reporter: “‘TIFF made the decision to announce the award recipients via press release and social media channels. Communication of the winners can happen quickly,’ TIFF said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. In addition, the awards ceremony, at the tail end of the festival, takes place at a time when major trophy winners are rarely still in town to accept their prizes. ‘Capturing them (prize winners) on social media allows them to celebrate their award and for audiences to share the moment!’ the festival added.”
3. CLIMATE CHANGE PROTESTERS SEEK TO HALT LONDON FASHION WEEK: Climate activists glued themselves to doors and created a red carpet with fake blood at the opening of London Fashion Week on Friday, with the goal of calling attention to the fashion industry’s impact on the environment. Protesters part of the Extinction Rebellion group have promised to disrupt the five-day event, which will have shows from Victoria Beckham and Burberry. Reuters: “The group, which has staged numerous protests in recent months calling for action to tackle climate change, had called on the British Fashion Council (B.F.C.) to cancel the event. … B.F.C. chief executive Caroline Rush told Reuters that the demands to cancel London Fashion Week did not ‘solve the problem in terms of the way the industry needs to address the climate change emergency.’”