History of Canadian newspapers
The Quebec Gazette of 12 July 1787 had a classified ad: This was the period that introduced print culture to British North America and began fostering a reading public.
These men faced many obstacles, including beatings, jailing, and the very serious and oft-carried out threat of being charged with criminal or seditious libel.
As the early printing press was an essential tool of colonial administration, anyone who attempted to publish anything other than the government notices experienced hardships.
[2] Heinrich learned his trade in Germany but came to America as a fifer in the British Army before relocating to Halifax and anglicizing his name to the more appropriate Henry Anthony.
In 1782, Mesplet was released and allowed to go back to work for the government because he was the only capable printer, though he technically remained imprisoned.
At this time, there was a growing market for political debate, and the independent printers of this period began using their columns for opinions, to challenge policies, expose government errors, and even promote certain candidates.
It repeatedly editorialized for responsible government, and spoke out in a defense of the Canadiens and their traditions against the British rulers, while professing loyalty to the king.
In 1810 Governor James Craig had the editor Pierre Bédard and his colleagues at the paper arrested and imprisoned without trial for the criticism they published.
[2] Eventually the brothers were forced to give up printing, through Sylvester attempted a number of other papers before moving to New York.
[4] Mackenzie was a great influence for political development in Upper Canada (Ontario) and a fierce advocate for responsible government.
When MacKenzie sued the assailants, he won his case and collected enough in damages to repair the press and pay off his debts, as well as gain public sympathy.
[4] Mackenzie is a prime example of an editor who used his printing as a tool to take on the troubled politics of the time and open the door for the newspaper to enter the public sphere.
Because of his strong political sentiments he eventually became the enemy of Catholics as well as those in favor of reform - to the extent that some people wished him harm.
[4] Ryan was an American expatriate who, in 1807 and with the help of William Lewis, published the first issue of the Royal St. John's Gazette, the earliest newspaper in Newfoundland.
[4] In 1806, Willcocks moved to Niagara where he began publishing the Upper Canada Guardian; or Freeman's Journal which he used as a vehicle for his political opinions and criticisms.
However, the government continued to influence them in other underhanded ways, such as privately persuading editorial content and putting paid advertising only into assenting newspapers.
George Brown (1818–1880) and his father immigrated to Toronto from Scotland in 1837; in 1843 they founded the "Banner," a Presbyterian weekly supporting Free Kirk principles and political reform.
In the 1850s, Brown entered politics and became the Reform Party leader and eventually reached an agreement that led to the Confederation and the founding of the Dominion of Canada.
[2][4] Starting in the 1870s, new aggressive publishers included Hugh Graham at the Montreal Star, and John Ross Robertson at the Toronto Telegram, the voice of working-class Orange Protestantism.
They adapted the model of the American penny press and sold cheap newspapers with a strong partisan slant and an emphasis on local news of crime, scandal, and corruption.
The new technology made printing cheaper and faster, and encouraged multiple editions that provided updated news throughout the day in the major cities.
[13] In the 1910s, the newspaper industry consolidated as dailies closed, chains formed, and rivals cooperated through press associations and news services.
The result was a series of consolidations yielding much larger, largely nonpartisan newspapers, which depended more heavily on advertising revenue than on subscriptions from loyal party members.
However, there was more attention paid to national and international news on the editorial, op-ed, and front pages in contrast to its previous policy of stressing Toronto and Ontario material.
He began an expansion of both radio stations and newspapers in various Ontario locations in partnership with fellow Canadian, Jack Kent Cooke.
[18] One by one, major dailies either closed down or were bought out by nationwide chains, such as those operated by Postmedia Network (formerly Southam) or Thomson Corporation, an international conglomerate.
The newspaper chains reduced production costs cut the number of pages, and dropped traditional features, such as detailed stock market reports.
[22][23] A 2019 Report conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism; found out that only 9% of Canadian pays for any proportion online news in 2019.
Maclean's says "The National Post not only shook up Canada's media establishment, it expanded the country's political conversation, providing a diversity of opinion on a wide range of public issues.
In late 2014, Quebecor sold its 175 Sun Media English language newspapers, and many websites, to the Canadian group Postmedia Network for $316 million.
