Toronto Star
The
Toronto Star is a major
metropolitan newspaper produced in the city of
Toronto,
Ontario,
Canada. It has the largest circulation in the country, in excess of 400,000 daily, and is noted for its
liberal stance.
While most of Canada's high-circulation newspapers and chains were swallowed by large media conglomerates during the 1990s in a process called 'convergence' (the
Globe and Mail by
BCE, the
National Post by
CanWest Global), TORSTAR, the
Toronto Star's parent company, has limited itself to several
Southern Ontario local newspapers and various publishing ventures, including
Harlequin romance novels. However, it has launched a license-exempt
infomercial channel on Southern Ontario cable television systems (featuring rolling news at a certain point of the hour), attempted to win
television licenses in
Toronto and nearby cities, and is considered a possible bidder for the
Toronto One television station.
History
Describing itself as a "paper for the people", the Star (originally known as the Evening Star) was created in 1892 by striking Afternoon News printers and writers. The paper did poorly in its first few years, but from 1899 until his death in 1948 editor Joseph Holy Joe Atkinson expanded the Star exponentially. Atkinson had a strong social conscience and, in keeping with the paper's tradition, championed many left-wing causes. By 1913 it had the largest circulation of any Toronto newspaper, and Atkinson was the majority shareholder. Ernest Hemingway was a Star writer in this period.
Atkinson principles
Shortly before his death Atkinson had ownership of the paper transferred to a non-profit organization given the mandate of continuing the paper's liberal tradition (known today as the "Atkinson Principles"). Ontario's Conservative government of the time did not like the Star's editorial stance, however, and passed a law barring charitable organizations from owning a large part of a profit-making business, therefore requiring the Star to be sold. To circumvent this requirement, the trustees of the charitable organization bought the paper themselves and swore before the Supreme Court of Ontario to continue the Atkinson Principles.
Editorially, the Star is more liberal than any other major Canadian newspaper. It's been said that the Star urges readers to "think NDP and vote Liberal".
Notable employees of the Star (past and present)
\n* Ernest Hemingway\n* Pierre Berton\n* Naomi Klein\n* Joe Shuster\n* Peter C. Newman\n* Beland Honderich\n* Graham Fraser
External link
\n*Toronto Star Website
Category:Canadian newspapers
