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The Toronto Star is Canada's highest circulation newspaper, though its print edition is distributed almost entirely within Ontario. Its parent company, Torstar, owns dozens of regional and community newspapers, as well as Harlequin Enterprises Ltd, the world's leading publisher of romance novels. Torstar is currently seeking regulatory approval to purchase 20% of Bell Globemedia, owners of the CTV television network and The Globe and Mail.
History
The Star (originally known as the Evening Star and then the Toronto Daily Star) was created in 1892 by striking Afternoon News printers and writers. The paper did poorly in its first few years. But it prospered under Joseph "Holy Joe" Atkinson, editor from 1899 until his death in 1948.
Atkinson had a strong social conscience and championed many causes that would come to be associated with the modern welfare state: minimum wage laws, unemployment insurance, old age pensions, and government-supported medical care. But the paper was no stranger to yellow journalism. For decades, the paper included heavy doses of crime and sensation -- along with crusading zeal for social change.
Beginning in the mid-50's, the Star sought increased respectability by elevating professional standards and avoiding the sensational excesses of the past. It employed many of the country's leading journalists, championed social causes and saw itself as a force for good. But it continued to print some headlines in red as late as the 1980's.
Atkinson Principles
Shortly before his death, Atkinson transferred ownership of the paper to a charitable organization given the mandate of continuing the paper's liberal tradition. Ontario's Conservative government passed a law barring charitable organizations from owning large parts of profit-making businesses. The law required the Star to be sold. The trustees of the charitable organization cirumvented the law by buying the paper themselves and swearing before The Ontario Supreme Court to continue the Atkinson Principles:
- A Strong, United and Independent Canada
- Social Justice
- Individual and Civil Liberties
- Community and Civic Engagement
- The Rights of Working People
- The Necessary Role of Government
The Atkinson Principles continue to guide the paper to this day. In February, 2006 Star media columnist Antonia Zerbisias wrote on her blog: "...we all have the Atkinson Principles -- and its multi-culti values -- tattooed on our butts. Fine with me. At least we are upfront about our values, and they almost always work in favour of building a better Canada."
Editorial Position
Today, the Star remains to the left of centre in the Canadian context. Its precise position in the political spectrum -- especially in comparison to one of its main competitors, The Globe and Mail -- is hotly debated. The Star finds room for left-leaning columnists and oped commentators who would be consigned to more marginal publications or websites in the United States. The paper has long been a voice of Canadian nationalism and vigorously opposed free trade with the United States in the 1980's. But editorial positions sometimes surprise readers. The Star opposes the Iraq War and most policies of George W. Bush, but supported Canadian participation in U.S. continental missile defense. Recent editorials have denounced political correctness at Canadian universities and opposed proportional representation.
The paper has almost always endorsed the Liberal Party federally. The Star was the only major daily to do so in the 2006 federal election while many of the other major papers endorsed the Conservatives. The Star has never endorsed the more left-wing New Democratic Party, though it came close to doing so provincially in 1990. The paper endorsed the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario in many of the provincial elections from the 1940's to the 1980's. Star journalist Claire Hoy coined the nickname "Big Blue Machine" in 1971 to describe the PC political organization which frequently ran on a moderate agenda.
The Star's editorialists and columnists usually avoid righteous indignation or anger. Most prefer earnest exhortation, appeals to compassion, and proposing reforms to further the common good. Supporters praise the Star 's continuing commitment to its founding principles, applauding its ability to attract a large readership for many stories unlikely to printed elsewhere. Detractors often call the newspaper "the people's paper" and "the only paper in the world edited by a dead man" (a derisive reference to The Atkinson Principles.)
The board of directors of the paper's parent company, Torstar, includes distinguished business leaders, a forner president of the University of Toronto, a former Supreme Court of Canada justice and a former executive of The New York Times. The Star says it favors an inclusive, "big tent" approach, not wishing to attract one group of readers at the expense of others. It publishes special sections for Chinese New Year and Gay Pride Week, along with weekly sections entitled Condo Living and Shopping. Each day's newspaper is fat, often running to six or more ad-stuffed sections. A particular strength is local coverage of Toronto. In recent years, the newspaper has vigorously promoted "a new deal for cities."
Unique Attributes
Unlike some of its more conservative competitors, the paper is a substantial commercial success. The Star 's commanding circulation lead in Ontario make it a "must buy" for most advertisers. Its profit margin approaches 15%; some competitors lose money, are only marginally profitable, or do not break out earnings in a way that makes comparison possible. Rival papers say the Star has inflates its circulation figures through bulk sales at discount rates.
The Star is the only Canadian newspaper that employs a public editor (ombudsman). Other notable features include an immigration/diversity reporter, a community editorial board, and charitable campaigns that solicit contributions from readers.
Star people
Notable past employees of the Star include Robert Service, Ernest Hemingway, Pierre Berton, Nathan Cohen, Peter C. Newman, Greg Clarke, Walter Stewart, Duncan MacPherson, Michele Landsberg and Naomi Klein. Among its best known current columnists are Richard Gwyn, Graham Fraser, Thomas Walkon, Rosie Dimanno, Chantal Hebert, Linda McQuaig, Haroon Siddiqui, James Travers, Carol Goar, Royson James, Ellie Tesher, Cleo Paskal and Antonia Zerbisias.
Superman and the Star
Joe Shuster, one of the two co-creators of Superman worked for the Star as a paperboy in the 1920's. When he and his partner Jerry Siegel created Superman they gave the paper he worked for the name the Daily Star in honour of the Toronto Star. The name of the paper would later be changed to the Daily Planet by editorial decree. Reprint of Star article about Superman and the StarReferences and Links
- The Toronto Star
- Harkness, Ross (1963) J.E. Atkinson of the Star, Toronto: University of Toronto Press
- Walkom, Thomas (1994) Rae Days, Toronto: Key Porter Books, ISBN I-55013-598-8
- The Atkinson Principles
"Toronto Star"