La Presse

Last updated
La Presse
Type Online newspaper
FormatTablet digital, Website, Mobile app
Owner(s)La Presse Inc.
(a non-profit corporation)
PresidentPierre-Elliott Levasseur
Editor Guy Crevier
Founded1884
LanguageFrench
Ceased publication2017 (print edition)
Headquarters750, boulevard Saint-Laurent
Montreal, Quebec
H2Y 2Z4
Circulation 204,948 daily
263,888 Saturday(as of 2011) [1]
ISSN 0317-9249
OCLC number 299333147
Website www.lapresse.ca

La Presse is a French-language online newspaper published daily in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1884, it is now owned by an independent nonprofit trust.

Contents

La Presse was formerly a broadsheet daily, considered a newspaper of record in Canada. Its Sunday edition was discontinued in 2009, and the weekday edition in 2016. The weekend Saturday printed edition was discontinued on 31 December 2017, turning La Presse into an entirely online newspaper.

Audience and sections

La Presse is published on its website, lapresse.ca, and its mobile app, La Presse Mobile. The newspaper targets an educated, middle-class readership. Its main competitors are two Montreal print dailies, the tabloid-format Le Journal de Montréal , which aims at a more populist audience, and the more left-leaning broadsheet Le Devoir .

La Presse comprises several sections, dealing individually with arts, sports, business and economy and other themes. Its Saturday print edition (now discontinued) contained over 10 sections.

The newspaper's archives from 2000 to 2019 are available on its website. [2]

History

La Presse former office in Old Montreal. The building is now the Canadian head office of Mediterranean Shipping Company since 2019. The black plate to the right of the door shows the logo used from the 1960s until the mid-1980s. The logo over the door was used from the late 1980s until the 1990s. La Presse 2011.jpg
La Presse former office in Old Montreal. The building is now the Canadian head office of Mediterranean Shipping Company since 2019. The black plate to the right of the door shows the logo used from the 1960s until the mid-1980s. The logo over the door was used from the late 1980s until the 1990s.

The paper was founded on October 20, 1884 by William-Edmond Blumhart. Trefflé Berthiaume took over in 1889. The fledgling newspaper's circulation would soon pass that of its main competitor of the time, La Patrie .

In April 1901, the paper organized a cruise to Quebec City (Croisière de La Presse). It also organized a charity to give Christmas gifts to poor children (L'Oeuvre des étrennes aux enfants pauvres).

A front-page illustration on December 3, 1904, issue celebrated the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Roman Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The practice of the time was to have an illustration on the front page, rather than a photograph.

Between July 1971 and February 1972, La Presse endured a seven-month labour dispute between its then-owner Power Corporation of Canada and 11 trade unions, prompted by the introduction of new printing technology that could have jeopardized the jobs of newspaper typographers. This resulted in La Presse not being printed between October 28, 1971, and February 9, 1972. The dispute culminated in an over-10,000-strong protest in Downtown Montreal on October 29, 1971, resulting in over 200 injuries and arrests, as well as the death of the 28-year-old Michèle Gauthier, a student at Cégep du Vieux Montréal , who was caught up in the protests. [4]

The style and presentation of the print newspaper changed immensely during the course of the 20th century. It underwent complete graphic redesigns in 1986 and 2003.

From 1984 to 2014, La Presse every year honoured a "Person of the Year", for example, Julie Payette, Daniel Langlois and Gaétan Boucher. In 1984, it also published a commemorative book in order to celebrate its 100th anniversary. A similar book was published by Éditions La Presse to recap the major events of the 20th century.

In 2001, with the arrival of news editor Guy Crevier, the newspaper began a radical remodelling. [5] The graphic design was modernized, new sections were created, international coverage was greatly increased, [5] and many new young, up-and-coming journalists were hired. These changes had a significant positive impact on quality and circulation, to the point that the paper is now considered a rival to Le Devoir for the title of Quebec's newspaper of record. [6]

In 2011, La Presse rebranded its new-media operations from Cyberpresse.ca to LaPresse.ca. In 2013, the newspaper launched La Presse+, a free digital edition for iPad.

Founded in May 2015, Nuglif is a subsidiary of La Presse and the platform aims at replicating the La Presse+ business model for other publications in the daily news industry through a suite of publishing software and tools for delivery on both iPads and Android tablets. [7]

The newspaper announced in September 2015 that it would end its weekday print edition in 2016 and that thereafter the weekday paper would be available only in digital form. [8] The Saturday edition continued in print until December 30, 2017. [9]

On May 8, 2018, it was announced that La Presse would become a non-profit organization and sever ties with its owner, Power Corporation. This move allowed the newspaper to accept private donations and governmental support. [10]

In March 2024, La Presse apologized for posting an anti-Semitic cartoon relating to the Israel-Hamas war [11]

Editorial line

La Presse 's offices in Old Montreal with 1986-1999 logo. La Presse.jpg
La Presse's offices in Old Montreal with 1986–1999 logo.

The editorial board of La Presse has been consistently supportive of Canadian federalism over the past 25 years, though individual columnists may freely express less sympathy. The newspaper's editorials endorsed the federalist option in both the 1980 Quebec referendum and the 1995 Quebec referendum which were held on the issue of Quebec's national sovereignism.

The editorial board leaves room for the whole spectrum of opinions. It supported same-sex marriage legislation in Canada, the protests against the War in Iraq, [12] and criticized both sides in the 2012 Quebec student protests. The paper endorsed the Conservative Party in the 2006 election. [13] This was primarily out of a reasoning that the Canadian government was in need of a necessary change after more than 12 years of Liberal rule. Similarly, with Stephen Harper's Conservatives having been in power for nine years at the time, La Presse endorsed Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party in the 2015 election. [14]

Guy Crevier is currently the editor, and François Cardinal is the assistant editor. Noted journalists associated with the paper include Patrick Lagacé, Yves Boisvert, Agnès Gruda and Lysiane Gagnon.

Television

The newspaper's television production arm, La Presse Télé, has produced the series Dumont , hosted by former politician Mario Dumont, for the Quebec television network V (formerly TQS). [15] The division, which had changed its name to LP8 Média, was sold to Attraction Images in 2014.

Notable staff

See also

Montreal newspapers:

Related Research Articles

<i>Le Devoir</i> French-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Canada

Le Devoir is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action démocratique du Québec</span> Political party in Canada

The Action démocratique du Québec, commonly referred to as the ADQ, was a right-wing populist and conservative provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. On the sovereignty question, it defined itself as autonomist; it had support from nationalists and federalists. Its members were referred to as adéquistes, a name derived from the French pronunciation of the initials 'ADQ'.

Noovo is a Canadian French-language terrestrial television network owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The network has five owned-and-operated and three affiliated stations throughout Quebec. It can also be seen over-the-air in some bordering markets in the provinces of Ontario and New Brunswick, and in some other parts of Canada on cable television or direct broadcast satellite.

<i>Le Journal de Montréal</i> Daily tabloid newspaper published in Canada

Le Journal de Montréal is a daily French-language tabloid newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Quebec and is also the largest French-language daily newspaper in North America. Established by Pierre Péladeau in 1964, it is owned by Quebecor Media, and is hence a sister publication of TVA flagship CFTM-DT. It is also Canada's largest tabloid newspaper. Its head office is located on 4545 Frontenac Street in Montreal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Desjardins Group</span> Canadian association of credit unions

The Desjardins Group is a Canadian financial service cooperative and the largest federation of credit unions in North America. It was founded in 1900 in Lévis, Quebec by Alphonse Desjardins. While its legal headquarters remains in Lévis, most of the executive management, including the CEO, is based in Montreal.

Le Droit is a Canadian French-language digital weekly newspaper, published in Gatineau, Quebec. Initially established and owned by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the paper was published by Martin Cauchon and his company, Capitales Médias, from 2015 - 2019, when a cooperative was formed by the employees to continue publishing the paper.

The Chronicle Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, owned by SaltWire Network of Halifax.

<i>Le Soleil</i> (Quebec) French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Canada

Le Soleil is a French-language daily newspaper in Quebec City, Quebec. It was founded on December 28, 1896, and is published in compact format since April 2006. It is distributed mainly in Quebec City; however, it is also for sale at newsstands in Ottawa, Montreal, New Brunswick and some places in Florida, where many Quebecers spend the winter. It is owned by Groupe Capitales Médias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ici Radio-Canada Télé</span> Canadian French-language public TV network

Ici Radio-Canada Télé is a Canadian French-language free-to-air television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. Its English-language counterpart is CBC Television.

<i>Montreal Star</i> Canadian newspaper

The Montreal Star was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike.

<i>Métro</i> (Montreal newspaper) Canadian French-language daily newspaper

Métro was a French-language free daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The paper is wholly owned by local businessman Michael Raffoul who owns print media distribution company Transmet. Journal Metro is part of the Metro Media group which owns several local newspapers in Montreal. Journal Métro Montréal was formerly part of the international group of newspapers Metro International.

The Montreal Daily News was a short-lived English language Canadian daily newspaper in Quebec. Quebecor founder Pierre Péladeau and British tabloid publisher Robert Maxwell teamed up to launch a competing English-language newspaper against The Gazette. The newspaper was published in a tabloid sized format, instead of broadsheet sized.

Montréal-Matin ("Montreal-Morning") was a Quebec daily newspaper based in Montreal. It was published from 1930 to 1978. It was politically associated to the Conservative Party of Quebec and, afterwards, its successor the Union Nationale. It was known as L'Illustration from 1930 to 1936 and L'Illustration Nouvelle from 1936 to 1941.

<i>The Gazette</i> (Montreal) English-language newspaper in Quebec, Canada

The Gazette, also known as the Montreal Gazette, is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

<i>Voir</i> French weekly newspaper in Quebec

Voir was a francophone alternative weekly newspaper in Montreal, Quebec, published by Communications Voir. Voir was founded by Pierre Paquet in November 1986. The first issue of the newspaper was published on 27 November 1986. Later on the newspaper developed various local issues with more targeted content.

Dumont is a Canadian news television program, which launched in fall 2009 on V, and ran through 2012. Airing weekdays at 5 p.m. with the title Dumont 360 in its first season, the program moved to 10:30 p.m. and adopted the Dumont title in fall 2010, after the network cancelled its sports talk series L'Attaque à 5.

The Westmount Examiner was a weekly English language newspaper serving Westmount, Quebec, Canada. It had a circulation of 11,000, with a policy of covering news only from within Westmount. It had been in print for over 80 years, and accompanied by an online presence beginning December 14, 2009. The paper's final issue came out on October 21, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois</span> Canadian politician (born 1990)

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is a politician from Canada. He is the co-spokesperson of the left-wing party Québec solidaire since May 21, 2017, and was elected as a member of the provincial legislative assembly on May 29, 2017. Before his arrival in active politics, he was well known for his role during the 2012 Quebec student protests as co-spokesperson of the Coalition large de l'Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE), a broad coalition of student associations opposed to the $1,625 tuition hike introduced by Jean Charest's government. He quit that position on August 9, 2012.

The Prix Iris for Best Live Action Short Film is an annual film award presented by Québec Cinéma as part of its Prix Iris program, to honour the year's best short film made within the cinema of Quebec. Starting at the 16th Jutra Awards, the award was presented to the directors and producers of the short films. Prior to that ceremony, only the directors received nominations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcel Desjardins (journalist)</span> Canadian journalist, news editor and director

Marcel Desjardins was a Canadian journalist, news editor and director. He was a political correspondent for Le Droit and La Presse, before becoming an editor at Radio-Canada. He later returned to La Presse as the news director, then as the vice-president and assistant editor. He also covered ice hockey and was recognized with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.

References

  1. ↑ Audit Bureau of Circulations e-Circ data Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine for the six months ending September 30, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
  2. ↑ "Archives". La Presse (in French). Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  3. ↑ NEW MSC OFFICE IN MONTREAL | MSC
  4. ↑ Mills, Sean (2010). The Empire Within: Postcolonial Thought and Political Activism in Sixties Montreal. McGill-Queen's Press. p. 136. ISBN   9780773583481.
  5. 1 2 Yakabuski, Konrad (October 17, 2003). "Paper War Spurs Lurid Reporting" . The Globe and Mail . Toronto, Ontario.
  6. ↑ "Endorsements, Opinions Flourish in Quebec". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. October 10, 2008. Archived from the original on November 9, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Nuglif, a new business model for the daily news industry".
  8. ↑ Filloux, Frédéric (January 13, 2016). "Inside La Presse+ Decisive and Final Move to Digital". Monday Note.
  9. ↑ "'A Page in History Turns': The Last Chance to Hold a Fresh Copy of La Presse in Your Hands". CBC News. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  10. ↑ "La Presse to Adopt Non-Profit Structure After Cutting Ties with Desmarais Family". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
  11. ↑ "Montreal newspaper's political cartoon showing Netanyahu as a vampire decried as antisemitic". CBC.
  12. ↑ "Top Canadian Newspapers". www.canadafaq.ca. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  13. ↑ "Whom to endorse?". cbc.ca. October 9, 2008.
  14. ↑ "La Presse endorses Justin Trudeau's Liberals". cbc.ca. October 7, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Mario Dumont to host Quebec TV show". cbc.ca, February 25, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Obsèques de Marcel Desjardins". Radio-Canada (in French). 16 February 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "Marcel Desjardins meurt à 61 ans". TVA Nouvelles (in French). 10 February 2003. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.