The Montreal Star was an English-languageCanadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike.
It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the dominant English-language newspaper in Montreal until shortly before its closure.[1]
The paper was founded January 16, 1869, by Hugh Graham, 1st Baron Atholstan, and George T. Lanigan as the Montreal Evening Star.[2] Graham ran the newspaper for nearly 70 years. In 1877, The Evening Star became known as The Montreal Daily Star.
As well as news and editorials, the Star sometimes created its own topics of interest; in the late 1890s it sponsored a world tour for journalist Sarah Jeannette Duncan, and printed a series of features about her adventures.[3]
In the 1890s the Star began voluntary audits of its circulation figures, and called for government regulation to control inflated circulation claims by other publications.[4] The paper's circulation increased significantly during that decade,[5] and by 1899, it reached a daily readership of 52,600;[6] by 1913 40% of its circulation was outside of Montreal.[7]
By 1915, the Montreal Star dominated the city's English-language evening newspaper market and Graham was able to out-perform his competitors who closed and assured him control of the English-language market.
Beginning in the 1940s, the Montreal Star became very successful, with a circulation of nearly 180,000 and remaining at roughly that same level for approximately thirty years.
In 1951, the Montreal Star launched its Weekend Magazine supplement (subsuming the former Montreal Standard), with an initial circulation of 900,000.[9]
After McConnell's death in 1963, Toronto-based FP newspaper group, owner of The Globe and Mail and the Winnipeg Free Press acquired the Montreal Star. Thomson Newspapers later acquired the FP chain in 1980. In 1971, most of the shares in the newspaper were owned by Commercial Trust.[10]
In 1978, a strike by pressmen (printers' union) began and lasted eight months. Although the strike was settled in February 1979 and the Star resumed publication, it had lost readers and advertisers to the rival paper The Gazette, and ceased publication permanently only a few months later on September 25, 1979. The Gazette acquired the Star's building, presses, and archives, and became the sole English-language daily in Montreal. Prior to the strike the Star had consistently out-sold The Gazette.[11]
The newspaper ceased publication only a few months after another Montreal daily, Montréal-Matin, stopped its presses. These closings left many Montrealers concerned.[12]
In the late 1970s, the Star launched its own non-fiction book publishing brand. After the publication of the paper was ended post-strike, the book division continued to operate independently. In 1982, it was taken private, and subsequently renamed Optimum Publishing International.[13]
The death of the Star, soon followed by the simultaneous closing of the Winnipeg Tribune and Ottawa Journal pushed the federal government to establish the Kent Commission to examine newspaper monopolies in Canada.
Raymond Heard was the newspaper's White House correspondent from 1963 until 1973, and then served as the newspaper's managing editor, from 1976 until it closed in 1979. He served under Frank Walker who was editor-in-chief.
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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.
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It provides coverage of local, provincial, national, and international news, as well as current events in sports, business, and entertainment and various consumer-oriented features, such as homes and automobiles appear on a weekly basis.
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Hugh Graham, 1st Baron Atholstan, known as Sir Hugh Graham between 1908 and May 1917, was a Canadian newspaper publisher.
Alexander Brott,, born Joël Brod, was a Canadian conductor, composer, violinist and music teacher.
Henri Julien, baptised Octave-Henri Julien, was a Québécois artist and cartoonist noted for his work for the Canadian Illustrated News and for his political cartoons in the Montreal Daily Star. His pseudonyms include Octavo and Crincrin. He was the first full-time newspaper editorial cartoonist in Canada.
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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.
Geneviève Cadieux is a Canadian artist known for her large-scale photographic and media works in urban settings. She lives in Montreal.
Marvin Duchow was a Canadian composer, teacher and musicologist who lived and worked in Montreal, Quebec. He was an expert on Renaissance music and the music of eighteenth century France. The McGill University Music Library in Montreal is named after him, as is the Duchow String Quartet.
Amazones d'Hier, Lesbiennes d'Aujourd'hui is the name of a quarterly French language magazine published starting 1982 by a lesbian collective in Montreal made of Louise Turcotte, Danielle Charest, Genette Bergeron and Ariane Brunet.
The Montreal Standard, later known as The Standard, was a national weekly pictorial newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, founded by Hugh Graham. It operated from 1905 to 1951.
There were five important periods in the history of Canadian newspapers' responsible for the eventual development of the modern newspaper. These are the "Transplant Period" from 1750 to 1800, when printing and newspapers initially came to Canada as publications of government news and proclamations; followed by the "Partisan Period from 1800–1850," when individual printers and editors played a growing role in politics. The "Nation Building Period from 1850–1900," when Canadian editors began the work of establishing a common nationalistic view of Canadian society. The "Modern period" from 1900 to 1980s saw the professionalization of the industry and the growth of chains. "Current history" since the 1990s saw outside interests take over the chains, as they faced new competition from the Internet.
Banque d'Hochelaga was a Canadian bank based in Montreal, Quebec. It was active from 1874 until 1924, when it merged with the Banque Nationale to form Banque Canadienne Nationale.
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The Canadian Handicrafts Guild was an association of Canadians involved in handicrafts that was founded in Montreal in 1906. At first the goal was to preserve and market traditional home crafts that were seen as being at risk of dying out. Demand for high quality products and a shift towards more "professional" craftspeople and modern designs placed stress on the organization. In 1967 the provincial branches became autonomous, and subsequently evolved separately. At the national level the Guild was merged with the Canadian Craftsman's Association in 1974 to form the Canadian Crafts Council, now the Canadian Crafts Federation.
Deborah Hurcomb (1867-1908) was a Canadian nurse who was trained in Montreal and served in the Second Boer War. She was one of two nursing supervisors from Canada who served in South Africa and was decorated for her service by the Duke of York, later King George V, in 1901.
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