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| Type | Daily |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | F.P. Publications (1959–1980) Thomson (1980 closure) |
| Founded | 1885 |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | 27 August 1980 |
| Headquarters | Ottawa, Ontario, Canada |
| ISSN | 0841-4572 |
The Ottawa Journal was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, from 1885 to 1980.
Contents
It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the Ottawa Evening Journal. [1] Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the Winnipeg Free Press . In 1886, it was bought by Philip Dansken Ross.
The paper began publishing a morning edition in 1917. In 1919, the paper's publishers bought the Ottawa Free Press, whose former owner, E. Norman Smith, then became editor with Grattan O'Leary.[ citation needed ]
In 1959, it was bought by F.P. Publications. By then, the Journal, whose readers tended to come from rural areas, was trailing the Ottawa Citizen , its main competitor. The paper encountered labour problems in the 1970s and never really recovered.[ citation needed ]
In 1980, it was bought by Thomson Newspapers and was closed on 27 August 1980. That left Southam Newspapers's Ottawa Citizen as the only major English-language newspaper in Ottawa [2] ( Le Droit remaining the only French-language daily newspaper in Ottawa).[ citation needed ]
The closure aroused considerable controversy since a day later, Southam closed the Winnipeg Tribune , the primary rival to Thomson's Winnipeg Free Press . Concern over both incidents prompted the Government of Canada to conduct the Royal Commission on Newspapers, commonly known as the Kent Commission. [2]
To many, it seemed that possibly-illegal collusion to reduce competition had occurred. Charges were brought against both Southam and Thomson in April 1981 under the now-defunct Combines Investigation Act that alleged a breach of section 33 by merger or monopolistic conduct, but they were dismissed on 9 December 1983. [3]
Ottawa went without a second major newspaper until the debut of the Ottawa Sun in 1988. [4]
The paper's politics were generally regarded as conservative. [5]
