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. The paper emphasizes coverage of regional news stories from the Greater Toronto area.

History

Describing itself as a "paper for the people", 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 editor Joseph "Holy Joe" Atkinson from 1899 until his death in 1948. 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.

Related Topics:
1892 - Joseph "Holy Joe" Atkinson - 1899 - 1948 - Left-wing - 1913 - Circulation - Ernest Hemingway

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Atkinson principles

Shortly before his death Atkinson had ownership of the paper transferred to a charitable 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 court to continue the Atkinson Principles. Retention of the Atkinson Principles has led some detractors to say that 'the Star is the only newspaper in the world run by a dead man.'

Related Topics:
Charitable organization - Conservative

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Editorially, the Star is considered to be more liberal when compared to other newspapers such as the National Post and the Globe and Mail. It has been said that the Star urges readers to "think NDP and vote Liberal".

Related Topics:
Liberal - National Post - Globe and Mail - NDP - Liberal

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