The Montreal Star

"The Montreal Star" was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec. It folded in 1979 as part of an agreement between Thomson Newspapers and Southam Newspapers to establish monopolies in Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Montreal.Fact|date=March 2008 The paper had recently settled an eight-month pressmen's strike.

It was Canada's Largest Newspaper until the 1950'sFact|date=August 2008 and remained the dominant English newspaper in Montreal until its closure.

The paper was founded on January 16, 1869 by Hugh Graham and George T. Lanigan as the "Montreal Evening Star".

In 1925, Graham sold the "Montreal Star" to John Wilson McConnell. Two other newspapers, the "Montreal Standard" [ [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005408 "Montreal Standard" in "The Canadian Encyclopedia"] ] and "Family Herald", were under the same ownership.

In 1951, the "Montreal Star" launched its "Weekend Magazine" supplement, with an initial circulation of 900,000. [cite web |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC823875 |title=The Influence of American Magazines |accessdate=2008-03-26 |format=HTML |work=The Canadian Encyclopedia ]

After McConnell's death, the "Montreal Star" was acquired by the FP newspaper group, which also owned "The Globe and Mail" and the "Winnipeg Free Press". In 1980, the FP chain, including the Star, was acquired by Thomson Newspapers.

After the "Montreal Star" folded, "The Gazette" became the sole English daily in Montreal. The "Star" had consistently out-sold "The Gazette" until the strike but did not regain its dominance when it resumed publishing. "The Gazette" acquired the "Star"'s building, presses, and archives. The Star's editorials usually took a harder line on language issues in Quebec than the Gazette.Fact|date=March 2008

Notable contributors

It was the first newspaper in Canada to employ a staff editorial cartoonist, when it hired Henri Julien in 1888. [cite web |url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1SEC869337 |title=Popular Recognition |accessdate=2008-03-26 |format=HTML |work=The Canadian Encyclopedia ]

Its Sports Editor, Harold Atkins, writing under the column 'Sports Snippings', nicknamed both Maurice Richard as the "Rocket" and the wheelchair basketball team as "The Wheelchair Wonders".

Other contributors of note included Red Fisher, Doris Giller, Nick Auf der Maur, Terry Mosher and Dennis Trudeau, many of whom moved over to the The Gazette when the Star folded.

The simultaneous closing of the Star, Calgary Albertan, Winnipeg Tribune, and Ottawa Journal caused the Trudeau government to establish the Kent Commission to examine newspaper monopolies in Canada. Most of Kent's findings and recommendations were ignored.Fact|date=March 2008

ee also

* List of Quebec media;Montreal newspapers
* The Gazette
* La Presse
* Le Journal de Montréal
* Montreal Daily News
* The Montreal Star

References

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