The London Free Press
 | This article includes a list of generalreferences,butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations.(July 2011) |
 July 4, 2008 front page | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | Postmedia Network |
| Publisher | Susan Muszak |
| Editor-in-chief | Joe Ruscitti |
| Founded | January 2, 1849 |
| Political alignment | Centre[1] |
| Headquarters | 210 Dundas Street Suite 201 London,Ontario N6A 5J3 |
| Circulation | 59,841 weekdays 63,348 Saturdays (as of 2015)[2] |
| ISSN | 0839-0738 |
| Website | www |
The London Free Pressis a dailynewspaperbased inLondon,Ontario,Canada. It has the largest circulation of any newspaper inSouthwestern Ontario.
History[edit]
The London Free Pressbegan as theCanadian Free Press,founded by William Sutherland. It first began printing as a weekly newspaper on January 2, 1849. In 1852, it was purchased for $500 byJosiah Blackburn(and Stephen Blackburn),[3]who renamed itThe London Free Press and Daily Western Advertiser.In 1855 Blackburn turned the weekly newspaper into a daily.
From 1863 to 1936The London Free Presscompeted for readership with theLondon Advertiser,which was a daily evening newspaper. TheFree Presshas usually been a morning paper, but for many years, it also published an evening paper. Both morning and evening editions were published from the 1950s through to 1981, when the evening edition was permanently retired.
The Blackburn family was also involved in other forms of media in London. They establishedCFPLin 1933,CFPL-FMin 1948 andCFPL-TVin 1953. The radio stations are now owned byCorus Entertainment,and the television station is owned byBell Mediaas aCTV 2station.
The sudden death of publisher Martha Blackburn in the summer of 1992, due to a heart attack after water skiing onLake Huron,set the stage for the eventual sale of the family owned newspaper. In 1997 the Blackburn family sold the newspaper toSun Media Corporation,with new, London-born publisher John Paton introducing a Sunday edition. Later the same year, Sun Media was acquired byQuebecor Inc.
In late August 2005, Quebecor announced that, starting in 2007,The London Free Presswould no longer be printed locally at its press at 369 York Street; instead it would be printed at a new press facility to be built north ofToronto,resulting in a loss of 180 local jobs. However, in September 2007, the move was suspended to allow theFree Pressto present a business case for the printing department and staff's retention. TheFree Presshas one of the few printing presses in southern Ontario and it prints several papers for Sun Media newspapers in the area, including theChatham Daily News,theSarnia Observer,theSimcoe Reformer,theSt. Thomas Times-Journal,theStratford Beacon Herald,theWoodstock Sentinel-Reviewand the Londoner, along with theFree Press.In 2015, Sun Media was acquired byPostmedia.On May 31, 2016 Sun Media announced that they will outsource the printing of theFree PresstoMetroland MediaGroup's printing facility in Hamilton.
Circulation[edit]
The London Free Presshas seen like mostCanadian daily newspapersa decline incirculation.Its total circulation dropped by 10 percent to 60,426 copies daily from 2009 to 2015.[4]
- Daily average[5]
Notable former staff[edit]
- Victoria Grace Blackburn(1865–1928)[6]
- Bob Ferguson(1931–2014), sports journalist and writer[7]
- Morley Safer(1931–2016)[8]
- Merle Tingley(1921–2017), the newspaper's maineditorial cartoonistfrom 1948 to 1986
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"World Newspapers and Magazines: Canada".Worldpress.org.2007. Archived from the original on 25 July 2013.Retrieved2 November2007.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^"2015 Daily Newspaper Circulation Spreadsheet (Excel)".News Media Canada.Retrieved16 December2017.Numbers are based on the total circulation (print plus digital editions).
- ^Hopkins, J. Castell (1898).An historical sketch of Canadian literature and journalism.Toronto: Lincott. p. 229.ISBN0665080484.
- ^"Daily Newspaper Circulation Data".News Media Canada.Retrieved16 December2017.
- ^"Daily Newspaper Circulation Data".News Media Canada.Retrieved16 December2017.Figures refer to the total circulation (print and digital combined) which includes paid and unpaid copies.
- ^Reaney, James Stewart (2005)."Blackburn, Victoria Grace".Dictionary of Canadian Biography.University of Toronto/Université Laval.Retrieved29 March2014.
- ^Scanlan, Wayne (June 7, 1996)."There ain't nothing like an old-time sports writer".Ottawa Citizen.Ottawa, Ontario. p. 15.
- ^"Morley Safer Biography".Yahoo!tv.2011. Archived fromthe originalon 27 July 2012.