''The Telegram'' is a

weekly newspaper Weekly newspaper is a general-news or Current affairs (news format), current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and electronic publishing, digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspap ...

in St. John's,

Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...

, published by

Postmedia Network Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is an American-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in En ...

. First published in 1879, it was the first and longest-running daily in Newfoundland. In August 2024, following its sale to Postmedia, the paper ceased daily publication and began to only publish print editions on Fridays.

History

''The Evening Telegram'' was first published on April 3, 1879, by William James Herder. It adopted its current name in 1998, although it was also briefly published under this name in 1881. Herder and his descendants owned and published ''The Evening Telegram'' until it was sold to Thomson Newspapers (later

Thomson Corporation Thomson Corporation was one of the world's largest information companies. It was established in 1989 following a merger between International Thomson Organization and Thomson Newspapers. In 2008, it purchased Reuters Group to form Thomson Reut ...

) in 1970, and continued as publishers until the departure of Stephen R. Herder (William's grandson) in 1991. William Herder began as a printer for the St. John's weekly ''The Courier''. When it folded in 1878, Herder purchased one of the presses and began his own newspaper. ''The Telegram'' was notable as the first daily (excluding Sundays) in Newfoundland. It is also the only 19th century Newfoundland newspaper to survive into the 20th (and now 21st) century. Over the course of its history, the paper has published news, stories and editorials of interest to readers in the dominion, and later province, of Newfoundland, and St. John's in particular. Coverage of the St. John's

Great Fire of 1892 The Great Fire of 8 July 1892 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is remembered as the worst disaster ever to befall that city. Previous "Great Fires" had occurred in St. John's, during 1819 and 1846. Timeline At approximately 4:45 in th ...

was hampered as the ''Evening Telegram'' head office on Duckworth Street was completely destroyed in the fire. Despite heavy losses, Herder rebuilt and was published from a temporary location on Water Street less than two months later. In May 1996, Thomson sold to the paper to

Hollinger Inc. Hollinger Inc. was a Canadian media company based in Toronto which was established in 1985 by businessman Conrad Black. At one time, the company was the third-largest media empire in the world. In 1996, through stock purchases, it took over con ...

as one of several transactions between the companies in the mid-1990s. In 2000, the paper was included in the newspaper assets that Hollinger sold to

Canwest Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place (now called 201 Portage). It held radio, ...

. Less than two years later, Canwest sold its newspapers in Atlantic Canada to printing company

Transcontinental Transcontinental may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Transcontinental", a song by the band Pedro the Lion from the album ''Achilles Heel'' * TC Transcontinental, a publishing, media and marketing company based in Canada, a subsidiary ...

. On April 13, 2017, Transcontinental announced that it had sold all of its newspapers in Atlantic Canada to

SaltWire Network SaltWire Network Inc. was a Canadian newspaper publishing company. The company was formed in Halifax, Nova Scotia on April 13, 2017, via its purchase of 27 newspapers from Transcontinental (company), Transcontinental. The company owned 23 daily a ...

, a newly formed parent company of ''

The Chronicle Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, owned by Postmedia Network. History Early years Founded in 1874 as ''The Morning Herald'', the paper quickly became one of Halifax's main newspapers. The same ...

'' in Halifax. In April 2021, it was announced by SaltWire that ''The Telegrams standalone website would merge into SaltWire.com effective April 20.

Sale to Postmedia, transition to weekly

In July 2024, after filing for creditor protection, SaltWire announced its sale of most of its assets to

. The sale, which closed August 24, included ''The Telegram'' but not its

printing press A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...

, which would be decommissioned and closed. On August 21, 2024, ''The Telegram'' announced that it would cut print distribution to once per-week, with daily news coverage continuing online. Its final daily print edition was published on August 24, and weekly publication on Fridays began on August 30. Following the completion of the Postmedia acquisition, it was confirmed that the weekly paper would be printed outside the province and mailed to subscribers. Other daily newspapers that were part of the transaction but are closer to the production facility, including ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' in Charlottetown, continued to publish at least five days a week following the sale. Physical distribution was paused entirely later that year during the 2024 Canada Post strike, though digital replicas were still produced for online distribution.

Politics

In the 19th century, ''The Evening Telegram'' was known for its strong opinions on issues of the day, including the

Newfoundland Railway The Newfoundland Railway was a narrow-gauge railway that operated on the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland from 1898 to 1988. With a total track length of , it was the longest narrow-gauge system in North America. History Early con ...

, and early

Confederation A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

discussions. However, its editorial policy remained neutral during the heated Confederation debates of 1948/49. The same could not be said of former ''Evening Telegram'' reporter

Joey Smallwood Joseph Roberts Smallwood (December 24, 1900 – December 17, 1991) was a Newfoundlander and Canadian politician. He was the main force who brought the Dominion of Newfoundland into Canadian Confederation in 1949, becoming the first premier of ...

, who worked for the paper from 1919 to 1922 (including a short stint as editor in 1923). After his association with ''The Evening Telegram'', Smallwood went on to found the pro-Confederation newspaper ''The Confederate'', lead Newfoundland into confederation with Canada, and become the first premier of the new Province of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. As Premier, Smallwood had a rocky relationship with ''The Telegram'', bringing a series of libel suits against it and threatening to withdraw all government advertising. The paper has not explicitly endorsed candidates during recent general elections. It does not shy away from political criticism, however, and in the late 2000s, under Transcontinental ownership, the paper had been quite critical at various times of both the federal

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

under

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

, and to a lesser extent the provincial Progressive Conservatives under Danny Williams. However, during the same period, it did not express any particular confidence in opposing parties such as the Liberals.

Community ties and current status

Well-known former ''Telegram'' journalists include Newfoundland writers Harold Horwood,

Ray Guy William Ray Guy (December 22, 1949 – November 3, 2022) was an American professional football punter who played for the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). Guy was a first-team All-American selection in 1972 ...

,Porter, Stephanie. "Basically, He's Still Around - William J. Herder Founded The Evening Telegram and Started a Dynasty". ''The Newfoundland and Labrador Independent'', September 4–10, 2005: 1-2 and Albert Perlin. Other notable contributors to ''The Telegram'' include former editor and author

Michael Harrington Edward Michael Harrington Jr. (February 24, 1928 – July 31, 1989) was an American democratic socialist. As a writer, he was best known as the author of '' The Other America'' (1962). Harrington was also a political activist, theorist, profess ...

, artist Rae Perlin, former Newfoundland Prime Minister William F. Lloyd and former provincial NDP leader Peter Fenwick. ''The Telegram'' is the original publication venue of the monthly

church history Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of t ...

column by Dr

Hans Rollmann This is a list of people involved with Memorial University of Newfoundland. Chancellors Presidents Founders * Vincent Patrick Burke Notable alumni Academics and scholars * David Agnew (director), David Agnew, president, Seneca College o ...

. ''The Telegram'' has sponsored the

Tely 10 Mile Road Race The Tely 10 Mile Road Race (generally known as the ''Tely 10'') is a 10 mile road race held in the communities of Paradise, Mount Pearl and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada that attracts over 4000 runners annually. The race course oft ...

annually since 1927, and the provincial men's senior hockey trophy, the

Herder Cup The Herder Memorial Trophy, colloquially known as the Herder, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The original cast silver trophy was donated in 1935 by ''The Teleg ...

, is named for William Herder. ''The Telegram'' is Newfoundland and Labrador's largest newspaper, and published seven days a week from 1989 to 2008, when it reverted to a single weekend paper published on Saturday as ''The Weekend Telegram''. Its tagline is "The People's Paper", accompanied by the provincial flag. The title is printed in Old English Text font.

References

The Telegram: History

Memorial University Historical Directory of Newfoundland and Labrador Newspapers
* Porter, Stephanie. "Basically, he's still around - William J. Herder founded The Evening Telegram and Started a Dynasty." The Newfoundland and Labrador Independent September 4–10, 2005: 1-2

External links