The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by

Postmedia Network Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is a Canadian media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Canada.

History

Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the ''Citizen'' in 1851. The newspaper's original motto, which has recently been returned to the editorial page, was ''Fair play and Day-Light''. The paper has been through a number of owners. In 1846, Harris sold the paper to John Bell and

Henry J. Friel Henry James Friel (15 April 1823 – 16 May 1869) was mayor of Bytown in 1854 and then of Ottawa in 1863 and 1868–1869. He was born in Montreal of Irish Catholic parents Charles Friel and Cecila Brennan on 15 April 1823. His family moved ...

. Robert Bell bought the paper in 1849. In 1877,

Charles Herbert Mackintosh The Honourable Charles Herbert Mackintosh (May 13, 1843 – December 22, 1931) was a Canadian journalist and author, newspaper owner and editor, and politician. He served as mayor of Ottawa from 1879 to 1881, represented the City of Ottawa as ...

, the editor under Robert Bell, became publisher. In 1879, it became one of several papers owned by the

Southam Southam () is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. Southam is situated on the River Stowe (called 'The Brook' by many locals), which flows from Napton-on-the-Hill and joins Warwickshire's ...

family. It remained under Southam until the chain was purchased by

Conrad Black Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour (born 25 August 1944), is a Canadian-born British former newspaper publisher, businessman, and writer. His father was businessman George Montegu Black II, who had significant holdings in Cana ...

Hollinger Inc. Hollinger Inc. was a Media of Canada, Canadian media company based in Toronto which was established by businessman Conrad Black. At one time, the company was the third-largest media empire in the world. The company went bankrupt in 2007. History ...

In 2000, Black sold most of his Canadian holdings, including the flagship

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

to CanWest Global. The editorial view of the ''Citizen'' has varied with its ownership, taking a

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

, anti-Tory position under Harris and a

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

position under Bell. As part of Southam, it moved to the left, supporting the Liberals largely in opposition to the Progressive Conservative Party's support of

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold ...

in the late 1980s. Under Black, it moved to the right and became a supporter of the Reform Party. In 2002, its publisher Russell Mills was dismissed following the publication of a story critical of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Jean Chrétien and an editorial calling for Chrétien's resignation. It endorsed the

Conservative Party of Canada The Conservative Party of Canada (french: Parti conservateur du Canada), colloquially known as the Tories, is a federal political party in Canada. It was formed in 2003 by the merger of the two main right-leaning parties, the Progressive Con ...

in the 2006 federal election. It published its last Sunday edition on July 15, 2012. The move cut 20 newsroom jobs, and was part of a series of changes made by

Postmedia Postmedia Network Canada Corp. (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is a Canadian media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news ...

. The pre-2014 logo depicted the top of the

Peace Tower The Peace Tower (french: link=no, Tour de la Paix) is a focal bell and clock tower sitting on the central axis of the Centre Block of the Canadian parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario. The present incarnation replaced the Victoria Tower ...

of the city's Parliament Buildings. In 2014, the newspaper adopted a new logo showing the paper's name over an outline of the Peace Tower roof on a green background.

Circulation

Like most Canadian daily newspapers, the ''Ottawa Citizen'' has seen a decline in

circulation Circulation may refer to: Science and technology * Atmospheric circulation, the large-scale movement of air * Circulation (physics), the path integral of the fluid velocity around a closed curve in a fluid flow field * Circulatory system, a bio ...

in recent years. Its total circulation dropped by percent to 91,796 copies daily from 2009 to 2015. :::::::::Daily average Figures refer to the total circulation (print and digital combined) which includes paid and unpaid copies.

Sections

Daily

* News * World * City * Sports * Arts * Business

Weekly

* Food * Driving * Technology * Homes & Condos

Notable staff

* Bob Ferguson (1931–2014), sports journalist and writer *

Eddie MacCabe Edward William Joseph MacCabe (January 15, 1927May 22, 1998) was a Canadian sports journalist and writer. He began in journalism with the ''Ottawa Journal'' in 1946, briefly wrote for the ''Montreal Star'' from 1951 and 1952, then returned to t ...

(1927–1998), journalist, sports editor and writer;

References

Sources

* Adam, Mohammed. (January 2, 2005). "When we began 1845: For 160 years, the Citizen has been the 'heartbeat of the community". ''Ottawa Citizen''. * * * DDC 71.1. LCC PN4907.

External links

*
Official mobile version

Canadian Newspaper Association

* [https://news.google.com/archivesearch?as_user_ldate=1800&as_user_hdate=1999&q=source:%22Ottawa%22+source:%22Citizen%22+source:%22-%22+source:%22Google%22+source:%22News%22+source:%22Archive%22&num=10&as_price=p1&scoring=a&hl=en&ned=ca&q=source:%22Ottawa%22+source:%22Citizen%22+source:%22-%22+source:%22Google%22+source:%22News%22+source:%22Archive%22&lnav=od&btnG=Go Google News Archive microfilm archive 1853–1987] {{Authority control Newspapers published in Ottawa Postmedia Network publications Publications established in 1845 Daily newspapers published in Ontario 1845 establishments in Canada