''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was 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 i ...

broadsheet A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long Vertical and horizontal, vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner (format), Berliner and Tabloid (newspaper format), ta ...

afternoon

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

published in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

from 1876 to 1971. It had a reputation for supporting the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

at the federal and the provincial levels. The paper competed with a newspaper supporting the

Liberal Party of Ontario The Ontario Liberal Party (OLP; french: Parti libéral de l'Ontario, PLO) is a political party in the province of Ontario, Canada. The party has been led by interim leader John Fraser (Ontario MPP), John Fraser since August 2022. The party esp ...

: ''

The Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

''. ''The Telegram'' strongly supported Canada's connection with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and the rest of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

"The Tely's 95 years: How the Old Lady went mod," John Brehl, ''Toronto Daily Star'', September 18, 1971, p. 6. as late as in the 1960s.

History

''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was founded in 1876 by publisher

John Ross Robertson John Ross Robertson (December 28, 1841 – May 31, 1918) was a Canadian newspaper publisher, politician, and philanthropist in Toronto, Ontario. Career Born in 1841, in Toronto, the son of John Robertson, a Scottish wholesale merchant, and ...

. He had borrowed $10,000 to buy the assets of ''The Liberal'', a defunct newspaper,"Founder John Ross Robertson made the Telegram explosive force in life of Toronto," Ralph Hyman, ''The Globe and Mail'', September 20, 1971, p. 8. and published his first edition of 3,800 copies on April 18, 1876. The editor of ''Telegram'' from 1876 to 1888 was

Alexander Fraser Pirie Alexander Fraser Pirie (October 1, 1849 – August 15, 1903) was a Canadians, Canadian journalist and newspaper editor. Life Pirie was born in Guelph, Upper Canada, to George Pirie (publisher), George Pirie (1799–1870), a native of Aberdeen, S ...

(1849-1903), a native of

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

. Pirie had worked for the ''Guelph Herald'', his father's paper. The newspaper became the voice of working-class, conservative Protestant

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Toronto. In 1881, Robertson erected a building for the paper at the southeast corner of King and Bay Streets, on Melinda Street. John R. Robinson succeeded Pirie as editor-in-chief in 1888 and held that position until he died in 1928. ''The Telegram'' focused on local issues and became the largest circulation daily in Toronto, but it lost that position in 1932 to the ''

Toronto Daily Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and par ...

'' and never regained it. During the early 20th century, ''The Tely'', as it was popularly known was one of the first Canadian newspapers to introduce Saturday (and in 1957 Sunday) colour comics section (which by its later years spanned two sections), and a radio (and after 1952 television) magazine with listings for the entire week. Following the death of Robertson's widow in 1947, the paper was bought by

George McCullagh Clement George McCullagh (March 16, 1905 – August 5, 1952) was an influential Canadian newspaper owner between 1936 and 1952. He created ''The Globe and Mail'' by merging the Liberal-allied ''Globe'' and Conservative-allied '' Mail and Empire' ...

, the publisher of ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', for $3.6 million. ''Evening'' was dropped from the paper's name in 1949. McCullagh died in 1952, and the paper was then purchased by

John Bassett John White Hughes Bassett, (August 25, 1915 – April 27, 1998) was a Canadian media proprietor. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, he was the son of John Bassett (1886–1958), publisher of the ''Montreal Gazette'', and Marion Avery (née Wright). ...

for $4.25 million with money borrowed from the Eaton family. In March 1957, the paper introduced a Sunday edition, the first Toronto paper to do so, and was threatened by the

Attorney-General of Ontario The Attorney General of Ontario is the chief legal adviser to His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The Attorney General is a senior member of the Executive Council of Ontario (the cabinet) and ...

with charges under the province's

Lord's Day Act Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, Sunday trade laws and Sunday closing laws, are laws restricting or banning certain activities on specified days, usually Sundays in the western world. The laws were adopted originally for religious reasons, ...

. The Sunday edition was unsuccessful and ceased publication after four months. In December 1959, Bassett bought a property on Front Street West and in 1963 moved the ''Telegram'' to a new building at that location from the site at Bay and Melinda Street where the paper had been produced since 1899. At the same time,

Telegram Corporation Telegram Corporation was a Canadian media company created under a joint venture between John Bassett's ''Toronto Telegram'' newspaper and businessman John David Eaton (a member of the prominent Eaton family), as one of three co-owners of CFTO-TV ...

acquired a majority interest in Toronto TV station

CFTO-TV CFTO-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Barrie-based CTV 2 outlet CKVR-DT, channel 3 ...

. In July 1964, the

International Typographical Union The International Typographical Union (ITU) was a US trade union for the printing trade for newspapers and other media. It was founded on May 3, 1852, in the United States as the National Typographical Union, and changed its name to the Interna ...

called a strike at the ''Telegram'', the ''Star'', and ''The Globe and Mail''. All three papers continued to publish despite the strike. The ''Telegram'' lost $635,000 in 1969 and $921,000 in 1970 and was on pace to lose another $900,000 in 1971 when it was shut down that year by Bassett on October 30, just as a strike was looming. Many employees moved to the ''

Toronto Sun The ''Toronto Sun'' is an English-language tabloid format, tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several ''Sun'' tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices is located at Pos ...

'', which launched at the same time the ''Telegram'' shut down. The ''Telegram'' had its subscriber list sold to the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' for $10 million. The ''Star'' also leased the ''Telegrams Front Street facility, which was sold to ''

''. In the book ''The Death of the Toronto Telegram'' (1971), the former ''Telegram'' writer

Jock Carroll Jock Carroll (March 5, 1919 – August 4, 1995) was a Canadian writer, journalist and photographer who worked for the Canadian media, including the Toronto Telegram. History Born in Toronto, Jock Carroll developed a 40-year career as a photojour ...

described the decline of the paper and provided many anecdotes about the Canadian newspaper business from the 1950s to 1970. York University'
library holds
about 500,000 prints and 830,000 negatives of pictures taken by the ''Telegram'''s photographers. Ove
13,000 images
are currently searchable on line, with more appearing on a regular basis.

Notable staff members

Well-known reporters, editors, columnists and cartoonists included: * George Bain - later joined the ''Globe and Mail'' and ''Toronto Star'' *

Isabel Bassett Isabel Bassett (born August 23, 1939) is a Canadian broadcaster and former politician. From 1999 until 2005 she was the chair and CEO of TVOntario/TFO, Ontario's provincial public television network. She has been a controversial figure at times ...

- also a reporter at

CFTO CFTO-DT (channel 9) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, serving as the flagship station of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside Barrie-based CTV 2 outlet CKVR-DT, channel 3 ...

and wife of publisher

, later a provincial cabinet minister under Mike Harris *

- later an author and book editor *

Greg Clark Gregory David Clark (born 28 August 1967) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities from 7 July 2022 to 6 September 2022. A member of the Conservative Party, he has served as Member of Pa ...

- previously a war correspondent and reporter with the ''Toronto Daily Star'', was a humour columnist at the ''Telegram'' *

Gordon Donaldson Gordon Donaldson, (13 April 1913 – 16 March 1993) was a Scottish historian. Life He was born in a tenement at 140 McDonald RoadEdinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory, 1912 off Leith Walk in northern Edinburgh on 13 April 1913 the so ...

"Toronto reporter and writer Gordon Donaldson dies at 74," ''Expositor'', Brantford, Ontario: June 12, 2001, pg. A.24. - reporter, later an author, television journalist and producer at CBC and CTV *

Andy Donato Andy Donato is an editorial cartoonist and former art director for the ''Toronto Sun''. Life and career Donato graduated from Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute and worked at Eaton's as a layout artist. He joined the ''Toronto Telegram'' ...

- art director and cartoonist who was a key player in founding the ''Toronto Sun'' * John Downing - later editor-in-chief of the ''Toronto Sun'' *

Frank Drea James Francis "Frank" Drea (July 7, 1933 – January 15, 2003) was a Canadians, Canadian journalist, broadcaster, politician and racehorse enthusiast. He was a Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, Progressive Conservative member of the Leg ...

award-winning labour reporter, later a provincial cabinet minister under Bill Davis * Lillian Foster - fashion editor and columnist * Doug Fisher - freelance columnist while initially an NDP Member of Parliament, later joined the ''Toronto Sun'' *

John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...

- later a columnist for the ''Toronto Sun'', ''Globe and Mail'', ''Toronto Star'' and ''National Post'', editor of '' Saturday Night'', Master of

Massey College Massey College is a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto that was established, built and partially endowed in 1962 by the Massey Foundation and officially opened in 1963, though women were not admitted until 1974. It was mode ...

Trent Frayne Trent Gardiner Frayne (September 13, 1918 – February 11, 2012) was a Canadian sportswriter whose career stretched over 60 years. Pierre Berton described Frayne as “likely Canada's greatest sportswriter ever." Early life "Billy" Frayne, as he ...

- later a sports columnist for the ''Toronto Sun'', ''Globe and Mail'' and ''Maclean's Magazine'' *

Clyde Gilmour Clyde Gilmour, (8 June 1912 in Calgary – 7 November 1997 in Toronto) was a Canadian broadcaster and print journalist, mostly known for his half-century career with CBC Radio. Early life and education Gilmour was raised in Medicine Hat, ...

- CBC Radio broadcaster and later ''Toronto Star'' movie reviewer *

Dale Goldhawk Dale Goldhawk (born ) is a Canadians, Canadian broadcaster, journalist, and investigative reporter. Goldhawk graduated from the journalism program at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in 1967 and began his career as a reporter for the ''Toronto Te ...

- later a broadcaster at CBC, CTV and Rogers * George Gross - later ''Toronto Sun'' sports editor * Fraser Kelly - political editor, later news anchor at CFTO and CBLT *

Robert Kirkland Kernighan Robert Kirkland Kernighan (25 April 1854 – 3 November 1926) was a Canadian poet, journalist, and farmer. Born at Rushdale Farm, Rockton, Ontario, he apprenticed as a journalist on the ''Hamilton Spectator'' staff. In about 1876, the paper pri ...

- columnist and poet * Bob MacDonald - later a ''Toronto Sun'' columnist *

J. Douglas MacFarlane ''J. The Jewish News of Northern California'', formerly known as ''Jweekly'', is a weekly print newspaper in Northern California, with its online edition updated daily. It is owned and operated by San Francisco Jewish Community Publications In ...

- vice-president and editor-in-chief, 50 years in the newspaper business, 1949 to 1969 at the ''Telegram'', from city editor, advancing to top editorial position * C.A. (Arnie) Patterson Later founder of CFDR and CFRQ radio, Dartmouth NS and Press Secretary to

Pierre Elliott Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

Ted Reeve Edward Henry Reeve (January 6, 1902 – August 27, 1983) was a multi-sport Canadian athlete and sports journalist. He was on two Grey Cup winning teams as a football player, a Mann Cup championship as a lacrosse player and three Yates Cup cha ...

- later at ''Toronto Sun'' *

Paul Rimstead Paul Rimstead (1935 – 26 May 1987), born Andrew Paul Rimstad in Sudbury, Ontario, was a featured page 5 columnist for the Toronto Sun and sports writer. Life and career Born in Sudbury, Ontario, the "Rimmer" was described by peers as "legendary ...

- later at ''Toronto Sun'' * Judith Robinson - contributed a daily column from 1953 to 1961. *

Margaret Scrivener Margaret Mary Burgoyne-Howse Scrivener (c. 1922 – September 11, 1997) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. She was a Progressive Conservative Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1971 to 1985 who represented the downtow ...

- later a provincial cabinet minister under

Bill Davis William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...

* Merle Shain - feature writer, later associate editor of the ''

Chatelaine Chatelaine may refer to: * Chatelaine (chain), a set of short chains on a belt worn by women and men for carrying keys, thimble and/or sewing kit, etc. *Chatelaine (horse), a racehorse * ''Chatelaine'' (magazine), an English-language Canadian wom ...

'', and as a columnist for ''Toronto Sun'' * Walter Stewart - later at ''Toronto Sun'' *

Bert Wemp Bert Sterling Wemp (July 3, 1889 – February 5, 1976) was a Canadian journalist and mayor of Toronto. He was also a member of the Orange Order in Canada. Born in Tweed, Ontario, he was raised in Cabbagetown and attended Dufferin School and J ...

- reporter who became mayor of Toronto (1930) *

Ben Wicks Ben Wicks, (born Alfred Wicks; October 1, 1926 – September 10, 2000) was a British-born Canadian cartoonist, illustrator, journalist and author. Biography Wicks was a Cockney born into a poor, working class, working-class family in London ...

- cartoonist, later joined the ''Toronto Star'' *

Peter Worthington Peter John Vickers Worthington (February 16, 1927 – May 12, 2013) was a Canadian journalist. A foreign correspondent with the ''Toronto Telegram'' newspaper from 1956, Worthington was an eyewitness to the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963, an ...

- played a major role in starting the ''

'' and served, initially, as its editor *

Ritchie Yorke Ritchie Yorke (12 January 1944 – 6 February 2017) was an Australian-born author, broadcaster, historian and music journalist, whose work was widely published in the U.S., UK, Canada and elsewhere. Biography Australia: 1962–1966 Ritch ...

- later music writer for ''The Globe and Mail'', Canadian editor of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine and ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' * Scott Young - sports reporter and father of singer

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

, later ''Globe and Mail' *

Lubor J. Zink Lubor Jan Zink (September 20, 1920 – November 6, 2003) was a Czech-Canadian writer and columnist known for his anti-Communism. Early life Zink was born in Klapý, Czechoslovakia. He was a student of economics at Czech Technical University in Prag ...

- later a ''Toronto Sun'' columnist *

Jessie M. Read Jessie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jessie (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jessie (surname), a list of people Arts and entertainment * ''Jessie'' (2011 TV series), a 2011–15 Disney Channel ...

- Food Economist (Joined 1934) ''Three Meals A Day'' and First Cooking School Film in Canada ''Kitchen Talks'' and Radio Cooking School CKCL Toronto *Gary Ralph - covered many front-page stories including The October Crisis and Woodstock in the five years leading to the Tely's last edition. Award winner for his police reporting.

References

External links

Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections, York University
- Archival photographs from the ''Toronto Telegram'' fonds. Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Robarts Library, University of Toronto. Archival and photograph collection of J. Douglas MacFarlane's newspaper career in Toronto. {{Authority control Newspapers published in Toronto Defunct newspapers published in Ontario Publications established in 1876 Publications disestablished in 1971 Daily newspapers published in Ontario 1876 establishments in Ontario 1971 disestablishments in Ontario Conservative media in Canada

History

Notable staff members

See also

References

Further reading

External links