The Telegram is a weekly newspaper (formerly daily) published Fridays in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, though now printed outside the province.
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) 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.[1] 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 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. as one of several transactions between the companies in the mid-1990s.[2] In 2000, the paper was included in the newspaper assets that Hollinger sold to Canwest.[3] Less than two years later, Canwest sold its newspapers in Atlantic Canada to printing company Transcontinental.[4]
On April 13, 2017, Transcontinental announced that it had sold all of its newspapers in Atlantic Canada to SaltWire Network, a newly formed parent company of The Chronicle Herald.[5][6][7]
In April 2021, it was announced by SaltWire that The Telegram's standalone website would merge into SaltWire.com effective April 20.[8]
In March 2024, Fiera Private Debt filed for receivership against SaltWire, claiming they are owed over $32 million.[9] On July 26, 2024, Postmedia entered an agreement to purchase selected assets of SaltWire.[10] The sale, which closed August 24, includes The Telegram but not its printing press.[11][12]
On August 21, 2024, the paper confirmed that its final daily print edition would be published on Saturday, August 24, with weekly editions to be published on Fridays starting August 30.[13] Following the ownership transfer, it was confirmed that the weekly paper would be printed outside the province and mailed to subscribers.[14] Other daily newspapers that were part of the transaction but are closer to the production facility, including The Guardian in Charlottetown, continued to publish at least five days a week following the sale.[15] Physical distribution was paused entirely later that year during the 2024 Canada Post strike, though digital replicas were still produced for online distribution.[16]
References[]
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedPorter - ↑ Fitzgerald, Mark. "Thomson pares down further", Editor & Publisher, May 11, 1996.
- ↑ CanWest acquires Hollinger newspapers (July 31, 2000).
- ↑ Under new management: the headline for some newspapers. CBCNews.ca (July 10, 2002).
- ↑ Chronicle Herald buys all Atlantic Canadian Transcontinental papers.
- ↑ Transcontinental sells The Guardian, Journal Pioneer.
- ↑ The Chronicle Herald acquires Transcontinental Inc.'s newspapers, news websites and four printing plants in Atlantic Canada.
- ↑ EDITORIAL: SaltWire's got a brand new website (April 20, 2021).
- ↑ Bousquet, Tim (2024-03-11). BREAKING: private equity firm puts SaltWire in receivership (en-CA).
- ↑ Postmedia enters agreement to buy SaltWire chain of newspapers (July 26, 2024).
- ↑ Postmedia sending 'radio silence' about future of St. John's Telegram, says union head and journalist (Aug 13, 2024).
- ↑ Stop the presses: Telegram printing staff brace for closure of N.L.'s last press (August 17, 2024).
- ↑ Note to Telegram readers. SaltWire.com (August 21, 2024).
- ↑ Whitten, Elizabeth (September 3, 2024). Expect less N.L. content in the Telegram under new Postmedia owner, says journalism prof.
- ↑ Ross, Shane (August 26, 2024). P.E.I.'s Guardian, Journal Pioneer expected to publish as usual as Postmedia sale finalized. CBC News PEI.
- ↑ Vardy Little, Jennifer (November 19, 2024). EDITORIAL: We appreciate the support from our readers, and despite the postal strike, The Telegram is still here for you. SaltWire.com.
- 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