Editing Toronto Telegram (section)

==History==
''The Toronto Evening Telegram'' was founded in 1876 by publisher [[John Ross Robertson]]. He had borrowed {{CAD|10,000|link=yes}} to buy the assets of ''The Liberal'', a defunct newspaper,<ref name=Hyman>"Founder John Ross Robertson made the Telegram explosive force in life of Toronto," Ralph Hyman, ''The Globe and Mail'', September 20, 1971, p. 8.</ref> and published his first edition of 3,800 copies on April 18, 1876.<ref name=Brehl /> The editor of ''Telegram'' from 1876 to 1888 was [[Alexander Fraser Pirie]] (1849–1903), a native of [[Guelph]]. Pirie had worked for the ''Guelph Herald'', his father's paper.

The newspaper became the voice of working-class, conservative Protestant [[Orange Institution#The Orange Order in Canada|Orange]] Toronto. In 1881, Robertson erected a building for the paper at the southeast corner of King and Bay Streets, on Melinda Street.<ref>{{cite web|title=Goad's Fire Insurance Maps|year=1903|publisher=Chas. E. Goad|location=Toronto|url=http://maps.library.utoronto.ca/datapub/digital/NG/goad/1903/Plate06.jpg}}</ref> John R. (Black Jack) Robinson succeeded Pirie as editor-in-chief in 1888 and held that position until he died in 1928.<ref>{{cite web |title=Toronto Telegram - The Newspaper's Explosive Force in Toronto History |url=https://www.torontojourney416.com/toronto-telegram/ |website=Toronto Journey |access-date=May 18, 2024}}</ref>

''The Telegram'' focused on local issues<ref name=Brehl /> and became the largest circulation daily in Toronto, but it lost that position in 1932 to the ''[[Toronto Star|Toronto Daily Star]]'' and never regained it.<ref name=Hyman /> 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]], the publisher of ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'', for {{CAD|3.6&nbsp;million}}.<ref name=Hyman /> ''Evening'' was dropped from the paper's name in 1949.

McCullagh died in 1952, and the paper was then purchased by [[John W. H. Bassett]] for {{CAD|4.25&nbsp;million}}<ref name=Hyman /> with money borrowed from the [[Eaton's|Eaton]] family.<ref name=Brehl /> 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]] with charges under the ''[[Lord's Day Act (Canada)|Lord's Day Act]]''.<ref>"Prosecutions put Lord's Day Act on spot--Queen's Park," ''Toronto Daily Star'', March 20, 1957, p. 1.</ref> The Sunday edition was unsuccessful and ceased publication after four months.<ref name=Brehl />

In December 1959, Bassett bought a {{convert|3.6|acre|m2|adj=on}} property on [[Front Street (Toronto)|Front Street]] West (formerly [[Regis College (Toronto)]]/[[Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School|Loretto Abbey]]) 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]] acquired a majority interest in Toronto TV station [[CFTO-TV]].

In July 1964, the [[International Typographical Union]] 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 {{CAD|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,<ref>"Toronto Telegram 1876-1971", ''Ottawa Citizen'', October 30, 1971, p. 1</ref> just as a strike was looming.<ref>{{cite news |title=Negotiators given mandate for strike in Telegram dispute |first=Wilfred |last=List |newspaper=The Globe and Mail |date=September 17, 1971 |p=5}}</ref> Many employees moved to the ''[[Toronto Sun]]'', which launched the Monday after the ''Telegram'' ceased publication. The ''Telegram'' subscriber list was sold to the ''[[Toronto Star]]'' for {{CAD|10&nbsp;million}}. The ''Star'' also leased the ''Telegram'''s Front Street facility, until it was sold to ''[[The Globe and Mail]]''.

In the book ''The Death of the Toronto Telegram'' (1971), the former ''Telegram'' writer [[Jock Carroll]] described the decline of the paper and provided many anecdotes about the Canadian newspaper business from the 1950s to 1970.

York University's library holds about 500,000 prints and 830,000 negatives of pictures taken by the ''Telegram''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s photographers.<ref>[http://www.library.yorku.ca/ccm/ArchivesSpecialCollections/FindingAids/Telegram/Telegram1.htm Telegram fonds]</ref> Over 13,000 images are currently searchable on line, with more appearing on a regular basis.<ref>[http://digital.library.yorku.ca/yul-f0433/toronto-telegram Telegram images]</ref>