Ottawa Citizen

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 Gordon Bell and Henry J. Friel. Robert Bell bought the paper in 1849, and sold it to I.B. Taylor in 1861. In 1877, Charles Herbert Mackintosh became the principal owner, and he later sold it to Robert and Lewis Shannon.

In 1897, the Citizen became one of several papers owned by the Southam family. It remained under Southam until the chain was purchased by Conrad Black's Hollinger Inc. in 1996. In 2000, the chain was sold to Canwest Global, which was taken over by Postmedia Network in 2010.

The editorial view of the Citizen has varied with its ownership, taking a reform position under Friel, and a conservative position (supporting John A. Macdonald) under Mackintosh. When the Liberals defeated the Tory government in 1896, the owners of the Citizen decided to sell to Southam, rather than face an expected cut in government revenue. In 2002, the Citizen's publisher, Russell Mills, was dismissed following the publication of a story critical of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and an editorial calling for Chrétien's resignation.

The Citizen published its last Sunday edition on July 15, 2012. This move meant 20 fewer newsroom jobs, and was part of a series of changes made by Postmedia. The Citizen stopped producing a print edition on Mondays as of 17 October 2022, due to the costs of printing and delivery, but it continued to publish a digital Monday edition.

Circulation

The ''Ottawa Citizen'''s circulation in 2009 was 123,856 copies daily. Its circulation dropped by percent to 91,796 in 2015.

In Spring 2022, the ''Ottawa Citizen'''s unduplicated print and digital average weekday audience was 231,000, and its unduplicated average weekly audience was 490,000.

Notable people

• Scott Keir Anderson, editor-in-chief from 1996 to 2007
• Scott Burnside, ice hockey columnist
• Peter Calamai (1943–2019), editorial pages editor
• Randall Denley, long-time Ottawa Citizen writer who retired in 2012
• Bob Ferguson (1931–2014), sports journalist and writer
• Terry Glavin, Ottawa Citizen writer until 2020
• Charles Gordon, writer and columnist at the Ottawa Citizen from 1974 to 2005
• John Honderich, Ottawa Citizen reporter from 1973 to 1976
• Kelvin Kirk, artist at the Ottawa Citizen
• Eddie MacCabe (1927–1998), journalist, sports editor and writer
• Russell Mills, editor-in-chief of the Ottawa Citizen from 1976 to 1984, then publisher
• Gerry Nott, editor-in-chief from 2010 to 2014
• Andrew Potter, editor-in-chief from 2013 to 2016
• Jane Taber, political reporter
• James Travers, editor-in-chief from 1991 to 1996

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.

References

1. (29 May 2012). "Ottawa Citizen cuts jobs, ends Sunday print edition". CTV News.
2. Crawford, Blair. (22 February 2023). "Nicole Feriancek named editor-in-chier of the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Sun". Ottawa Citizen.
3. "Ottawa Citizen".
4. Cobb, Chris. (July 16, 1992). "Comedy of Errors". Ottawa Citizen.
5. Boswell, Randy. (20 January 2020). "A window into history: A trip back to the Citizen's fascinating beginnings, 175 years ago".
6. Cross, Michael. "Friel, Henry James".
7. Pilon, Henri. "Bell, Robert".
8. Bruce, Charles. (1968). "News and the Southams". Macmillan of Canada.
9. Parry, David. (April 9, 1977). "To buy dying paper he needed $4,000". Edmonton Journal.
10. Potter, Jessica. (17 October 2014). "The Ottawa Citizen". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
11. (31 July 2001). "Hollinger sells 28 Ontario newspapers for $220 million". CBC News.
12. "[http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2002/08.22/08-nieman.html Fired publisher named Nieman Fellow] {{Webarchive. link. (January 13, 2008". ''[[Harvard Gazette]]''. 2002.)
13. [https://ottawacitizen.com/news/Citizen+Sunday+paper+newsroom+jobs/6691665/story.html] {{webarchive. link. (June 1, 2012). ""
14. (21 September 2022). "Notice to Ottawa Citizen readers". Ottawa Citizen.
15. "Daily Newspaper Circulation Data". [[News Media Canada]].
16. vividata. "Newspaper Topline Readership".
17. (15 November 2007). "Ottawa Citizen's top editor leaves to become CanWest VP". CBC News.
18. Burnside, Scott. (November 23, 2001). ["Former Senator reroutes NHL dream through Russia"](https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-ottawa-citizen-burnside-2001/172496317/}}; {{cite news). Ottawa Citizen.
19. Boswell, Randy. (January 23, 2019). "Remembering Peter Calamai: Journalist, Teacher and 'Advocate for Science, Literacy and Journalistic Professionalism' (1943-2019)". [[Carleton University]].
20. (18 May 2014). "Candidates in Ottawa West-Nepean riding share a fraught political past". The Globe and Mail.
21. Scanlan, Wayne. (June 7, 1996). "There ain't nothing like an old-time sports writer". Ottawa Citizen.
22. "Terry Glavin". Ottawa Citizen.
23. Duffy, Andrew. (30 June 2023). "Former Ottawa Citizen columnist one of four Ottawans appointed to the Order of Canada".
24. Lederman, Marsha. (6 February 2022). "Former Toronto Star publisher John Honderich, among 'last of the lions' of Canadian journalism, dead at 75". The Globe and Mail.
25. Archdeacon, Tom. (27 April 2012). "UD player first 'Mr. Irrelevant' in NFL Draft".
26. Chwialkowska, Luiza. (May 24, 1998). "Eddie MacCabe: A glimpse it the city's soul". Ottawa Citizen.
27. Brown, Dave. (May 23, 1998). ["Eddie MacCabe: A local legend lost"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91403651/maccabe-1998/}}; {{cite news). Ottawa Citizen.
28. (28 November 2020). "Former Citizen editors-in-chief on their proudest moments, greatest disappointments". Ottawa Citizen.
29. "Jane Taber". Board of Governors, Carleton University.
30. Duffy, Andrew. (25 November 2020). "Editors-in-chief: The Citizen newsroom has been led by the formidable and the quirky". Ottawa Citizen.