Editor André Pratte Language French | Founded 1884 | |
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Type Monday-Saturday newspaper Format Broadsheet and Tablet digital Owner(s) Power Corporation of Canada(Gesca Limitée) | ||
La Presse, founded in 1884, is a French-language daily newspaper published Mondays through Saturdays in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is owned today by Groupe Gesca, a subsidiary of Power Corporation of Canada. A Sunday edition was discontinued in 2009.
Contents
Description
La Presse is a broadsheet newspaper, aimed at an educated, middle-class readership. Its main competitor is the daily tabloid Le Journal de Montréal, which aims at a more populist audience. La Presse comprises several sections, dealing individually with arts, sports, and other themes. Its Saturday edition can contain over 10 sections.
The newspaper's website, www.lapresse.ca, operates as a company-wide portal which publishes news and editorial content from all of Gesca's local newspapers.
History
The paper was founded on October 20, 1884 by William-Edmond Blumhart. Trefflé Berthiaume took over in 1889. The fledgling newspaper's circulation would soon pass that of its main competitor of the time, La Patrie.
In April 1901, the paper organised a cruise to Quebec City (Croisière de La Presse). It also organised a charity to give Christmas gifts to poor children (L'Oeuvre des étrennes aux enfants pauvres).
A front-page illustration on the December 3, 1904 issue celebrated the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of Immaculate Conception. The practice of the time was to have an illustration on the front page, rather than a photograph.
The style and presentation have changed immensely during the course of the 20th century. It underwent a complete graphic remodeling in 1986, and again in 2003.
Since 1984, La Presse has every year honoured a "Person of the Year." In the past, it has honoured Julie Payette, Daniel Langlois and Gaétan Boucher. That same year, it published a commemorative book in order to celebrate its 100th anniversary. A similar book was published by Éditions La Presse to recap the major events of the 20th century.
In 2001, with the arrival of new editor Guy Crevier, the newspaper began a radical remodeling. The graphic design was modernized, new sections were created, international coverage was greatly increased, and many new young, up-and-coming journalists were hired. These changes had a significant positive impact on quality and circulation, to the point that the paper is now considered a rival to Le Devoir for the title of Quebec's newspaper of record.
In 2011, La Presse is chosen as the flagship brand and leveraged on all media platforms. Cyberpresse.ca becomes LaPresse.ca.
In 2013, La Presse launched La Presse+, an all-new free digital edition for iPad that redefines the way users get their information.
The newspaper have announced in September 2015 that they would end the weekdays print edition in 2016 to be available only in the digital edition.
Editorial line
The editorial board of La Presse has been consistently supportive of Canadian federalism over the past 25 years, though individual columnists may freely express less sympathy. The newspaper's editorials endorsed the federalist option in both the 1980 Quebec referendum and the 1995 Quebec referendum which were held on the issue of Quebec national-sovereignism.
The editorial board leaves room for the whole spectrum of opinions. It supported same-sex marriage legislation in Canada and was opposed to the 2012 student strike and the War in Iraq. In January 2006, the paper endorsed the Conservative Party in the 2006 election. This was primarily out of a reasoning that the Canadian government was in need of a necessary change after more than 12 years of Liberal Party of Canada rule. Similarly, with Stephen Harper's Conservatives having been in power for nine years at the time, La Presse has endorsed Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party in the 2015 election.
François Cardinal is currently the editor-in-chief. Regular columnists and editorialists include Vincent Marissal, Patrick Lagacé, Yves Boisvert, Michelle Ouimet, Alain Dubuc and Lysiane Gagnon.
Television
The newspaper's television production arm, La Presse Télé, was producing the series Dumont, hosted by former politician Mario Dumont, for the Quebec television network V (formerly TQS).