The Sudbury Star

The Sudbury Star is a Canadian daily regional newspaper published in Sudbury, Ontario. It is owned by the media company, Postmedia. It is the largest daily paper in Northeastern Ontario by circulation.

History

The Sudbury Star began as a daily in January 1909 as the Northern Daily Star,<ref name=railtown>C.M. Wallace and Ashley Thomson, Sudbury: Rail Town to Regional Capital. Dundurn Press, 1993. Template:ISBN.</ref> in competition with the city's established daily Sudbury Journal, but it was in immediate financial trouble and folded within just six months.<ref name=railtown/> Staff took over ownership of the struggling newspaper, led by foreman William Edge Mason, who then found 10 prominent investors to provide financial backing to the paper.<ref name=masonobit>"Sudbury Star Publisher William E. Mason Dead". The Globe and Mail, June 23, 1948.</ref> W.E. Mason Equipment was created to take over management of the paper,<ref name=masonobit/> and by World War I the paper was flourishing and the Sudbury Journal was out of business.<ref name=railtown/> In 1922 Mason acquired the North Bay Nugget in North Bay.<ref name=browning>"Harry S. Browning: Printer Joined Cobalt Rush, Founded Paper". The Globe and Mail, April 6, 1963.</ref>

In 1935, Mason launched the city's first commercial radio station, CKSO.<ref name=railtown/>

In 1948, Mason died and ownership of the paper was taken over by his W.E. Mason Estate.<ref>"Sudbury Star Owner's Estate Is $1,652,382". The Globe and Mail, August 25, 1948.</ref> The Nugget was almost immediately sold in an employee buyout,<ref>"Employees Buy North Bay Nugget; Publisher's Idea". The Globe and Mail, August 31, 1948.</ref> but the Sudbury Star remained under the ownership of Mason's estate until 1950, when J. R. Meakes, Mason's successor as publisher and general manager, bought the paper with co-investors George Miller, Jim Cooper and Bill Plaunt.<ref>"Manager, Businessmen Will Buy Sudbury Star, Other Assets of Estate". The Globe and Mail, December 21, 1950.</ref> The same investment group launched CKSO-TV, the city's first television station and the first television station in Canada not owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in 1953.<ref name=railtown/>

In 1955 the paper was acquired by Thomson Newspapers.<ref name=meakesobit>"Sudbury publisher, 60, later Chamber head". The Globe and Mail, February 12, 1977.</ref> Meakes remained as publisher and general manager until his retirement in 1975.<ref name=meakesobit/>

In the early 1960s, the city saw a "newspaper war" between two startup weekly newspapers, the Sudbury Sun and the Star-owned Sudbury Scene. The Sun, a publication of Northland Publishers, was out of business by 1962, and filed a competition lawsuit against the Scene, alleging that the Scene had deliberately undercut the Sun's advertising rates to protect Thomson's monopoly on English-language periodical publication in the city.<ref name=lawsuit>Template:Cite news Template:Open access</ref> The federal trade practices commission ruled in Thomson's favour.<ref name=lawsuit />

The paper was sold to Southam Newspapers in 1996,<ref>"Southam buys 7 Ontario papers". Toronto Star, September 17, 1996.</ref> to Osprey Media in 2001,<ref>"Bulk of Hollinger's Ontario papers sold to Sifton family". The Globe and Mail, August 1, 2001.</ref> and to Sun Media in 2007.<ref>"Quebecor seeks Osprey to vault into first place; Takeover would create biggest newspaper firm". Toronto Star, June 2, 2007.</ref> In 2015 Postmedia Network acquired Sun Media.<ref>"Quebecor turns focus to wireless; Sale of English-language newspapers leaves it more Quebec-centric". Ottawa Citizen, October 7, 2014.</ref>

In October 2013 the paper moved from its longtime home at 33 MacKenzie Street in Sudbury to new offices at 128 Pine Street.<ref>"Sudbury Star on the move to 128 Pine St.". Sudbury Star, October 24, 2013.</ref> In 2020, the paper moved again, to an office building on Regent Street in the Lily Creek neighbourhood.<ref>Harold Carmichael, "The Sudbury Star is on the move". Sudbury Star, February 24, 2020.</ref>

The current managing editor of the Sudbury Star is Don MacDonald, who assumed the role in 2014.

Notable staff

• David Griffin, journalist, Olympic athlete, and Royal Canadian Air Force officer<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news; Template:Cite news</ref>
• Don Scott, author and journalist<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• List of newspapers in Canada

External links

• Sudbury Star