The Globe and Mail

• 1. Founding And Early History

  ›

  Scottish immigrant George Brown established The Globe in 1844 as a weekly party organ for his Reform Party. Brown selected the motto from Junius, "The subject who is truly loyal to the Chief Magistrate will neither advise nor submit to arbitrary measures." This quotation remains on the editorial page today. By the 1850s, The Globe had become an independent and well-regarded daily newspaper. It began distribution by railway to other cities in Ontario shortly after Confederation. At the dawn of the twentieth century, The Globe added photography, a women's section, and the slogan "Canada's National Newspaper". The Daily Mail and Empire was another predecessor formed through a merger of two conservative newspapers in 1895. The Toronto Mail was established in 1872 while The Empire was founded in 1887 by Conservative politician John A. Macdonald. On the 23rd of November 1936, The Globe merged with The Mail and Empire. Press reports at the time stated that "the minnow swallowed the whale" because The Globes circulation was smaller than that of The Mail and Empire.

• 2. Ownership Transitions And Corporate Control

  ›

  George McCullagh fronted for mining magnate William Henry Wright and became the first publisher of The Globe and Mail. McCullagh committed suicide in 1952 and the newspaper was sold to the Webster family of Montreal. In 1965, Winnipeg-based FP Publications bought the paper. Bryan Maheswary controlled FP Publications which owned a chain of local Canadian newspapers. FP put a strong emphasis on the Report on Business section launched in 1962. The newspaper moved locations from the William H. Wright Building to 444 Front Street West in 1974. FP Publications and The Globe and Mail were sold in 1980 to The Thomson Corporation. Kenneth Thomson ran the company through his family. After the acquisition there were few changes made in editorial or news policy. However, more attention was paid to national and international news on the editorial pages. In 2001, the paper merged with broadcast assets held by BCE Inc. to form Bell Globemedia. At the end of 2010, the Thomson family re-acquired direct control of The Globe and Mail with an 85-percent stake. Woodbridge Company acquired BCE's remaining 15 percent stake in 2015.

• 3. Editorial Evolution And Political Stance

  ›

  Under editorship of William Thorsell in the 1980s and 1990s, the paper strongly endorsed free trade policies of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. The paper became an outspoken proponent of the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord. During this period, the paper continued to favor socially liberal policies like decriminalizing drugs including cocaine. A the 12th of December 1967, Globe and Mail editorial written by Martin O'Malley stated "Obviously, the state's responsibility should be to legislate rules for a well-ordered society." Historian David Hayes noted that editorials took a benign view of hippies and homosexuals while championing most aspects of the welfare state. In federal general elections, The Globe and Mail has generally endorsed right-wing parties. The paper endorsed Stephen Harper's Conservative Party in the 2006, 2008, and 2011 elections. In the 2015 election, the paper again endorsed the Conservatives but called for the party's leader to step down. In 2011, Canadian sociologist Elke Winter said The Globe and Mail was considered politically moderately-conservative-to-centrist.

• 4. Digital Transformation And Print Redesigns

  ›

  In 1995, the paper launched its website globeandmail.com. On the 9th of June 2000, the site began covering breaking news with its own content and journalists. In 2004, access to some features became restricted to paid subscribers only. On the 23rd of April 2007, the paper introduced significant changes to its print design. The paper added a lifestyle section entitled Globe Life which has been described as an attempt to attract readers from the rival Toronto Star. The paper followed other North American papers by dropping detailed stock listings in print. It also shrank the printed paper to 12-inch width. On the 1st of October 2010, The Globe and Mail unveiled redesigns to both its paper and online formats. Editor-in-Chief John Stackhouse dubbed it "the most significant redesign in The Globes history". The paper version has a bolder presentation featuring 100 per cent full-colour pages. The paper uses state-of-the-art heat-set printing presses for slightly glossy paper stock. In October 2012, The Globe and Mail relaunched its digital subscription offering under the marketing brand Globe Unlimited.

• 5. Operational Expansion And Physical Relocations

  ›

  The newspaper moved locations from the William H. Wright Building to 444 Front Street West in 1974. The new location had been the headquarters of the Toronto Telegram newspaper built in 1963. The Globe and Mail remained in the building until 2016 when it relocated to the Globe and Mail Centre. The headquarters site at 444 Front Street West was sold in 2012 to three real estate firms. In 2016, the newspaper moved to 351 King Street East adjacent to the former Toronto Sun Building. It now occupies five of the new tower's 17 stories. The newspaper is printed in five cities in western and central Canada. Since the 1980s, it has been printed in separate editions in six Canadian cities including Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver. In 2013, The Globe and Mail ended distribution of the print edition to Newfoundland. The paper also ended distribution to New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI on the 30th of November 2017. During the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, The Globe and Mail published a Sunday edition marking the first time that the paper had ever published on Sunday.

• 6. Business Journalism And Special Sections

  ›

  Report on Business commonly referred to as ROB is the financial section of the newspaper. Standard ROB sections are typically fifteen to twenty pages long. Every Saturday, a special Report on Business Weekend is released with features on corporate lifestyle and personal finance. On the last Friday of every month, the Report on Business Magazine is released. This is the largest Canadian finance-oriented magazine. Business News Network formerly ROBtv is a twenty-four-hour news and business television station founded by The Globe and Mail. Top 1000 is a list of Canada's one thousand largest public companies ranked by profit released annually. The paper serves as a Toronto metropolitan paper publishing several special sections not included in the national edition. As a result, it is sometimes ridiculed for being too focused on the Greater Toronto Area. In an effort to gain market share in Vancouver, The Globe and Mail began publishing a distinct west-coast edition edited independently in Vancouver. The paper also launched its News Photo Archive showcasing more than 10,000 photos from its historic collection dedicated to subscribers.