Ottawa Citizen Explained

Ottawa Citizen
Type:	Daily (no print edition on Sundays or Mondays)^[1]
Format:	Broadsheet, digital
Foundation:	(as the Bytown Packet)
Owners:	Postmedia Network
Editor:	Nicole Feriancek^[2]
Language:	English
Circulation:	231,000 weekdays, 490,000 weekly for print and digital
Circulation Date:	2022
Circulation Ref:	vividata
Headquarters:	1101 Baxter Road Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3M4
Issn:	0839-3222
Website:	ottawacitizen.com

The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.^[3]

History

Established as the Bytown Packet in 1845 by William Harris, it was renamed the Citizen in 1851.^[4] The newspaper's original motto, which has recently been returned to the editorial page, was Fair Play and Day-Light.^[5]

The paper has been through a number of owners. In 1846, Harris sold the paper to John Gordon Bell and Henry J. Friel.^[6] Robert Bell bought the paper in 1849, and sold it to I.B. Taylor in 1861.^[7] In 1877, Charles Herbert Mackintosh became the principal owner, and he later sold it to Robert and Lewis Shannon.^[8]

In 1897, the Citizen became one of several papers owned by the Southam family.^[9] It remained under Southam until the chain was purchased by Conrad Black's Hollinger Inc. in 1996.^[5] In 2000, the chain was sold to Canwest Global, which was taken over by Postmedia Network in 2010.^{[10] [11]}

The editorial view of the Citizen has varied with its ownership, taking a reform position under Friel,^[6] and a conservative position (supporting John A. Macdonald) under Mackintosh.^[8] 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.^[9] 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.^[12]

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.^[13] 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.^[14]

The pre-2014 logo depicted the top of the Peace Tower of Canada's Parliament Buildings in Ottawa. In 2014, the newspaper adopted a new logo showing the paper's name over an outline of the Peace Tower roof on a green background.

Circulation

The Ottawa Citizens circulation in 2009 was 123,856 copies daily.Its circulation dropped by percent to 91,796 in 2015.^[15]

In Spring 2022, the Ottawa Citizens unduplicated print and digital average weekday audience was 231,000, and its unduplicated average weekly audience was 490,000.^[16]

See also

• Scott Keir Anderson, editor-in-chief from 1996 to 2007^[17]
• Peter Calamai (1943–2019), editorial pages editor^[18]
• Canadian daily newspapers
• Randall Denley, long-time Ottawa Citizen writer who retired in 2012^[19]
• Bob Ferguson (1931–2014), sports journalist and writer^[20]
• Terry Glavin, Ottawa Citizen writer until 2020^[21]
• Charles Gordon, writer and columnist at the Ottawa Citizen from 1974 to 2005^[22]
• John Honderich, Ottawa Citizen reporter from 1973 to 1976^[23]
• Kelvin Kirk, artist at the Ottawa Citizen^[24]
• Eddie MacCabe (1927–1998), journalist, sports editor and writer^{[25] [26]}
• 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^[27]
• Jane Taber, political reporter^[28]
• James Travers, editor-in-chief from 1991 to 1996^[29]

Sources

• Adam, Mohammed. (January 2, 2005). "When we began 1845: For 160 years, the Citizen has been the 'heartbeat of the community". Ottawa Citizen.
• Book: Bruce, Charles. News and the Southams. Toronto. Macmillan of Canada. 1968. 70–72. registration.
• Book: Kesterton, Wilfred H.. A History of Journalism in Canada. Ottawa. Carleton University Press. 1984. 978-0-88629-022-1.
• Book: Rutherford, Paul. A Victorian authority: The Daily Press in Late Nineteenth-Century Canada. Toronto. University of Toronto Press. 1982. 978-0-8020-5588-0. registration. DDC 71.1. LCC PN4907.

External links

• • Official mobile version
• Canadian Newspaper Association
• The Ottawa Citizen Birth Marriage, Anniversary, Death and Memoriam Notices 1879-1885
• Google News Archive microfilm archive 1853–1987

Notes and References

1. News: 29 May 2012 . Ottawa Citizen cuts jobs, ends Sunday print edition . CTV News .
2. News: Ottawa Citizen . Nicole Feriancek named editor-in-chier of the Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa Sun . 22 February 2023 . Blair . Crawford .
3. News: Ottawa Citizen .
4. News: Comedy of Errors. July 16, 1992. Chris. Cobb. Ottawa Citizen. July 16, 2022. A2. Newspapers.com.
5. News: Randy . Boswell . A window into history: A trip back to the Citizen's fascinating beginnings, 175 years ago . 20 January 2020 .
6. Web site: Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Friel, Henry James . Michael . Cross .
7. Web site: Dictionary of Canadian Biography: Robert Bell . Henri . Pilon .
8. Book: Bruce, Charles. News and the Southams. Toronto. Macmillan of Canada. 1968. 70–72. registration.
9. News: To buy dying paper he needed $4,000. April 9, 1977. David. Parry. Edmonton Journal. July 16, 2022. 105. Newspapers.com.
10. Web site: Jessica . Potter . 17 October 2014 . The Ottawa Citizen . The Canadian Encyclopedia .
11. News: Hollinger sells 28 Ontario newspapers for $220 million . 31 July 2001 . CBC News .
12. "Fired publisher named Nieman Fellow ". Harvard Gazette. 2002.
13. https://ottawacitizen.com/news/Citizen+Sunday+paper+newsroom+jobs/6691665/story.html
14. News: Notice to Ottawa Citizen readers . Ottawa Citizen . 21 September 2022 .
15. Web site: Daily Newspaper Circulation Data. News Media Canada. December 16, 2017.
16. Web site: vividata . Newspaper Topline Readership .
17. News: Ottawa Citizen's top editor leaves to become CanWest VP . CBC News . 15 November 2007 .
18. Web site: Remembering Peter Calamai: Journalist, Teacher and 'Advocate for Science, Literacy and Journalistic Professionalism' (1943-2019). Carleton University. January 23, 2019. Boswell. Randy. March 26, 2023.
19. News: The Globe and Mail . Candidates in Ottawa West-Nepean riding share a fraught political past . 18 May 2014 .
20. News: There ain't nothing like an old-time sports writer. Scanlan. Wayne. June 7, 1996. Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. 15.
21. News: Ottawa Citizen . Terry Glavin .
22. News: Former Ottawa Citizen columnist one of four Ottawans appointed to the Order of Canada . 30 June 2023 . Andrew . Duffy .
23. News: Former Toronto Star publisher John Honderich, among 'last of the lions' of Canadian journalism, dead at 75 . 6 February 2022 . The Globe and Mail . Marsha . Lederman .
24. Web site: UD player first 'Mr. Irrelevant' in NFL Draft . Tom . Archdeacon . 27 April 2012 .
25. News: Eddie MacCabe: A glimpse it the city's soul. Chwialkowska. Luiza. May 24, 1998. Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. 7.
26. News: Eddie MacCabe: A local legend lost. Brown. Dave. May 23, 1998. Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. 27.

    News: MacCabe did it well or didn't bother with it at all. Brown. Dave. May 23, 1998. Ottawa Citizen. Ottawa, Ontario. 28.

27. News: Ottawa Citizen . 28 November 2020 . Former Citizen editors-in-chief on their proudest moments, greatest disappointments .
28. Web site: Jane Taber . Board of Governors, Carleton University .
29. News: Editors-in-chief: The Citizen newsroom has been led by the formidable and the quirky . 25 November 2020 . Ottawa Citizen . Andrew . Duffy.