Joseph E. Atkinson

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Joseph E. Atkinson , real name Joseph Atkinson , (born December 23, 1865 in Newcastle , Ontario, † May 8, 1948 in Toronto ) was a Canadian newspaper publisher and activist. Under his leadership, the Toronto Star became one of the largest and most influential newspapers in Canada. Atkinson amassed a sizable fortune that allowed him to gain control of the newspaper he edited. After his death, control of the newspaper went to the trustees of the Atkinson Foundation , a major Canadian charity.

The early years

Atkinson was born near Newcastle, Ontario in 1865 . He grew up in difficult circumstances, which may have been the cause of his later work as an activist on social issues. His father died when he was six months old and when he was 13 years old his mother died too. From the age of about 16 he worked for a postal agency. During this time he began to sign under the name "Joseph E. Atkinson" even though he was not given a middle name at birth. He was now looking for a better job and hoped to work as a bank clerk. But when he worked at the Post, he was offered the opportunity to work at the Port Hope Times , a weekly newspaper in Port Hop , Ontario . He finally started a job at this newspaper at the age of 18 and was initially responsible for the account management. When the Port Hope Times came out every day, Atkinson became a reporter. In October 1888 he moved to The Toronto World and only a few months later he went to the Globe , one of the newspapers that later became The Globe and Mail . Two years later he became a correspondent for the Globe in Ottawa, a position where he worked for seven years. Atkinson then became editor-in-chief of the Montreal Herald in 1897 .

family

Elmina Elliott Atkinson (Madge Merton) by William Notman

Joseph E. Atkinson married Elmina Ella Susannah Elliott of Oakville, Ontario on April 18, 1892 in Toronto . Under the pseudonym "Madge Merton" she worked as a journalist for the Montreal Herald and the Toronto Daily Star

Toronto Star

In 1899 Atkinson received an offer to become editor-in-chief of the Montreal Star , at the time it was the largest English language newspaper in Canada. However, the paper's conservative leanings clashed with Atkinson's liberal views, and while he was considering the offer, a group of supporters of Wilfrid Laurier , the Liberal Prime Minister of Canada, asked if he would like to become editor of the Toronto Evening Star . The group included Senators George Cox , William Mulock , Peter Charles Larkin, and Timothy Eaton Mulock, and most of the other members of the group wanted the newspaper to be the mouthpiece of the Liberal Party, but Atkinson refused to take the job on these terms. He insisted on having full control over newspaper policy and that it was in the Toronto Evening Star's best interests not to be led by the Liberal Party. Atkinson then traveled to Ottawa and received support from Wilfrid Laurier. Atkinson also insisted that 40 percent of his salary be paid in shares at face value, giving him the opportunity to become a majority shareholder. After initial resistance, the group accepted these terms. The group became the owner of the newspaper on December 13, 1899. The shareholders formally approved the appointment five days later, so that he was employed by the newspaper retrospectively as of December 13, 1899. Atkinson's name first appeared in the December 21st issue in the masthead. His job was to save the newspaper that was in decline, and in a conservative city it was competing with six daily newspapers. Atkinson managed to get the newspaper back on the road to success and by 1913 it had the largest circulation of any daily newspaper in Toronto. He continued his work for the "Star" until he died in 1848 at the age of 82.

heritage

Atkinson had two children:

  • Joseph S. Atkinson , he became editor of the newspaper in 1948 and remained so until 1966. He was also Chairman of the Board and President of the Joseph E. Atkinson Foundation.
  • Ruth Atkinson Hindmarsh married a manager of the newspaper, Harry C. Hindmarsh , and also became a member of the father's foundation.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Atkinson, Joseph E. National Historic Person. In: Directory of Federal Historic Designations. Parks Canada, March 15, 2012, accessed September 29, 2013 .
  2. ^ A b Ross Harkness: JE Atkinson of the Star. University of Toronto Press, 1963, p. 5 , accessed November 18, 2016 .
  3. ^ Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927. In: FamilySearch. Retrieved September 15, 2016 .
  4. ^ Henry James Morgan: Types of Canadian women and of women who are or have been connected with Canada. William Briggs Publisher, 1903, p. 15 , accessed July 27, 2015 .
  5. ↑ Stephen A. Otto: Larkin, Peter Charles, Issue 15. Retrieved November 18, 2016 .
  6. ^ Ross Harkness: JE Atkinson of the Star. University of Toronto Press, 1963, p. 23 , accessed November 18, 2016 .

further reading

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Atkinson, Joseph E.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Atkinson, Joseph
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian journalist and editor-in-chief
DATE OF BIRTH December 23, 1865
PLACE OF BIRTH Newcastle , Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH May 8, 1948
Place of death Toronto , Canada