July 4, 2008 Front Page |
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| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner | Quebecor Media Inc. |
| Editor | Paul Berton |
| Founded | 1847 |
| Political alignment | Centre Right [1] |
| Headquarters | London, Ontario |
| Circulation | 115,000 |
| Official website | www.lfpress.com |
The London Free Press is a daily newspaper based in London, Ontario, Canada.
The London Free Press began as the Canadian Free Press, founded by William Sutherland in 1847. It first began printing as a weekly newspaper in 1849. In 1852, it was purchased for $500 by Josiah Blackburn, who renamed it The London Free Press and Daily Western Advertiser. In 1855 Blackburn turned the weekly newspaper into a daily.
From 1863 to 1936 The London Free Press competed for readership with the London Advertiser, which was a daily evening newspaper. The Free Press has usually been a morning paper, but for many years, it also published an evening paper. Both morning and evening editions were published from the 1950s through to 1981, when the evening edition was permanently retired.
The Blackburn family was also involved in other forms of media in London. They established CFPL in 1933, CFPL-FM in 1948 and CFPL-TV in 1953. The radio stations are now owned by Corus Entertainment, and the television station is owned by CHUM Limited.
The sudden death of publisher Martha Blackburn in the summer of 1992 due to a heart attack after water skiing on Lake Huron, set the stage for the eventual sale of the family owned newspaper.
In 1997 the Blackburn family sold the newspaper to Sun Media Corporation, with new, London-born publisher John Paton introducing a Sunday edition. Shortly thereafter, Sun Media was purchased by Quebecor Inc. during the Canadian newspaper wars of 1997. Today, The London Free Press is owned by Quebecor Media Inc.
The London Free Press currently has an average daily circulation of about 115,000. It is the largest newspaper in Southwestern Ontario outside of Toronto and is Western Ontario's main regional newspaper.
In late August 2005, Quebecor announced that, starting in 2007, The London Free Press would no longer be printed locally at its press at 369 York Street; instead it would be printed at a new press facility to be built north of Toronto, resulting in a loss of 180 local jobs. However, in September 2007, this move has been suspended to allow the Free Press to present a business case for the printing department and staff's retention.
As of 2008, the publisher of the newspaper is Susan Muszak, the editor-in-chief is Paul Berton, and the managing editor is Joe Ruscitti.
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