La Presse (Canadian newspaper)

La Presse is a digital newspaper as well as a website and a mobile app, aimed at an educated, middle-class readership. Its main competitor is the daily tabloid Le Journal de Montréal, which aims at a more populist audience. La Presse comprises several sections, dealing individually with arts, sports, business and economy and other themes. Its Saturday print edition (now discontinued) contained over 10 sections.

The newspaper's website, www.lapresse.ca, operates as a company-wide portal which publishes news and editorial content.

La Presse offices in Old Montreal. The black plate to the right of the door shows the logo used from the 1960s until the mid-1980s. The logo over the door was used from the late 1980s until the 1990s.

The paper was founded on October 20, 1884 by William-Edmond Blumhart. Trefflé Berthiaume took over in 1889. The fledgling newspaper's circulation would soon pass that of its main competitor of the time, La Patrie.

In April 1901, the paper organized a cruise to Quebec City (Croisière de La Presse). It also organized a charity to give Christmas gifts to poor children (L'Oeuvre des étrennes aux enfants pauvres).

A front-page illustration on December 3, 1904 issue celebrated the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The practice of the time was to have an illustration on the front page, rather than a photograph.

The style and presentation have changed immensely during the course of the 20th century. It underwent a complete graphic remodelling in 1986, and again in 2003.

From 1984 to 2014, La Presse every year honoured a "Person of the Year," for example, Julie Payette, Daniel Langlois and Gaétan Boucher. In 1984, it also published a commemorative book in order to celebrate its 100th anniversary. A similar book was published by Éditions La Presse to recap the major events of the 20th century.

In 2001, with the arrival of news editor Guy Crevier, the newspaper began a radical remodelling.[2] The graphic design was modernized, new sections were created, international coverage was greatly increased,[2] and many new young, up-and-coming journalists were hired. These changes had a significant positive impact on quality and circulation, to the point that the paper is now considered a rival to Le Devoir for the title of Quebec's newspaper of record.[3]

In 2011, La Presse was chosen as the flagship brand and leveraged on all media platforms. Cyberpresse.ca becomes LaPresse.ca.

In 2013, La Presse launched La Presse+, an all-new free digital edition for iPad that redefined the way users get their information.

The newspaper announced in September 2015 that it would end its weekday print edition in 2016 and that thereafter the weekday paper would be available only in digital form.[4] The Saturday edition continued in print until 2017. Its last Saturday print edition was published on December 30, 2017.[5]

On May 8, 2018, it was announced that La Presse would become a nonprofit organization and severe ties with its owner, Power Corporation. This move allowed the newspaper to accept private donations and governmental support.[6]

La Presse's offices in Old Montreal with 1986–1999 logo.

The editorial board of La Presse has been consistently supportive of Canadian federalism over the past 25 years, though individual columnists may freely express less sympathy. The newspaper's editorials endorsed the federalist option in both the 1980 Quebec referendum and the 1995 Quebec referendum which were held on the issue of Quebec's national-sovereignism.

The editorial board leaves room for the whole spectrum of opinions. It supported same-sex marriage legislation in Canada, the protests against the War in Iraq,[7] and criticized both sides in the 2012 Quebec student protests. In January 2006, the paper endorsed the Conservative Party in the 2006 election.[8] This was primarily out of a reasoning that the Canadian government was in need of a necessary change after more than 12 years of Liberal Party of Canada rules. Similarly, with Stephen Harper's Conservatives having been in power for nine years at the time, La Presse endorsed Justin Trudeau's Liberal Party in the 2015 election.[9]

François Cardinal is currently the editor-in-chief. Noted journalists associated with the paper include Patrick Lagacé, Yves Boisvert, Agnès Gruda and Lysiane Gagnon.

The newspaper's television production arm, La Presse Télé, has produced the series Dumont, hosted by former politician Mario Dumont, for the Quebec television network V (formerly TQS).[10] This division, that had changed its name to LP8 Média, was sold to Attraction Images in 2014.

• List of Quebec media
• List of newspapers in Canada

• Official website