Canadian Press
Encyclopedia


Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...

. The new board met for the first time on Monday, November 29, 2010 to review the operations of the Canadian Press.

The Canadian Press (often abbreviated as CP), known in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 as La Presse Canadienne (PC), is a national news agency
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...

 headquartered in Toronto. It was established in 1917 as a vehicle to permit Canadian newspapers of the day to exchange their news and information. For most of its history, The Canadian Press has been a private, not-for-profit cooperative
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...

, owned and operated by its member newspapers. In mid-2010, however, it announced plans to become a for-profit business owned by three media companies once certain conditions are met.

On November 26, 2010, Torstar Corporation, The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...

 and Square Victoria Communications Group announced they have invested in a new for-profit entity, Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., to take over the operations of the Canadian Press.

Over the years, The Canadian Press and its affiliates have adapted to reflect changes in the media industry, technological change and the growing appetite for rapid news updates. It currently offers a wide variety of text, audio, photographic and graphic content to websites, radio, television, and commercial clients in addition to newspapers and its long-standing ally, The Associated Press (AP), a global news service based in the United States.

History

Created by an act of Parliament
Parliament of Canada
The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

 and by means of an annual financial grant from the government from 1917 to 1924, the news co-operative was formed to help newspapers cover and distribute news across the vast country. Previously, Canada had regional news associations but no national wire service.

Initially operating as a distribution network, its first editorial staff came on board during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 to report on the efforts of Canadian soldiers overseas. With the arrival of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

, The Canadian Press created a subsidiary, Broadcast News, to deliver text specifically written for broadcasters, as well as the production of newscasts and audio clips. The Canadian Press operates in both English and French, Canada's official languages; the French Service was established in 1951 and is named La Presse Canadienne (abbreviated as PC). The Canadian Press has a staff of more than 250 journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

s in its bureaus across Canada, as well as a correspondent in Washington, D.C. The news agency operated a bureau in London, England, until 2004, and has had reporters covering the Canadian mission in Afghanistan since 2002.

Operation

In addition to providing news to newspapers, TV and radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...

, The Canadian Press provides online news and photos. It introduced this online breaking news service in 1996 and now its multimedia content is published by most major Canadian news websites. The Canadian Press launched breaking news video in 2007, with clips produced specifically for websites and wireless services.

On June 30, 2007, CanWest left The Canadian Press cooperative.

In September 2007, The Canadian Press launched a rebranding campaign in an effort to stay competitive, notably in the wake of the pullout by the CanWest Global's newspaper, television and online news outlets (see below). All of its services, including radio networks Broadcast News and Nouvelles télé-radio, were rolled into a single brand: The Canadian Press. The change marked the end of the familiar (CP) service logo.

The Canadian Press also operates the largest online editorial archive of news pictures shot by photojournalists. It was the first in Canada to develop this online archive in 1996 and now it is home to over two million digital images with hundreds of images added each day. These photos appear in newspapers, books and magazines, and online.

Through a longstanding partnership, The Canadian Press is the exclusive distributor of The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...

 (AP) and Associated Press Television News
Associated Press Television News
Associated Press Television News, abbreviated as either AP Television News or APTN, is a global video news agency.-About:AP Television News is the video division of the Associated Press. It provides many of the world's broadcasters with a round-the-clock continuous feed of news, sports,...

 (APTN) material in Canada. The AP is the exclusive distributor of The Canadian Press in the United States and worldwide.

In addition to news and information, The Canadian Press publishes the Stylebook and Caps and Spelling book, which are considered the chief style guides for Canadian journalists, public relations professionals, editors and writers of all disciplines.

Through an alliance with The Canadian Press since 2004, Marketwire
Marketwire
Marketwire is a full-service newswire and communications workflow solutions company headquartered in Toronto, Canada with offices throughout Canada, the United States, South America, and Asia. Marketwire was founded in 1993 and incorporated in the U.S in 1999...

 is the only news release distributor with exclusive access to send press releases and PR photos on behalf of clients over the same Canadian Press Wire Network used to deliver Canadian Press news copy directly into the editorial systems of more than 600 newspapers, radio and TV stations and websites across Canada.

On March 11, 2009, Sun Media
Sun Media
Sun Media Corporation is the owner of several widely read tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49 percent owner of Sun News Network...

 announced that it would also be pulling out of the cooperative.

In July of 2010, a tentative deal was struck between The Canadian Press's three largest stakeholders, CTVglobemedia
CTVglobemedia
CTVglobemedia , was one of Canada's largest private media companies. Its operations include newspaper publishing , television broadcasting and production , radio broadcasting , and their respective Internet properties.Originally established by BCE and the Thomson family in 2001 combining CTV Inc.,...

, Torstar
Torstar
Torstar Corporation is an independently-owned Canadian broadly based media company that is named after its principal holding, the Toronto Star daily newspaper....

 and Gesca, to transform the newswire from a co-operative into a for-profit entity.

On November 26, 2010, Torstar Corporation, The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...

and Square Victoria Communications Group announced they have invested in a new for-profit entity, Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., to take over the operations of the Canadian Press. The change in the ownership structure from a non-profit co-operative to a for-private business will allow the company to cover its pension needs and take advantage of future business opportunities, Phillip Crawley, publisher of The Globe and Mail, said in a interview, November 26, 2010. Canadian Press had a serious pension shortfall, which was, in 2010, valued at $34.4 million.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK