'', founded in
1884 , is a large-circulation
French-language daily newspaper published in
Montreal ,
Quebec . It is owned today by
Groupe Gesca , a subsidiary of
Power Corporation Of Canada .
''La Presse'' is a
Broadsheet newspaper, aimed at a
Middle-class readership. Its main competitor is the
Tabloid ''
Le Journal De Montreal '', which aims at more popular audience. ''La Presse'' is comprised of several sections, dealing individually with arts, sports, and other thematic sections.
The paper was founded on
October 20th 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 of
1901 , the paper organised a
Cruise to
Québec City ''(Croisière de La Presse)''. It also organised a
Charity to give
Christmas gifts to poor children ''(L'Oeuvre des étrennes aux enfants pauvres)''.
A front-page illustration on the
December 3rd ,
1904 issue celebrated the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the
Dogma of
Immaculate Conception . The practice of the time was to have an illustration on the front page, rather than a photograph.
The style and presentation of the newspaper have changed immensely during the course of the
20th Century . It underwent a complete graphic remodeling in
1986 , and again in
2003 .
Since 1984, ''La Presse'' has every year honoured one "Person of the year". In the past, it has honoured
Julie Payette ,
Daniel Langlois and
Gaétan Boucher . That same year, it 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 new editor
Guy Crevier , the newspaper began a radical remodeling. The graphic design was modernized, new sections were created, international coverage was greatly increased, and hired many new young, up-and-coming journalists. These changes ahd a significant positive impact on quality and circulation, especially amount young adult readers.
''La Presse'' has been consistently opposed to
Quebec Sovereignty over the past 25 years (though individual columnists may sometimes express sympathy). The newspaper endorsed the
Federalist option in both the
1980 Quebec Referendum and the
1995 Quebec Referendum which were held on the ''
National Question ''..
Otherwise, the editorial bent is somewhat
Leftist and
Liberal , especially on
Social Issues , as is usual in
Quebec . It recently supported
Same-sex Marriage legislation in
Canada and the student strike, but was opposed to the
War In Iraq . It leans somewhat more towards
Right-of-centre on
Fiscal Issues . In January of
2006 , the paper endorsed the
Conservative Party in the
2006 Election . This was primarily out of a reasoning that the Canadian government is in need of a necessary change after more than 12 years of Liberal rule.
In April of 2006 La Presse endorsed
Bob Rae for leader of the
Liberal Party Of Canada to replace
Paul Martin . The endorsement came quite early.
Gerard Kennedy and
Ken Dryden had yet to even officially declare their candidacies. Some believe Bob's brother
John Rae , who sits on the board of directors of
Power Corporation Of Canada , which owns La Presse, may have exerted some influence in this decision. However, Rae had been popular among the
Chattering Classes in
Quebec long before he became a candidate for the leadership.
André Pratte is currently the chief editorialist. Regular columnists include
Vincent Marissal ,
Alain Dubuc ,
Pierre Foglia and
Lysianne Gagnon .
Claude Picher and
Sophie Cousineau write regular columns on
Economic Issues .
