I see some well informed people in these forums so I am hoping you can help. I'm in the GTA area and would like to subscribe to some newspapers. I sometimes read them online, or at my folks home, but I would like to have them for myself.

I'd say I lean to the side of conservative opinion. From those who have read the National Post, would that be a true statement of that newspaper? I also wouldn't mind seeing what the 'other side' is discussing; would the Globe and Mail pose fair representation, or the Star? (Business articles interest me too, so perhaps the Globe is better?)

I know ultimately I need to make up my own mind, and I'm sure they'll offer at least a few weeks to 'trial' their papers.

Any other puplications or magazines that you know of that would be of use to make one an informed citizen?

Thanks

Since you mention two national papers, I might as well comment although I acknowledge I don't live in the GTA and that obviously limits the relevance of what I say.

I would describe the Globe as "Red Tory", a blend of small 'l' liberal and "c" conservative views. The great thing about the Globe is that they tend to confine their editorializing the op-ed pages and keep the news pages to news. It is also considered the "paper of record" in Canada in the same way that the Washington Post is viewed.

The Post is "C" Conservative as is the case with virtually the entire Canwest operation. The corporate editorial agenda is the corporate editorial agenda.

I can't comment on the local TO papers like the Star much, but I do read their columnists online and there does seem to be some breadth to their commentary.

There is very little left-of-centre media in Canada. There is no left-centre paper of record and very little media that presents the view of the left-of-centre liberal or social democrat. Other than the Tyee, I can't think of anything that presents your "other side".

The National Post has a conservative bias in their editorial pages, of all the papers I read it is the most conservative in viewpoint. The Toronto Sun is also oriented to a conservative viewpoint and I believe the entire Sun chain goes the same way. The Toronto Star is the total opposite, as it is very left wing oriented and close to the NDP in idealogical outlook. The Globe and Mail is probably the most centrist of these papers IMHO.

Helpful thanks.

A Quick call to the Star and the Globe, and they are certainly not jumping with a promotion.

@JohnnyCanuk: I wasn't aware the Globe was a mixture. What I'm getting from you is that if I were to subscribe to ONLY one paper, the Globe is a good bet? Any other worthy reads (even if just to bookmark?)

@gnunn: Not sure if you listen or not, but would you say the National Post's conservative leanings mirror conversations on AM 640?

By mix, I mean that they track small 'c' conservative on economic issues, and small 'l' liberal on social and non-economic political issues.

I can't really provide good Toronto based reads for you as a west coaster. Although I frequently don't agree with the outlook, I find The Tyee (http://thetyee.ca) a brilliant read ... but it's very BC/Vancouver focussed. That would absolutely represent your "opposite view". Of the Canwest papers, I think the Montreal Gazette is the best (although that is a very low bar). Like I said above, I do read some of the Star's columnists for perspective but can't tell you how relevant they are with respect to the GTA and local/regional issues.

For a news source, I would always choose a balanced, objective perspective. Editorial pages are a different matter but too many news sources get news and opinion confused these days. :confused:

The National Post is to the right, the Globe & Mail tacks to the left, the Star and Tyee are way out left. Maclean's magazine is an excellent centre-right source of Canadian news and opinion.

Over the years I have read all four Toronto papers and I'd say:


The Toronto Star is Liberal in both editorial and news.
The National Post is Conservative in both editorial and news
The Globe is pretty neutral in news and right of centre in the editorial
The Toronto Sun is tabloid news with a right wing editorial stance.


BTW, the TO Star is far and away the most read paper in Toronto and most of Ontario.

The star is governed by the Atkinson Principles which promotes


A strong, united and independent Canada
Social justice
Individual and civil liberties
Community and civic engagement
The rights of working people
The necessary role of government


In practice that means a healthy dose of left of centre Liberal politics.

Hugh, sounds like the Star is communist! way, way way out left. Out west we here about the Star as quite a bit on the lunatic fringe!

One main problem with Canada's "national news" is that they are actually Ontario-oriented and only national to a minor, very minor degree.

I don't even know how to respond to that except to say that calling the most read newspaper in the country "communist" or on the "fringe" is just plain ignorance from people who likely have never read the paper.

gbamber, I don't agree with that assessment of the "national news" being so Ontario centric. It is worth pointing out that our nation's capital and our largest population base is in Ontario ... that dictates national coverage to some extent as an inevitability.

However, from a BC perspective, the Globe has the best newspaper columnist in the business after Vaughn Palmer in Gary Mason. Mark Hume is excellent and I am also becoming a fan of Rod Mickleburgh. If one goes one click beyond the front page to the BC section, it is more vibrant and relevant than anything churning out of the Province/Sun/Times-Colonist. I can't comment on whether that's true for the Prairies, but in the GVA, our best local paper is also our national paper.

With respect to your 'lunatic fringe' comments ... that may simply be an Alberta reference (are you from Alberta)? Saskatchewan was the birthplace of the CCF. BC, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba have had multiple NDP governments (some very good (eg. Harcourt/Doer), some very bad (eg. Clark)). There is a strong element of social democrat political representation and activism across Western Canada ... save for Alberta.

I guess I must be conservative. I have only two newspapers book marked - The National Post and the Waterloo Record (for local news). Most of my news is from Google News which I've set up my own personal page.

When there is news that interests me, I will read multiple news sources from the Google links. I could never rely on a single news source for my information.

As far as commentary from the readers on articles, I find the National Post has some witty bantering amongst the regular readers that sometimes makes me laugh out loud - that's why I have it bookmarked. I can't recall anything remarkable about the Toronto Star, I'm sure I've read stories there, just never left any impression for me to care either way.

Thanks for the summaries.

I guess now what I need to decide is how much do I want to spend. The Globe is over $30/month and the Post is about $20/month. I could give both a shot, since I'm finding slim pickings with promotions. I have exposure to the Star already with my parents, and it does represent Liberal perspective in both editorial and news, as hugh says.

I'm also considering magazines. I know through Rogers one can get a decent deal on Maclean's (which is apparently right of centre, according to what I'd read online). For a weekly publication, $43/year isn't that bad (I've written down the author and title of different articles in the past that I enjoyed while waiting in the Dentist, so I already have an idea of what to expect).

The star is governed by the Atkinson Principles which promotes

* A strong, united and independent Canada
* Social justice
* Individual and civil liberties
* Community and civic engagement
* The rights of working people
* The necessary role of government


sounds like the Star is communist! way, way way out left. Out west we here about the Star as quite a bit on the lunatic fringe!
That is to say that Western Canadians want:
* A weak, disparate and subservient Canada (Totally subservient to the US?)
* No social justice (Who needs a legal system, let's just beat the weak and less fortunate and watch them die in the streets while we spend the money we stole.)
* No individual and civil liberties (Let's just jail or beat anyone who disagrees with us. Maybe stockades will get them in line.)
* No community and civic engagement (Who needs that, just let local politicians rule from an ivory tower.)
* No rights for working people ($1 for a 14 hour work day works for Bangladesh. Just whip anyone who doesn't like it in Canada.)
* No role for government (Anarchy works for Somalia. Get your pirate ship and missile launchers before it's too late.)

Johnny Canuck and Hugh offer reasonable advice about the editorial stances of the papers mentioned but the terms "left" and "right" lack a commonly shared definition. Moreover, I fail to see the point of reading opinions that merely mirror those of the reader. To stretch and expand one's worldview requires exposure to different perspectives. Personally, I think looking for the differences between the Post and the Globe is like contrasting white with ivory on a Home Depot colour chart.

asd, very well said and completely accurate, if the Post was a well written newspaper. One of the fundamental problems with most Canwest papers is that they are abysmally written. While Don Martin is a very good writer, he's exception at the Post like Vaughn Palmer is the exception at the Vancouver Sun. I am not simply talking about grammar when I say poorly written (although there is plenty of bad grammar in the papers today), but about balance, intelligence, conveying complex ideas to the lay reader, objectivity, research, accuracy, and sobriety. Preciously scarce notions at Canwest.

Too many readers fall into the habit of reading those papers out of convenience (as in all dailies in their city are Canwest) or of mutual ideology. I read them to try and understand the perspective for the same reason I read the Tyee ... I am fairly comfortable in the merits of my personal value system and ideology, but I feel that way because I am not afraid to expose my core views to challenge. I also read the Seattle Times and the Washington Post ... not because I find myself agreeing, but precisely because I often don't.

The same analogy holds for television news as it does for print. People in the US watch Fox News because they agree with the neo-conservative values of the station. Those are the people that should be watching MSNBC and vice versa. The CBC adds value to the Canadian debate because it is different than what comes from CTV and Global. That's critically important.

That's why the original post was so appealing ... the OP acknowledged out of the gate he was looking for the opposing view to go along with a conservative perspective.

I don't consider Canwest papers to be conservative per se. The Calgary Herald have a liberal (or sensationalistic) writing style that closely follows the Global news reporting style (or lack thereof). The Herald editorial stance is conservative. The Globe (on-line) version can be a piece of tripe from its headline writing to how they bait readers with a series of anti (whomever) pieces. They very much try and get the most mileage out of an issue. Often it is on their pages for days, but barely makes a headline in the Sun or the Herald (prorogation for example). It is very, very liberal in slant and I can only assume it reflects the writer's bias that stems from where they live.

I've found the SUN chain to be overtly conservative in editorial and news story writing. I haven't read the Post that often, but when I have I haven't noticed an overt conservatism to it. That could be because it meshes with my own biases or because it is more to the centre of the spectrum (how Hugh describes the Globe).