RUNNING HEAD: ANAYLIS REPORT-THE GLOBE AND MAIL

AnalysisReport:TheGlobeandMail
KaylaChubbs,JacobDicks,CarolineMacIsaac
RenaissanceCollege:UNB

RCLP1111IntegrativeForum
ChristyClarkeandNathanThompson
December2,2013

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TableofContents
WhoistheGlobeandMail?
HistoryoftheGlobeandMail
Sponsor
Biases
TargetAudience
PurposeandMotivation
Columnists
Currently

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WhoistheGlobeandMail?
TheGlobeandMailisanationallydistributedCanadiannewspaperthathasbeen
inprintfor167years.ItisbasedinTorontoandprintedinsixcitiesacrossthecountry:
Halifax,Montreal,Toronto,Winnipeg,Calgary,andVancouver.ItisCanada'slargest
circulationnationalnewspaperandsecondlargestdailynewspaperaftertheTorontoStar.
TheGlobeandMailisregardedasCanada's"newspaperofpublicrecordmeaningthatit
isapubliclyavailablenewspaperthathasbeenauthorizedbytheCanadiangovernment
topublishpublicorlegalnotices.TheGlobedeliverslivelyandauthoritativecoverageof
national,international,business,technology,arts,entertainment,andlifestylenewsfrom
diverseopinions.ItisanessentialreadforCanadianswhowantindepthreportingonthe
issues,factsandopinionsthataffectourdomesticlandscapeandtheworldatlarge.The
Globehasacumulativesixdayreadershiptotalofalmost3.5million,andreadersare
proclaimedtobeincrediblyloyalwith75percentofcurrentsubscriberssubscribingfor
morethantwoyears,manyofthemformuchlongeraccordingtoTheGlobeandMail.
Thepaperisprintedonsuperbqualitypaperstockshowcasingfullcolorjournalismand
advertisingoneverypage(GlobeandMail,2013).
History
ThepredecessortoTheGlobeandMailwasTheGlobe,foundedin1844by
ScottishimmigrantGeorgeBrown,wholaterbecameaFatherofConfederation.Bythe
1850s,TheGlobehadbecomeanindependentandwellregardeddailynewspaper
targetingaliberalmindedaudience.Itbegandistributionbyrailwaytoothercitiesin

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OntarioshortlyafterConfederation.Intheearlytwentiethcentury,TheGlobeadded
photography,awomen'ssection,andtheslogan"Canada'sNationalNewspaper,"which
remainsonitsfrontpagebannertoday(Careless,2003).In1965,WinnipegFreePress
PublicationsboughttheGlobeandputastrongemphasisontheReportonBusiness
section,therebybuildingthepaper'sreputationasthevoiceofToronto'sbusiness
community.Itremainedthiswayuntil2009whenJohnStackhousereplacedtheGlobe
andMailsEditorinChiefEdGreenspon. Stackhousewasabletoimplementnewsroom
policiesthatbroughtmorebalancetotheirstories.Toooftenstorieswereskewedinfavor
ofbigbusinessorgovernmentwithopposingviewsburiedatthebottomofthestoryor
totallyomitted.Hehadthemeansandauthoritytoreducetheobsessivecoverageof
Ottawaandfederalpolitics(Fillmore,2009).
In1995,thepaperlauncheditsWebsite,globeandmail.com.In2000,theWeb
sitebegancoveringbreakingnewswithitsowncontentandjournalistsinadditiontothe
contentoftheprintnewspaper.In2004,accesstosomefeaturesofglobeandmail.com
becamerestrictedtopaidsubscribersonly.In2012,TheGlobeandMailrelaunchedits
digitalsubscriptionofferingunderthemarketingbrand"GlobeUnlimited"toinclude
partialaccesstoallofitsonlinecontent(GlobeandMail,2013).
Sponsor
In2001,TheGlobeandMailwascombinedwithbroadcastassetsheldbyBell
CanadatoformthejointventureBellGlobemedia.Attheendof2010,theThomson
family,throughitsholdingcompanyWoodbridge,acquireddirectcontrolofTheGlobe
andMailwithan85percentstake.However,Bellcontinuestohold15percent.Currently

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BCE,BellCanadasparentcompany,isbuyingtheportionofCTVglobemediathatit
doesnotownfor$1.3billion,hopingtoprovidevideocontenttomillionsofsubscribers
throughTVsets,onlineandmobiledevices(StarStaff,2011).
Biases
EvenbeforetheGlobebecametheGlobeandMail,thepaperwaswidely
consideredthevoiceoftheUpperCanadaelite,thatis,theBayStreetfinancial
communityofTorontoandtheintellectualsofuniversityandgovernmentinstitutions.
Alsointhepastcentury,thepaperhasconsistentlyendorsedeithertheLiberalPartyor
theProgressiveConservativePartyofCanadaineveryfederalelection.Thepaperhad
endorsedathirdpartyontwooccasionsattheprovinciallevel:itendorsedthesocial
democraticNewDemocraticPartyinthe1991Saskatchewanprovincialelectionand
BritishColumbiaprovincialelection.TheNewDemocratswonbothelectionsandwent
ontoformprovincialgovernments.Duringthe1980sand1990s,thepapercontinuedto
favorsociallyliberalpoliciessuchasdecriminalizingdrugsandexpandinggayrights.In
the1990sandearly2000s,thepapergenerallysupportedthepoliciesofLiberalPrime
Ministers:JeanChrtienandPaulMartin.Inthe2006federalelection,thepaperturned
awayfromtheLiberalstoStephenHarper'sConservativePartyofCanada.Inthe
subsequent2008federalelectionand2011federalelectionthepaper'seditorialboard
endorsedtheConservatives(Wikipedia,2013).
Audience
Thespring2008issueoftheRyersonReviewofJournalismreferencedthe
nickname"OldandMale"forthepaper'semployeebaseandperceivedtargetaudience

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(Rose,2008).Howeveralotofchangeshavebeenmadesincethensuchasadditionof
newsectionsandcolumnists,oneofthesecolumnistsbeingMargretWente.Wente
admitsthatshehadbroughtaboutalotofchangeinthepaperinthisstatement:
Idefinitelyhadadifferenteditingperspectivethanamaleeditorprobablywould
havehad,shesays.Ididnttrytorunafeministmagazine,butIwasalwayslookingfor
womenandotherinterestingpeopletowriteaboutwhowerenotnecessarilywhitemenin
suits(Rose,2008).
SincethelaunchoftheNationalPostasanotherEnglishlanguagenationalpaper
in1998,someindustryanalystshaveproclaimeda"nationalnewspaperwar"between
TheGlobeandMailandtheNationalPost.Thusfar,however,TheGlobeandMailhas
continuedtooutselltheNationalPost(TotalCircforCanadianNewspapers,2013).
PurposeandMotivation
LikeanybusinesswhichtheGlobeandMailisabusiness,andthereisadriveto
makeprofit.Newsandmediaagenciesmaketheirprofitsthroughadvertising.However
whathappenswhenthelinebetweenadvertisingandthefactsgetsblurred?Thatiswhat
happenedintheTuesdayOct.2,2012issue,theGlobecamewithaneightpagesection
headlined"TheFutureoftheOilSands."Thissectionedwaslabeled"AnInformation
Feature"howeveritwasanadvertorialtheindustrytermforanadvertisementpresented
tolooklikejournalism.Thepageswerelinedwithadsfromoilindustriesand
governmentagencies:theCanadianAssociationofPetroleumProducers(CAPP),Statoil,
SustainableDevelopmentTechnologyCanada,DevonEnergyCorporation.Thefullpage
specialonprooilindustrysponsoredbyDevonEnergymakesreadersquestiontheGlobe

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andMailsaccountabilityandtheirdutytomaintainaclearlinebetweeneditorialcontent
andtheinterestsofadvertisers(Sas,2012).
Columnists
TheGlobeandMailhasafewcolumniststhatreportonenergyandbusiness
including:DavidParkinson,ShawnMcCarthy,andJefferyJones.DavidParkinsonhas
beencoveringbusinessandfinancialmarketssince1990,andhasbeenwithTheGlobe
andMailsince2000. ShawnMcCarthyisanOttawabased,nationalbusiness
correspondentforTheGlobeandMail,coveringaglobalenergybeat.Hewriteson
variousaspectsoftheinternationalenergyindustry,fromoilandgasproductionand
refining,tothedevelopmentofnewtechnologies,tothebusinessimplicationsofclimate
changeregulations.JeffreyJonesisaveteranjournalistspecializinginenergy,finance
andenvironmentforTheGlobeandMailsReportonBusiness,basedinCalgary. He
writingnewsfeaturesandanalysisonenergydeals,pipelines,politicsandgeneraltopics
(GlobeandMail,2013).
HoweverTheGlobeandMailalsohashighprofilecolumniststhatwriteabout
threecolumnsaweek.Thenewspaperhadtotakedisciplinaryactionagainstoneofits
highprofilecolumnists,whothepapersaysfellshortofitsjournalisticstandardswhen
shefailedtomakeitclearshewasquotingsomeoneelsesworkinoneofherownpieces.
MargaretWente,wroteacolumnin2009thatcontainedsimilaritiestoonepublishedin
theOttawaCitizenayearearlier.Thesimilaritiesbetweenthetwoarticleswere
highlightedbyCarolWainioonherblogMediaCulpaandquicklyspreadthroughsocial

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media(Ladurantyaye,2012).AsidefromplagiarismMargaretisbestknownfor
provokingheateddebatewithherviewsonhealthcare,education,andsocialissues.
Currently
Inrecentyears,thepaperhasmadechangestoitsformatandlayout,suchasthe
introductionofcolorphotographs,aseparatetabloidbookreviewsectionandthecreation
ofthereviewsectiononarts,entertainmentandculture.Perhapsthiswasdoneinattempt
toappealtoawiderandyoungeraudiencedemographic.Althoughthepaperissold
throughoutCanadaandhaslongcalleditself"Canada'sNationalNewspaper",TheGlobe
andMailalsoservesasaTorontometropolitanpaper,publishingseveralspecialsections
initsTorontoeditionthatarenotincludedinthenationaledition(CompanyOverviewof
TheGlobeandMailInc,2013).Asaresult,itissometimesridiculedforbeingtoo
focusedontheGreaterTorontoArea,givingahumorousportrayalofTorontoniansbeing
blindtothegreaterconcernsofthenation.Criticssometimesrefertothepaperasthe
TorontoGlobeandMailorToronto'sNationalNewspaper(Wikipedia,2013).Recently,
inanefforttogainmarketshareinVancouver;TheGlobeandMailbeganpublishinga
distinctwestcoastedition,editedindependentlyinVancouver,containingathreepage
sectionofBritishColumbianews.ThisshowsthatTheGlobeandMailiscontinuously
evolvingtoadapttothemedianeedsofallCanadians.

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WorksCited
AboutourNewspaper.(2013).TheGlobeandMail.Retrievedfrom
http://www.globelink.ca/newspaper/about/
Careless,J.(2003).GeorgeBrownDictionaryofCanadianBiography,vol.10.
UniversityofToronto/UniversitLaval.Retrievedfrom
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/brown_george_10E.html.
CompanyOverviewofTheGlobeandMailInc.(2013).BloomburgBusinessweek.
Retrievedfrom
http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?
privcapId=7924708
Fillmore,N.(2009).What'sbehindtheshakeupat'Canada'snewspaperofrecord'?
RabbleNews.Retrievedfromhttp://rabble.ca/news/2009/06/shakeglobe
Followyourfavoritebusinessandinvestingreportersandcolumnists.(2013).TheGlobe
andMail.Retrievedfromhttp://www.theglobeandmail.com/reporton

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business/followyourfavouritebusinessandinvestingreportersand
columnists/article4498088/.
Ladurantyaye,S.(2012).GlobetakesactiononallegationsagainstcolumnistMargaret
Wente.TheGlobeandMail.Retrievedfrom
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/globetakesactionon
allegationsagainstcolumnist/article4565683/?service=mobile
Rose,R.(2008)You'veComeALongWay...Arewomenstillbeingpassedoverforthe
topmagazineeditingjobs?Oraretheyjusttoosmarttotakeit?RyersonReview
ofJournalism.Retrievedfromhttp://www.rrj.ca/m4126/.
Sas,J.(2012).Globe'sOilSandsAdvertorialBlursLinesPublicEditorWon'tDiscuss.
TheTyee.Retrievedfromhttp://thetyee.ca/Mediacheck/2012/10/22/GlobeOil
SandsAdvertorial/
StarStaff.(2011).TorstarcompletesfirststageofCTVglobemediasale.TheStar,
Business.Retrievedfrom
http://www.thestar.com/business/2011/01/04/torstar_completes_first_stage_of_ct
vglobemedia_sale.html
TotalCircforCanadianNewspapers.(2013).AllianceforAuditedMedia.Retrieved
fromhttp://abcas3.auditedmedia.com/ecirc/newstitlesearchcan.asp
TheGlobeandMail.(2013).Wikipedia.Retrievedfrom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Globe_and_Mail

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