Family Ties and Chains of Ownership Irhe Fiposilor from Thomas Hiram Preston to Conrad Moffat Black I 890- 1997
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Family Ties and Chains of Ownership irhe fiposilor from Thomas Hiram Preston to Conrad Moffat Black I 890- 1997 Kathy Lynn English Department of History Subrnitted in partial hlfillrnent of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Faculty of Graduate Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario January, 1998 @ Kathy Lynn English, 1998 Nationai Library Bibliothèque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 WMimStreet 395. rue Wellington Ottawa ON KfA ON4 OtÉawôûN K1AON4 Canada canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to BibIiothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, diskibute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Canada This thesis examines the ownership history of The Expositor, a mid- sized daily newspaper in Brantford. Ontario. In doing so. it explores the demise of independent family ownership of newspapers and the steadily intensifying processes of consolidation within the Canadian newspaper industry through the twentieth century. The thesis follows a chain of ownership of The Expositor from its 1890 purchase by Thomas Hiram Preston through to its 1971 sale to Southam Press Ltd. and onward to its present ownership by Conrad Black's Hollinger Inc. Chapter One details the historiography of Canadian newspaper studies and explains the interdisciplinary nature of this work. It examines the dynamics of concentration and the tension between the newspaper as a business and the newspaper as a public service accountable to the community. Chapter Two focuses on the genesis and development of the Preston family dynasty from 1890 to 1946 when the processes of consalidation emerged. It emphasizes the entrepreneunal skills of T.H. Preston in succeeding in the highiy-cornpetitive newspaper industry that developed in the early century. ... 111 Chapter Three examines the years from 1946 to 1971 when the third generation Prestons inherited and ran the newspaper through a perÎod when family-owned newspapers were increasingly sold to chains. It focuses on the business and family pressures that led tu the sale of their newspaper. Chapter Four covers the period from 1971 to 1997. exploring Southam's ownership of The Expositor and the subsequent takeover of that chain by Hollinger Inc. It concludes that concentration of Canadian newspaper ownership occurred newspaper by newspaper. family by family . as general economic forces and specific business factors caused independent. family newspaper owners to seIl their assets to acquisitive newspaper chains. KEIWORDS: Newspaper ownership, Family business, Brantford Expositor, T.H. Preston, Conrad Black, Southam Inc., Canadian newspaper industry, Ownership concentration. To my husband, Gregg Scrles It is imposstblc for a working mother of two Young children to smbark upon such a project as this without the absolute support of hrr entire family. 1 am deeply ~mtcfulto rn! husband Gregg Serlrs and our chiidren. Samantha and Geoffrq. for C their suppon. encouragement and immense amounts of patience throughout the research and wi ting of this thesis. 1 would especiallv like to thant my advisor Professor J.J.B. Forster. Chair of Graduate Studies, of the University of Western Ontano Department of History, for inspiring me with the possibilitics of business history and encouraging me to sec the business of newspapers in an objective manner His positive. insightful cnticisms were irnmensely hrlpful in prodding me towards clarity of thought. I am gateful to Peter Preston. for sharing his farnily's histop with me in nurnerous intewiews and for providing me with vahable family scrapbooks that docurnented much of the life of T.H. Preston. 1 rnust also thank l-lrpo.sirur librarian Lynn Colwell for allowing me unfettered access to Erposltor clipping files and for assisting me in my searches. As well, 1 appreciate the CO-operationof fffrpo.srror Managing Edi tor David Schultz. My appreciation is also estended to my employer. Ryerson Pol'chnic University, for ganting me a panially-paid leave of absence and tuition assistance to pursue Masten studies. I would also like to thank Ryerson's SRC ( Scholariy, Research and Creative) Cornmittee for awarding me a project gant to assist with research costs. On a furthrr personal note. 1 would like io thank rny dear friend Elaine Bygrave for providing me with accommodation and much-needed respite in London. As well, 1 am grateful to my mother, Barbara Elliott. for canng for my children during my many research trips. Of course. I also appreciate the lifetime of love and encouragement she has given me. It is from her that 1 first Iearned the importance of fami ly ties. LIST OF APPENDICES Appendix A: The Brantford ~kpositor60~ Anniversary Souvenir Program. Appendix B: Toronto Daily Star. November 10, 1925. Appendix C Engraving of new Expositor Building as 1 appeared in The Expositor, 1895. Appendix D: Letters Patent lncorporating Preston and Sons Ltd., 1915. Appendix E: Letter to Mrs. T. H. Preston signed by Expositor employees upon the death of her husband T.H. Preston. Appendix F: Expositor story announcing sale of Expositor to Southam Press. September 13, 1971. Appendix O: Ontario Corporations Act, Corporate Information Retum of Preston and Sons Ltd. for 1971 and 1972, listing members of Boards of Directors immediately before and after sale of Preston and Sons Ltd. to Southam Press. Appendix H: Expositor report announcing finng of publisher William Findlay. January 9, 1997. Appendix 1: Canadian Newspaper Association: Statement of Pnnciples: 1966. Appendix J: Canadian Daily Newspaper Ownership. Selected Statistics. TABLE OF CONTENTS .. CERTIFICATE OFEXAMINATION ................. -.11. ABSTRACT ........................... .111 DEDICATION.. ......................... v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................... .vi LISTOFAPPENDICES ..................... ..vii S.. TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................vil1 CHAPTER ONE Canadian Newspaper Ownership ...........1 1. Prologue: The Expositor at Mid-Century - Looking Back and Beyond .. il. The Interdisciplinary Nature of this Study ........... iii. The Secondary Literature and the Early History of Newspaper Concentration in Canada. ............... iv. Newspaper Families and Newspapermen. .......... v. The Newspaper Industry in the Modem Era and the Dynamics of Concentration. ...................... CHAPTER TWO The Preston Ownership : 1890 - 1946 ........ .26 1 Prologue: Death of aNewspaperman ............. ., Il The Expositor: The Pre-Preston Years ............ iii T.H. Preston: His Early Years ................ iv. T.H. Preston: Editor and Entrepreneur ............. v. T.H.Preston: Public Servant ................ vi. T.H. Preston and the Growth of the Canadian Newspaper lndustry . vii. Death of a Newspaperman ................. S.. v111. W.B. Preston and The Expositor ............... CHAPTERTEIREE The Preston Ownership : 1946 - 1971 . 74 I Farnily Ties and Chains of Ownenhip ........... ii ThePreston Ownership: TheThirdGeneration ......... iü. Chains of Ownership ................... iv. The Price of Succession .................. v. Family Ties ....................... vi. Econornic Factors Leading to Sale .............. vii. TheSale ........................ CHAPTER FOUR ANewOwner. .............. 124 i. Black in Brantford .................... ii. From Davey to Kent ................... iii. Epilogue: Southam to Black ................ iv. Conclusions: Family Ties and Chains of Ownership - T.H.Preston to C. M.Black ..................... APPENDIX A .........................-153 APPENDIX B ........................ .156 APPENDIX C ..........................Et7 APPENDIX E .........................-161 APPENDIX F ......................... 162 APPENDIX G ..........................163 APPENDIX Hm.................m.e.... -165 APPENDIX 1 ..........................167 APPENDIX J ..........................168 CHAPTER ONE i. Prologue: The Expositor at Mid-Century-hoking Bock and Beyond. On the evening of Wednesday November 1. 1950, the entire staff of The Expositor gathered at Brantford's ' Hotel Kerby to commernorate the sixtieth anniversary of what was familiarly known as "The Preston Ownership" of the city's only daily newspaper. Employees from the paper's newsroom, pressroom and composing room. as well as its business office and classified and display advertising departments. who together comprised "The Expositor Family", dined on roast turkey with celery dressing, potato puffs, green peas and creamed cauliflower, completed by a dessert of purnpkin pie with whipped cream. The "Diarnond Jubilee" affair was a lavish and important social occasion in Brantford. Each guest received a handsomely-printed, illustrated souvenir brochure, as well as an inscribed wallet comrnemorating the 1890 purchase of the newspaper by family patriarch Thomas Hiram (T.H.) Preston. A bouquet