Editing Toronto Star (section)

===Under Atkinson===
[[File:Joseph Edward Atkinson.jpg|thumb|[[Joseph E. Atkinson]], {{circa|1910s}}. The ''Star'' became Toronto's largest newspaper under his leadership.<ref name=canen/>]]
[[Joseph E. Atkinson|Joseph E. "Holy Joe" Atkinson]], backed by funds raised by supporters of Prime Minister [[Wilfrid Laurier]], bought the paper on December 13, 1899.{{sfn|Archer|1947|p=6}} The supporters included [[George Albertus Cox|Senator George Cox]], [[William Mulock]], [[Peter Charles Larkin]] and [[Timothy Eaton]].<ref>{{Cite DCB |last=Otto |first=Stephen A. |title=Larkin, Peter Charles |volume=15 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/larkin_peter_charles_15E.html}}</ref> Atkinson became the controlling [[shareholder]] of the ''Star''.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wR_-aSFyvuYC&q=joseph+e+atkinson+controlling+shareholder+of+the+star&pg=PA2368 |title=The Canadian Encyclopedia |page=2368 |author=James H. Marsh |year=1999 |publisher=The Canadian Encyclopedia |isbn=9780771020995 |access-date=July 10, 2020}}</ref> The ''Star'' was frequently criticized for practising the [[yellow journalism]] of its era. For decades, the paper included heavy doses of crime and [[sensationalism]], along with advocating social change.

Atkinson was the ''Star''{{'}}s editor from 1899 until his death in 1948.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/about/history-of-the-toronto-star.html |title=History of the Toronto Star |date=September 23, 2016 |website=thestar.com |language=en |access-date=February 29, 2020}}</ref> The newspaper's early opposition and criticism of the [[Nazi Party|Nazi regime]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vhec.org/1936_olympics/the_nazi_state/a_canadian_observer |title=A Canadian Observer |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |publisher=Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre |access-date=September 3, 2011 |archive-date=February 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205135851/http://vhec.org/1936_olympics/the_nazi_state/a_canadian_observer |url-status=dead }}</ref> saw it become one of the first North American papers to be [[Censorship in Nazi Germany|banned in Germany]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thestar.com/anniversary/2017/11/01/125-years-of-speaking-out.html |title=125 years of speaking out |last=Phillips |first=Andrew |date=November 1, 2017 |work=Toronto Star |access-date=January 23, 2018}}</ref> Atkinson had a social conscience. He championed many causes that would come to be associated with the modern [[welfare state]]: [[old age pension]]s, [[Unemployment benefits|unemployment insurance]], and [[health care]]. The [[Government of Canada]] Digital Collections website describes Atkinson as:
<blockquote>a "radical" in the best sense of that term.... The ''Star'' was unique among North American newspapers in its consistent, ongoing advocacy of the interests of ordinary people. The friendship of Atkinson, the publisher, with [[William Lyon Mackenzie King|Mackenzie King]], the [[Prime Minister of Canada|prime minister]], was a major influence on the development of Canadian social policy.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ |title=Bienvenue au site Web Bibliothèque et Archives Canada / Welcome to the Library and Archives Canada website |website=Collections Canada |date=August 30, 2012 |access-date=August 17, 2013 |archive-date=July 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706182206/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ |url-status=dead }}</ref></blockquote>

Shortly before his death in 1948, Joseph E. Atkinson transferred ownership of the paper to a charitable organization given the mandate of continuing the paper's liberal tradition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Powell |first=Betsy |title=Atkinson's will kept Star's resolve |access-date=January 12, 2011 |date=November 6, 2002 |url=https://www.thestar.com/article/542589--atkinson-s-will-kept-star-s-resolve |location=Toronto |newspaper=Toronto Star |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023065908/http://www.thestar.com/article/542589--atkinson-s-will-kept-star-s-resolve |archive-date=October 23, 2012}}</ref> In 1949, the Province of Ontario passed the ''Charitable Gifts Act'',{{efn|The {{Cite canlaw |short title=Charitable Gifts Act |abbr=R.S.O. |year=1990 |chapter=C.8 |link=https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90c08}}, repealed in 2009 by the {{Cite canlaw |short title=Good Government Act, 2009 |abbr=S.O. |year=2009 |chapter=33 |schedule=2 |link=https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/s09033}}}} barring charitable organizations from owning large parts of profit-making businesses,<ref>{{cite web |last=Bourgeois |first=Donald |title=The Charitable Gifts Act: A Commentary |access-date=January 12, 2011 |url=http://www.carters.ca/pub/bulletin/charity/2009/chylb174.htm}}</ref> that effectively required the ''Star'' to be sold.{{efn|But the Act's repeal in 2009 did not mean that charities in Ontario could then set up for-profit companies or pursue business activities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.millerthomson.com/assets/files/newsletter_attachments/issues/Charities_and_Not-For-Profit_December_2009.pdf |title=Ontario Government passes ''Good Government Act'' that includes positive changes for charities |last1=Lazier |first1=Kate |last2=Manwaring |first2=Susan M. |date=December 2009 |publisher=[[Miller Thomson]]}}</ref>}}

Atkinson's will had directed that profits from the paper's operations were "for the promotion and maintenance of social, scientific and economic reforms which are charitable in nature, for the benefit of the people of the province of Ontario" and it stipulated that the paper could be sold only to people who shared his social views.<ref>{{cite news |last=Martin |first=Sandra |date=November 8, 2005 |title=Beland Honderich, 86 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/beland-honderich-86/article1130520/?page=all |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref> The five trustees of the charitable organization circumvented the Act by buying the paper themselves and swearing before the [[Supreme Court of Ontario]] to continue what became known as the "Atkinson Principles":<ref>{{cite web |title=Atkinson Principles |url=http://www.torstar.com/html/social-responsibility/Atkinson_Principles/index.cfm |publisher=[[Torstar]] |access-date=August 2, 2013}}</ref>
[[File:Banting-front-page Toronto Daily Star 1922.jpg|thumb|Front page of the ''Star'' in 1922, covering [[Frederick Banting]]'s accomplishments with [[insulin]]]]
{{col div}}
* 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
{{col div end}}
====Other early media ventures====
Under Atkinson, the ''Star'' launched several other media initiatives, including a weekend supplemental magazine, the ''[[Star Weekly]]'', from 1910 to 1973. From 1922 to 1933, the ''Star'' was also a radio broadcaster on its station [[CFCA (AM)|CFCA]], broadcasting on a [[wavelength]] of 400 [[metre]]s (749.48&nbsp;kHz); its coverage was complementary to the paper's reporting.<ref name="Plummer2014">{{cite web |url=http://torontoist.com/2014/03/historicist-an-invisible-giant/ |title=Historicist: An Invisible Giant |last1=Plummer |first1=Kevin |date=March 22, 2014 |website=torontoist.com}}</ref> The station was closed following the establishment of the [[Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission]] (CRBC) and the introduction of a government policy that, in essence, restricted private stations to an [[effective radiated power]] of 100 [[watt]]s.<ref name="Plummer2014" /> The ''Star'' would continue to supply sponsored content to the CRBC's CRCT station—which later became CBC station [[CBLA-FM|CBL]]—an arrangement that lasted until 1946.<ref name="Plummer2014" />