A newspaper empire began with The Spectator
William Southam bought the struggling daily in 1877, and ended up owning 17 daily and 56 community newspapers
When William Southam bought The Hamilton Spectator in 1877, he vowed to turn the struggling paper around.
He did that and a whole lot more. Under Southam, the Spectator prospered, hiring a colourful collection of editors that included veterans of the American Civil War and the Red River Rebellion, a Horace Greeley protégé and even a baronet.
William Southam (1843-1932) came from humble beginnings, starting his career as a newspaper carrier at the London Free Press and advancing to the printing shop. He worked hard and saved his money, and one day he had a chance to buy an interest in the paper.
Opportunity knocked again in Hamilton, where The Spectator was in financial trouble and looking for a buyer. Southam got a partner, threw in his Free Press stake and $5,000, and ended up with control.
The Dictionary of Hamilton Biography (DHB) entry on Southam says he “improved the Spectator’s coverage of national and local events, in accordance with his belief that a local paper should never forget the hometown. He would have made more money if he had used his considerable business talents in a more lucrative field than publishing, but publishing gave him the vehicle to preach his gospel of community service, nationalism, fitness and industry.”
He was a major philanthropist in the city. Among his many donations was a $15-million bequest to Hamilton General Hospital in 1907.
Southam lived at a stone mansion at Jackson Street and Caroline Street South that was home to CHCH TV. He would go on to not only change newspaper journalism in Hamilton, but across the country as well.
By 1897, Southam began acquiring other newspapers, including the Ottawa Citizen, Calgary Herald, Edmonton Journal and Vancouver Province. Southam Inc. was created in 1904 and it grew into one of the largest newspaper chains in Canada, eventually overseeing 17 daily newspapers and 56 community newspapers. In 2000, Southam Newspapers was broken up with Canwest ending up with the largest portion. Today, many of the former Southam newspapers are owned by Postmedia News. Southam’s first newspaper, The Spectator, is owned by the Torstar, publishers of The Toronto Star.