Sotiron describes how, in their drive to maximize profits, publishers abandoned partisan politics and adopted sensationalistic journalism to build audiences for advertisers. He analyses the changes newspapers underwent in both content and appearance as the number of "fluff" pieces increased and hard news stories decreased, headlines became larger, prose became simpler, and illustrations and photographs became more abundant. From Politics to Profit highlights the increasingly powerful role of the press barons - Lord Atholstan, John Ross Robertson, Joseph Atkinson, Walter Nichol, Clifford Sifton, and the Southam family. Sotiron provides a case study of the first Canadian newspaper chain, which formed the basis for modern mass communication empires, and shows how the Southams contributed to the disappearance of independent newspapers in Canada.

Minko Sotiron is professor of history, John Abbott College.

Minko Sotiron's profile page

"An interesting and interestingly presented historical overview of the changes in the Canadian newspaper industry. It is a well-written piece of work on an important subject that contributes to the slowly accumulating body of Canadian literature concerning Canada's media." Walter Romanow, professor emeritus, Department of Communication Studies, University of Windsor. "The author provides an important new perspective on the relationship of the press and politics in the twentieth century and nicely balances the role of publishers as agents of change with imperatives of the changing structures of the period." John Taylor, Department of History, Carleton University.

"An interesting and interestingly presented historical overview of the changes in the Canadian newspaper industry. It is a well-written piece of work on an important subject that contributes to the slowly accumulating body of Canadian literature concerning Canada's media." Walter Romanow, professor emeritus, Department of Communication Studies, University of Windsor.
"The author provides an important new perspective on the relationship of the press and politics in the twentieth century and nicely balances the role of publishers as agents of change with imperatives of the changing structures of the period." John Taylor, Department of History, Carleton University.