The Record (Waterloo Region)
Encyclopedia
The Waterloo Region Record is the daily newspaper
covering Waterloo Region
, Ontario
, Canada
, including the cities of Kitchener
, Waterloo
and Cambridge
, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the Record has been published by Metroland Media Group
, a subsidiary of Torstar
Corporation.
In 1896, at the time of Moyer's death, three newspapers existed in the city of Berlin (now Kitchener): the Berlin Daily Telegraph, the Berlin Daily Record and Moyer's Daily News. Due to financial pressures, by 1897 the latter two had merged to become the Berlin News Record, run by William (Ben) Uttley, publisher of the Berlin Daily Record and local historian. Retiring in October 1919, Uttley sold the newspaper to W.J. Motz and William D. Euler, who renamed it The Kitchener Daily Record.
In 1922, the Daily Record took over the Daily Telegraph, leaving it the only newspaper of significant size serving the community. On April 2, 1929, the newspaper moved from 49 King St. West to what was at the time considered the most modern printing operation in the country (using a 24-page press) at 30 Queen St. North. Motz and Euler fought over control of the newspaper for the next two decades, with the former eventually winning majority interest. Euler sold his stock to Southam Co. in 1953, leaving Motz's son, John E. Motz, the sole director of the rapidly growing daily.
On January 1, 1948, John Motz changed the name of the newspaper once again, to The Kitchener-Waterloo Record (to mark the occasion of Waterloo's designation as a city), a name which remained until the change to The Record, in 1994. During this period the 24-page press would be replaced first by a 48-page press in the 1950s, a 96-page press in 1961-1962, and a 128-page press in 1973. In 1962 it was the first company in Canada to use plastic sleeves to protect newspapers bound for rural addresses.
Ownership had been in the hands of the Motz family for generations until 1990, when the paper was sold to Southam in a $90 million deal. Conrad Black
's Hollinger Inc.
took a controlling interest in Southam during the period when it owned The Record. The paper was acquired by Sun Media
in 1998, but Sun itself was bought by Quebecor
soon after, and The Record was sold to Torstar
before the end of the year.
On June 3, 2002, The Record switched from being an afternoon newspaper to morning one.
In January 2005, the paper was moved to Market Square on King Street East in Kitchener's downtown core. It had been based on Fairway Road in Kitchener since May 1973. The paper was printed at that location on a letterpress
system until 2000, when printing was moved to offset presses
in Vaughan
. Printing later moved to Hamilton
and Guelph
. The building on Fairway was demolished in September 2005.
On March 11, 2008, the name was changed to the Waterloo Region Record, returning the community name to the nameplate
.
for meritorious public service in journalism four times: 1978, 1981 (shared), 1983, and 2001. It received the 2001 award for breaking the story on the RIM Park
financing fiasco.
. Most magazine, for women over 40, was launched in the spring of 2008. Rex is scheduled to suspend publication after the April 2009 issue. All magazines are distributed independently of the newspaper.
Both the Cambridge Times
and the Record are owned and published by Metroland Media Group
but keep separate newsrooms and operations.
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
covering Waterloo Region
Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, including the cities of Kitchener
Kitchener, Ontario
The City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
, Waterloo
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
and Cambridge
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
, as well as the surrounding area. Since December 1998, the Record has been published by Metroland Media Group
Metroland Media Group
Metroland Media Group, also referred to as Metroland is a publisher of daily and weekly community newspapers, as well as several speciality products and services, in the southern part of the Canadian province of Ontario...
, a subsidiary of Torstar
Torstar
Torstar Corporation is an independently-owned Canadian broadly based media company that is named after its principal holding, the Toronto Star daily newspaper....
Corporation.
History
The Record traces its history back to the founding of Daily News, first published on February 9, 1878, by former Methodist preacher Peter Moyer at a printing press located at King and Ontario streets in Berlin (now Kitchener). This would be the city's first daily newspaper, and Canada's first bilingual daily as it was supplemented with a full page of German news for the first eight months of its life.In 1896, at the time of Moyer's death, three newspapers existed in the city of Berlin (now Kitchener): the Berlin Daily Telegraph, the Berlin Daily Record and Moyer's Daily News. Due to financial pressures, by 1897 the latter two had merged to become the Berlin News Record, run by William (Ben) Uttley, publisher of the Berlin Daily Record and local historian. Retiring in October 1919, Uttley sold the newspaper to W.J. Motz and William D. Euler, who renamed it The Kitchener Daily Record.
In 1922, the Daily Record took over the Daily Telegraph, leaving it the only newspaper of significant size serving the community. On April 2, 1929, the newspaper moved from 49 King St. West to what was at the time considered the most modern printing operation in the country (using a 24-page press) at 30 Queen St. North. Motz and Euler fought over control of the newspaper for the next two decades, with the former eventually winning majority interest. Euler sold his stock to Southam Co. in 1953, leaving Motz's son, John E. Motz, the sole director of the rapidly growing daily.
On January 1, 1948, John Motz changed the name of the newspaper once again, to The Kitchener-Waterloo Record (to mark the occasion of Waterloo's designation as a city), a name which remained until the change to The Record, in 1994. During this period the 24-page press would be replaced first by a 48-page press in the 1950s, a 96-page press in 1961-1962, and a 128-page press in 1973. In 1962 it was the first company in Canada to use plastic sleeves to protect newspapers bound for rural addresses.
Ownership had been in the hands of the Motz family for generations until 1990, when the paper was sold to Southam in a $90 million deal. Conrad Black
Conrad Black
Conrad Moffat Black, Baron Black of Crossharbour, OC, KCSG, PC is a Canadian-born member of the British House of Lords, and a historian, columnist and publisher, who was for a time the third largest newspaper magnate in the world. Lord Black controlled Hollinger International, Inc...
's Hollinger Inc.
Hollinger Inc.
Hollinger Inc. was a Canadian media company based in Toronto. It was created by the Canadian businessman Conrad Black as a holding company for his media interests after he acquired control of The Daily Telegraph in 1986. It was the parent company of Chicago-based Hollinger International, whose...
took a controlling interest in Southam during the period when it owned The Record. The paper was acquired by Sun Media
Sun Media
Sun Media Corporation is the owner of several widely read tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49 percent owner of Sun News Network...
in 1998, but Sun itself was bought by Quebecor
Quebecor
Quebecor Inc. is a communications company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was founded by Pierre Péladeau, and remains run by his family. Quebecor Inc. owns 55% of Quebecor Media Inc...
soon after, and The Record was sold to Torstar
Torstar
Torstar Corporation is an independently-owned Canadian broadly based media company that is named after its principal holding, the Toronto Star daily newspaper....
before the end of the year.
On June 3, 2002, The Record switched from being an afternoon newspaper to morning one.
In January 2005, the paper was moved to Market Square on King Street East in Kitchener's downtown core. It had been based on Fairway Road in Kitchener since May 1973. The paper was printed at that location on a letterpress
Letterpress printing
Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image...
system until 2000, when printing was moved to offset presses
Offset printing
Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique in which the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface...
in Vaughan
Vaughan, Ontario
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
. Printing later moved to Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...
and Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
. The building on Fairway was demolished in September 2005.
On March 11, 2008, the name was changed to the Waterloo Region Record, returning the community name to the nameplate
Nameplate
A nameplate identifies and displays a person or product's name. Name plates are usually shaped as rectangles but are also seen in other shapes, sometimes taking on the shape of someone’s name...
.
Awards
The Record has won the Michener AwardMichener Award
The Michener Award is one of the highest distinctions in Canadian journalism. The award was founded in 1970 by Roland Michener, who was Governor General of Canada at the time, and his wife Norah...
for meritorious public service in journalism four times: 1978, 1981 (shared), 1983, and 2001. It received the 2001 award for breaking the story on the RIM Park
RIM Park
RIM Park is a 500-acre city park facility on the northeast side of the city of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, close to the neighbourhood of Eastbridge. Key facilities and features include the Manulife Financial Sportsplex and Healthy Living Centre, the heritage Mennonite Martin farm, and the Grey Silo...
financing fiasco.
Other publications
In November 2005, the Record began publishing Grand, a regional lifestyle magazine. It followed that with the March 2006 launch of Rex, a business magazine covering Waterloo Region and GuelphGuelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
. Most magazine, for women over 40, was launched in the spring of 2008. Rex is scheduled to suspend publication after the April 2009 issue. All magazines are distributed independently of the newspaper.
Both the Cambridge Times
Cambridge Times
Cambridge Times is a local newspaper in Southern Ontario serving the community of Cambridge, Ontario. The paper replaced the Cambridge Reporter as the local paper under the Metroland Media Group and owned Torstar Corporation.-History:...
and the Record are owned and published by Metroland Media Group
Metroland Media Group
Metroland Media Group, also referred to as Metroland is a publisher of daily and weekly community newspapers, as well as several speciality products and services, in the southern part of the Canadian province of Ontario...
but keep separate newsrooms and operations.