Today, more and more people are getting their news online. But back in Barrie's early days, there were quite a few papers jockeying for people's attention and The Barrie Examiner was one of the first.
The history of the Barrie Examiner
Founded in 1864, The Barrie Examiner was created by publisher William Manley Nicholson. He hoped to take on the Northern Advance, which already held a strong presence in the community.
This was no easy feat. In the late 1800s, publishers used molten lead to create lines of text, which were then used to press ink to paper. But only after the compositor laid out the text and images and a proof reader went through everything with a fine toothed comb. A steam engine would then drive the printing machine to produce papers out of recycled Toronto newsprint.
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The paper changed hands several times over the next few decades. By 1909, The Examiner, then owned by James Alexander MacLaren, was one of four local papers. It's rivals included the Advance, the Gazette and Saturday Morning.
Fire doesn't keep the Examiner down for long
In 1914, only two days before the start of World War I, a fire started at McLean and DeHart Garage. It quickly spread to the Massey-Harris Showroom and eventually the Examiner. The fire caused extensive damage to the building and equipment used by the paper.
Rival publishers came to The Examiner's aid in the aftermath of the fire. They printed smaller versions of their weekly paper in the Gazette office before, Fred and William Walls, owners of Saturday Morning, offered up their space. They allowed Examiner staff to use a basement office, composing room, and press equipment so they could continue publishing.
Six months later the two papers joined forces to publish The Barrie Examiner and Saturday Morning. Eventually shortened back to The Examiner, their partnership lasted for 25 years.
In 1917, the Gazette was no longer publishing, and in 1940, The Examiner bought the Northern Advance, making it Barrie's only paper.
During World War II, and in the years after, The Examiner would continue to grow.
By 1948, they would begin publishing twice a week. And in 1952, they increased their publications to three times a week(on Monday, Wednesday and Friday). That same year, the Examiner won the Mason Trophy, which recognizes Canada's best all-around papers, for the 6th time.
In 1957, Thomson Newspaper bought the Examiner and opened a modern printing plant at 16 Bayfield St. A year later, the paper was publishing daily.
A new newspaper comes to town
In 1962, The Shopping News arrived in Barrie. This new publication was later purchased and renamed The Banner, before becoming the Advance, which operated until 2023.
In 1995, the Examiner was sold to Conrad Black, a well-known Canadian businessman. Four years later, in 1999, the paper moved from 16 Bayfield to 571 Bayfield St North before being sold again in 2001 to Osprey Media Group Inc.
After passing hands two more times, the Examiner was sold to Torstar in 2017. Immediately following the acquisition, Torstar subsidiary, Metroland Media Group, announced the closure of the Examiner.
If you want to learn more about The Barrie Examiner and all of Barrie’s history, head over to the Barrie Historical Archives, Barrie’s online museum. It’s full of pictures, videos, audio, and documents spanning nearly 200 years and it’s completely free!
You can also find old editions of the Barrie Examiner in the Library's Historical Newspaper Archive.
Be sure to check back soon for more in our Barrie Through the Ages series and we'll also be updating this interactive map so you can explore Barrie’s history yourself!
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