Belleville Intelligencer

''The Intelligencer'' (locally nicknamed the ''Intell'') is the daily (except on Sundays and certain holidays) newspaper of Belleville, Ontario, Canada. The paper is regarded mainly as a local paper, stressing local issues over issues of more national or international scope.

History

The ''Belleville Intelligencer'' was founded in 1834 by George Benjamin, who, after just arriving in the city, is said to have stopped in at a hotel and asked to purchase the local newspaper. He was then informed of the young city's lack of a local newspaper, as several attempted newspaper publications turned out to have been short lived and had failed. This innocent question eventually led to George Benjamin establishing the Intelligencer in 1834, although it was originally regarded as another attempt that was likely destined for failure in the long run.

Many newspapers predated the ''Intelligencer'' in Belleville, and all folded quickly. The first recorded paper was ''The Anglo-Canadian'' in 1829 which folded within a year. Other attempts included ''The Phoenix'' in 1831, ''The Hastings Times and Farmers' Journal'' in 1833, and finally ''The Standard of Moira'' which lasted only six weeks in 1834. These previous failed newspaper publications dampened the original public opinion of the Intelligencer, although the outlooks eventually lightened.

The ''Intelligencer'' originally consisted of only four small pages and was originally only a weekly publication. In 1897, D'Alton Corry Coleman became city editor for the ''Intelligencer'' at age 18. Later on it would be sold to a young Sir MacKenzie Bowell (a future Canadian Prime Minister), who had come to work for George Benjamin at the ''Intelligencer''. It has also been stated that MacKenzie Bowell's political career started at the ''Intelligencer'', with its then firm political views. After obtaining the ''Intelligencer'' MacKenzie Bowell would remain its owner until 1917 the year of his death at the age of 94.

The media group Sun Media purchased the newspaper in 2009. The purchase moved the paper's editorial policy significantly to the right.
In spring 2014, the ''Intelligencer'' and other Sun Media properties were sold to Postmedia, owner of The ''National Post'' in Toronto.
The ''Intelligencer''s current advertising director is Gerry Drage, its managing editor W. Brice McVicar.

In September 2017, PostMedia transferred the ''Intelligencer''s distribution to a private distribution company. Big Creek Services Corporation is based in Napanee Ontario and manages the distribution of 5 of PostMedia's newspapers and has a network of almost 500 on contract newspaper carriers.

See also

*List of newspapers in Canada
* Belleville, Ontario#Media

References

External links

*
ISSN 0839-1912The Intelligencer

{{DEFAULTSORT:Intelligencer Belleville
Mass media in Belleville, Ontario
Newspapers established in 1834
Daily newspapers published in Ontario
Postmedia Network publications
1834 establishments in Canada