The ''Whitehorse Star'' was a newspaper in

Whitehorse Whitehorse () is the capital of Yukon, and the largest city in Northern Canada. It was incorporated in 1950 and is located at kilometre 1426 (Historic Mile 918) on the Alaska Highway in southern Yukon. Whitehorse's downtown and Riverdale areas ...

Yukon Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

, Canada.

History

The newspaper was founded in 1900 about a year after the Klondike Gold Rush ended. The paper was originally called the ''Northern Star'', by was later changed to the ''White Horse Star, Whitehorse Daily Star'' and since 2019 as the ''Whitehorse Star.'' In June 1950, Horace Moore sold the newspaper to Tom Bain, who had been editor of the ''Cambie News'' in Vancouver for 12 years. The new owner doubled the physical paper's size and the number of pages. Circulation rose to 2,300. Bain sold the paper to Harry Boyle of Vancouver in October 1954. Boyle bought a

Linotype machine The Linotype machine ( ) is a "line casting" machine used in printing which is manufactured and sold by the former Mergenthaler Linotype Company and related It was a hot metal typesetting system that cast lines of metal type for one-time use. Li ...

for the paper from the ''Dawson Weekly News'', which had closed. The press was replaced in 1960 by a used Harris offset printing press which a year later allowed The ''Star'' to start publishing twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. Boyle is responsible for The ''Star'' adopting its official motto, "'' Illegitimus non Carborundum''", a

Dog Latin Dog Latin, or cod Latin, is a phrase or jargon that imitates Latin, often by what is referred to as "translating" English words (or those of other languages) into Latin by conjugating or declining them, as if they were Latin words. Dog Latin ...

aphorism meaning "You mustn't let the bastards grind you down". The motto is incorporated into the newspaper's logo, and is displayed on its website. Jackie Pierce owned the ''Whitehorse Star'' from 2002 until her death in 2023. In April 2024, the newspaper announced it will cease and publish its final edition on May 17 after efforts to sell the paper failed and following years of financial difficulties. In response, ex-''Star'' journalist Max Fraser launched the "Save the Star" fundraising campaign on

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with the goal to raise $400,000 to either buy the ''Star,'' or if the effort failed, start a new publication called the ''Yukon Star.'' The ''Stars owners said they will not sell and will close the business as planned. They wished anyone who wanted to start a newspaper in Yukon "the best of luck in rolling out a quality product." The "Save the Star" campaign was paused after raising $17,000. Fraser said he will proceed with "Plan B" to launch a new publication, but would return all money raised if the newspaper failed to materialize. The ''Star's'' building in downtown Whitehorse was put up sale and emptied before July. The ''Yukon Star'' launched with five former ''Whitehorse Star'' staffers hired. The publication was online-only at first but began publishing in print weekly starting in May 2024. The ''Yukon Star'' ceased after four months due to lack of funds.

Notable staff

Flo Whyard, who has served as the mayor of Whitehorse, is among the newspaper's former editors.

Distribution

When it was founded in 1900, the newspaper appeared only once a week, and its progress to Monday through Friday publication occurred in fits and starts; it was issued twice a week for a time, and then three times a week in the 1960s and five times a week from around 1980 to 1982. In 1982, the paper changed to publishing three times a week. The paper returned to publishing five times a week in 1985 until 2019. In 2022 it adopted a Monday-Wednesday-Friday print schedule, with updates on the website on other days. The afternoon newspaper, usually available after 3 p.m., had a cover price of $1.00. In early April 2024, the newspaper announced plans to publish its final edition on May 17, after efforts by co-owner and publisher Michele Pierce to develop a new business strategy to deal with years of financial difficulties blamed on the move of advertising from print to online, or to sell the paper, failed.

Criticism

The ''Star'' has been criticised for publishing racist depictions and opinions about minority groups. In particular Indigenous and Black people. The newspaper has been accused of promoting racist stereotypes about people of colour and targeting non-white Yukoners in its coverage. The newspaper's active online comments section has also been criticized for platforming hateful views against Indigenous people. Yukon residents have noted that the copy editing tables at the Star were decorated with pages from 1980s issues featuring photos of children performing in blackface. The ''Star'' acknowledged that the semi-weekly paper preceding the daily encouraged anti-Asian sentiment. The ''Star'' published frequently on the topics of alleged

Sasquatch Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...

and UFO sightings.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.whitehorsestar.com/ Newspapers published in Yukon Mass media in Whitehorse Newspapers established in 1900 Daily newspapers published in Canada 1900 establishments in Yukon Publications disestablished in 2024