After 126 years in business, the Toronto Star has named its first female editor-in-chief. Irene Gentle was named to the position, taking the post following the resignation of longtime editor Michael Cooke.
As she told Media in Canada: “I want to be at the forefront of the fight for credibility.”
The Star still has a strong and loyal readership base – Vividta’s most recent quarterly readership study put the paper at 1.76 million readers reached during an average weekday (print and digital), making it the highest-read Ontario newspaper. But that strength in readers hasn’t translated to strength in ad revenue. Last quarter, Torstar posted a net loss of $14.5 million, with print revenues for its dailies on the decline and digital advertising revenue flat.
The Star has also written a feature about Gentle’s career. You can read it here.
In other Star staffing news, national security correspondent Michelle Shephard has announced she will be leaving the publication effective July 1.
*Please indulge me with this sentimental thread*
Well, the time has come. July 1st is my last day at The Star. It’s mainly me, not you @TorontoStar. Can you believe it has been 23 years since we first met? So many good years. You’ll forever be my first #journalism love.
— Michelle Shephard (@shephardm) June 16, 2018
