Colin Perkel (of CP) reviews a just published history of the news agency

"One of the most profound influences in the formation of the Canadian identity has been the country's largely unknown and unsung national news agency, according to a just published book," Colin Perkel writes.
"In his detailed historical account, author Gene Allen traces the American-midwifed birth and first seven decades of Canada's single most important news supply company, The Canadian Press, familiarly called CP.
"The book, "Making National News: A History of Canadian Press," spans a period from the early 1900s to 1970 — when new-fangled multiplex telephone systems rendered the telegraph as the primary news-distribution network essentially obsolete.
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Police investigate radio host John Down's arrest

Toronto police have opened an internal investigation into the January arrest of radio host John Downs, who says he was taking pictures of a bloody scene when police arrested him, the Star reports.

Downs took to the airwaves to tell his story Monday night. He said he was arrested on a Friday in January after he stopped to take photos of a scene where emergency crews were working. He said he was charged with public intoxication, but the charge was later dropped in court.

It has since come to the attention of Toronto police, who have opened an investigation into the matter.
“In this case he came to us with information and Professional Standards has taken it up and they’re in the process of investigating,” said Toronto police spokesman Mark Pugash. He declined to elaborate on the situation, citing the ongoing investigation.
Downs co-hosts Friendly Fire on Newstalk 1010. with Ryan Doyle.
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News of the World hacking trial begins

The Globe's Paul Waldie reports:
"It’s a scandal that has shaken London’s newspaper business, caused widespread public outrage and brought down one of Britain’s best-selling tabloids. And now a criminal trial has begun in London into the heart of the allegations: that senior editors at Rupert Murdoch’s media empire allowed staff to hack cellphones to get stories, bribe public officials and block a police investigation.
"The trial is among the most sensational in years in Britain and is expected to not only probe the inner workings of the once mighty News of the World, which closed in 2011 because of the allegations, but also expose the complicated ties between reporters, politicians and the police at some newspapers.
"Among the eight defendants on trial are Andrew Coulson, a former News of the World editor who was also once a communications adviser to Prime Minister David Cameron, and Rebekah Brooks, a former editor of the News of the World and the Sun who also served as chief executive of Mr. Murdoch’s British newspapers. . ."
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Not many tweets on Twitter IPO

Twitter Inc has set a relatively modest price range for its closely watched initial public offering, but some financial advisers say their clients are not clamoring to invest in the social media phenomenon, Reuters reports.
"Nary a tweet," says William Baldwin, president of Pillar Financial Advisors in Waltham, Massachusetts, when asked about client interest in the deal.
Out of 29 broker-dealers and independent advisers contacted by Reuters, 23 said they are not recommending Twitter shares. Only one said he would recommend it - and only to certain clients. Five others said they would wait to snap up the stock if it plunges after it begins to trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
While retail interest might be low, tech industry analysts say there is expected to be a good appetite for Twitter stock from institutional investors at the current valuation. Actual institutional investor sentiment still remains unclear. Retail investors typically account for 10 to 15 percent of IPOs.
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Tough times for National Post, PostMedia papers

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. posted a $36-million loss in the last quarter, citing weakness in all of its major advertising categories. The publisher of metropolitan newspapers has been restructuring for a year as it tries to get a handle on decreasing print revenue and increase its digital revenue. Postmedia is perhaps the most vulnerable of all the Toronto daily publications -- including the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star -- which face the 21st Century digital newspaper curse. For many years, analysts have predicted a rationalization of this business which would see fewer daily papers in Toronto.