Playing an essential role in the development of
Canadian identity, The Canadian Press is wholly dependent on
leased
telegraphic lines in order to send stories back and forth across the country to their vast number of readers
. In addition to providing news to
newspapers,
radio, and
television, The Canadian Press provides online news and photos. Now, almost every daily newspaper in Canada relies on the service brought forth by The Canadian Press. In September 2007, The Canadian Press launched a rebranding campaign in an effort to stay competitive, notably in the wake of the pullout by The CanWest Global's newspaper, television and online news outlets (see below). All of its services, including radio networks
Broadcast News and
Nouvelles télé-radio, were rolled into a single brand: The Canadian Press. The change marked the end of the familiar (CP) service logo. The Canadian Press also operates the largest online editorial archive of news pictures shot by
photojournalists. It was the first in Canada to develop this online archive in 1996 and now it is home to over two million digital images with hundreds of images added each day. These photos appear in newspapers, books and magazines, and online. In addition to news and information, The Canadian Press publishes the
Stylebook and
Caps and Spelling book, which are considered the chief
style guides for Canadian journalists, public relations professionals, editors, and writers of all disciplines. Through a longstanding partnership, The Canadian Press is the exclusive distributor of the
Associated Press (AP) and
Associated Press Television News (APTN) material in Canada. The AP is likewise the exclusive distributor of The Canadian Press in the United States and worldwide. On March 11, 2009,
Sun Media announced that it would also be pulling out of the cooperative. In July 2010, a tentative deal was struck between The Canadian Press' three largest stakeholders,
CTVglobemedia,
Torstar, and
Gesca, to transform the newswire from a co-operative into a for-profit entity. On November 26, 2010, Torstar,
The Globe and Mail, and Square Victoria Communications Group announced they have invested in a new for-profit entity, Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., to take over the operations of The Canadian Press. The change in the ownership structure from a non-profit co-operative to a for-profit private business allowed the company to cover its pension needs and take advantage of future business opportunities, Phillip Crawley, publisher of
The Globe and Mail, said in an interview, November 26, 2010. The Canadian Press had a serious pension shortfall, which was, in 2010, valued at $34.4 million. ==Notable staff==