The Jewish Star (Alberta)

The Jewish Star

Front page of the first issue of The Jewish Star (Calgary Edition)
Type	Free fortnightly newspaper
Format	Tabloid
Publisher	The Jewish Star Newspaper, Inc.
Editor	Douglas Wertheimer Gila Wertheimer
Founded	August 22, 1980
Ceased publication	June 1, 1990
Headquarters	Calgary, Alberta  Canada

The Jewish Star was a newspaper which appeared in two editions, both produced in Calgary, Alberta, from 1980 to 1990. The fortnightly Calgary edition (ISSN 0228-2283) of The Jewish Star was the first independent Jewish newspaper published in that city; the monthly Edmonton edition (ISSN 0228-6017) of The Jewish Star was the first independent Jewish newspaper published for the provincial capital. Both editions were tabloid-sized newspapers (ranging from 8 to 28 pages per issue) mailed on a controlled circulation basis to virtually all Jewish households in each city.

The Jewish Star was founded by Douglas Wertheimer, who served as Editor and President of The Jewish Star Newspaper, Ltd., and Gila Wertheimer, Associate Editor, with start-up funding from family members, supporters and bank loans. The founding of the newspaper coincided with an explosion of economic growth in Alberta related to the oil industry. Calgary, known since 1945 as one of Canada’s fastest-growing cities, had undergone a population increase of 47 percent from 1971 to 1981. Meanwhile, the Calgary Jewish community had increased by 50 percent from 1975-79 to about 6,000 Jews. The two editions of the independent Jewish Star appeared at a time when the organized Jewish communities across Canada were "moving to take over Jewish weeklies." Moreover, the state of Jewish journalism in Canada left "a great deal to be desired," according to historian Stuart E. Rosenberg.

Commenting on the start-up of the Calgary edition of The Jewish Star, the Calgary Herald noted that the paper had "avoided some of the more obvious first-issue pitfalls by using good layout, attractive printing free of typographical errors, professional writing by three international Jewish wire services and plenty of local content... there was [also] a heavy advertising content." After the launch of the Calgary edition (published from August 22, 1980 through June 1, 1990), the Jewish Community Council in Edmonton invited the publishers to produce a separate Edmonton Edition. It ran as a monthly from December 1980 through June 1990, utilizing some of the same content. While also independent, it received a guaranteed annual purchase of subscriptions (an arrangement voluntarily terminated by The Jewish Star in 1987).