Lo Stivale (newspaper)

Lo Stivale: Periodico d’informazione, Cultura e Sport per gli italiani dell’Alberta was an Italian newspaper published in Alberta.[1]

Lo Stivale
Front page of the first issue of Lo Stivale
TypeFortnightly newspaper
FormatTabloid
Owner(s)Lo Stivale Graphics, Ltd.
PublisherFrank Longinotti
EditorIgnazio Lobasso
FoundedApril 19, 1984
Ceased publicationUnknown
HeadquartersCalgary, Alberta
 Canada

Background

Canada’s first Italian newspaper dates to the late 19th Century; after 1950, Italian publications became increasingly common across the country.[2] Lo Stivale’s appearance in 1984 may be traced to the confluence of several notable developments in that province’s history. It coincided with a boom period for community newspapers in Canada;[3] with an economic explosion in Alberta;[4] with the centenary of the founding of the city of Calgary that year; with the 1981 Canadian census returns’ ranking of Alberta with the country’s fourth largest population of Italian origin;[5] and with the designation of Calgary in September 1981 as the locale for the 1988 Winter Olympics.[6]

Publishing history

Content and design

Lo Stivale ("The Boot") was launched by Lo Stivale Graphics, Ltd., of Calgary on April 19, 1984. Written entirely in Italian, it was an independent, fee-based newspaper reaching "the Italian community of Calgary" every other Thursday,[7] covering news, culture and sports (including the local scene).

Lo Stivale initially had a staff of six, headed by publisher Frank Longinotti and Managing Editor Ignazio Lobasso. Lobasso had 12 years of newspaper experience with a Toronto Italian daily, and was also responsible for the graphics and design. The typesetting and camera work for at least the first 11 issues were output by The Jewish Star,[8] another Calgary community newspaper.

Lo Stivale’s "prima edizione" of 12 pages in a 6-column, tabloid-sized newspaper, used a single blue spot-color and consisted entirely of newly typeset material. It had an advertising content of approximately 33 percent. Graphically, the newspaper was characterized as "one of the prettiest ... European-style, and first-class."[8]

Prices and subscriptions

Initially the single-copy price was 65 cents, with subscriptions offered for periods of one year ($20) and two years ($36). By the sixth issue, photo-offset text material began to be used,[9] and by the eighth issue of publication the newspaper was granted a second-class mailing permit.[10] At that time, the single-copy price fell to 25 cents.[10]

Legacy

There are few surviving copies of Lo Stivale, and it is not known when the newspaper ceased publication.

References
  1. Lo Stivale claimed in its pages to be both the first Italian newspaper in Calgary (Letter from Peter Lougheed, Premier of Alberta, referring to "Calgary’s first Italian newspaper," Lo Stivale, April 19, 1984, pp. 1, 6) and Alberta ("Oggi nasce LO STIVALE, il PRIMO giornale degli italiani in Alberta" ["LO STIVALE is launched today, the FIRST Italian newspaper in Alberta"], advertisement, Lo Stivale, April 19, 1984, p. 1). It was, however, neither one. In Calgary it was preceded by three, and in Edmonton by six, Italian-language newspapers. See Gloria M. Strathern, Alberta Newspapers, 1880-1982: An Historical Directory, University of Alberta Press, 1988, p. 491, and Jean-Michel Lacroix, Anatomie de la presse ethnique au Canada, Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, Centre d'etudes Canadiennes de Bordeaux, 1988, pp. 220-53.
  2. Franc Sturino, “Italians,” Archived 2012-12-02 at the Wayback Machine The Canadian Encyclopedia, Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 2nd edition, 1988, vol. II, p. 1100.
  3. Tim Creery, “Newspapers: Contemporary,” The Canadian Encyclopedia, Edmonton: Hurtig Publishers, 2nd edition, 1988, vol. III, p. 1495, referring to the period 1971-80.
  4. "There appears to be a building crane on every downtown street of Alberta’s two main cities, Edmonton, the capital, and Calgary, the center of the fast-growing oil and gas industry," Henry Giniger, “A Booming Alberta boils on oil prices,” New York Times, August 2, 1980, p. 3.
  5. "Importanti dati statistici sulla comunita’ italiana in Canada dal censimento ’81," Lo Stivale, July 5, 1984, p. 12. Ontario ranked first, with 487,310 ethnic-origin Italians; Alberta had 26,605.
  6. Crosbie Cotton and Bob Blakey, “They’re now the Calgary games!!!” Calgary Herald, September 30, 1981, p. 1.
  7. Lo Stivale, April 19, 1984, p. 2.
  8. "Mostly About People," The Jewish Star, Calgary edition, May 4, 1984, p. 5.
  9. Lo Stivale, July 5, 1984, p. 4.
  10. Lo Stivale, October 11, 1984, pp. 1-2.
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