Fishermen's Advocate
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The Fishermen's Advocate was the official organ of W. F. Coaker's Fishermen's Protective Union and,
between 1910 and 1924, acknowledged to be one of the most influential papers in Newfoundland, especially
in the outports. "One of the first Newfoundland newspapers to adopt the 'modern' format of page one
headlines and illustrations"(17), the Advocatefeatured local outport news, domestic and foreign news,
legislative proceedings and advertisements. It also carried the proceedings of F. P. U. meetings and practical
marketing advice for fishermen. The paper carried a question and answer column which answered questions
varying from ones of a strictly practical nature to ones of a political nature, "many of which had the air of
being planted by Coaker."(18) The Advocate was the only paper which was not dependent on government advertising
and was severely critical of both the Liberal and People's Parties. In 1917, however, Coaker joined his Union
Party with Morris' wartime National Government and the Advocate became a supporter of their policies.
From 1914 to 1924, the Advocate was published in both daily and weekly editions, and for a short time in 1917,
had three editions, evening, morning, and weekly. In 1924, the Advocate reverted to a weekly and moved to Port
Union to escape the "wheels within wheels operating in St. John's [which are] powerful enough to coat almost any
crime with sugar" (Sept. 5, 1924). Although it declared political independence at that time, it took an anti-Tory
line, opposed Monroe, Alderdice and the Commission of Government.
In December of 1937, the Advocate disagreed with F.P.U. president K.M. Brown over the Gander Deal and the
Fishermen-Workers Tribune was established in St. John's to replace the Advocate as the official F. P. U. organ.
A further blow was dealt to the paper a few months later with the death of W. F. Coaker and, by the end of the War,
the Advocatehad become a typical community newspaper for the Port Union area. The Advocate took a neutral stand on
Confederation in 1948. In 1970, it published a lengthy series of articles on the history of the F. P. U. By 1980,
the Advocate had declined to a nearly illegible, pasted together affair consisting mostly of filler material,
finally ceasing without fanfare on May 22.
This newspaper's description was sourced from Suzanne Ellison's Historical Directory of Newfoundland and Labrador Newspapers.
Place of publication: : St. John's, Port Union, Coakerville
Dates of publication: Feb. 12, 1910-May 22, 1980.
Frequency: Weekly.
Location:
Coakerville, Feb. 12-Mar. 19, 1910.
St. John's, Mar. 26, 1910-Aug. 30, 1924.
Port Union, Sept. 5, 1924-May 22, 1980.
Title varies:
Fishermen's Advocate, Feb. 12, 1910-Apr. 25, 1914.
Mail and Advocate (Weekly edition), May 2, 1914-Dec. 30, 1916.
Weekly Advocate, Jan. 7?, 1916-Aug. 30, 1924.
Fishermen's Advocate, Sept. 5, 1924-May 22, 1980.
Printer: Sun Printing Co., Feb. 12-Mar. 18, 1910.
Publisher:
Barnes & Co., Mar. 26-June 24, 1910.
Union Publishing Co., Aug. 12, 1910-Aug. 30, 1924.
Fishermen's Advocate Publishing Co., Sept. 5, 1924- May 22, 1980.
Editor: W. F. Coaker, Feb. 12, 1910-1913?
Errata
Missing:1925 Nov 27 p.7-10
1926 Mar 19 p. 4-5
1928 Oct 27 only 4 pages
1929 Dec 20 p. 8
1929 Dec 27 p. 1
1930 Jan 3 (Mislabeled as 1929)
1930 May 7 only 4 pages
1930 May 14 only 4 pages
1932 Dec 28 only 4 pages
1933 Jan 6 only 4 pages
1934 Apr 6 only 5 pages
1934 Apr 27 only 1 page
1936 June 26 P. 6-7 very poor quality
1936 Sep 18 only 3 pages
1964 March 20 not published
1966 Nov 26 p. 1 Scanned as is
1967 Apt 7 not published
1969 Jumps from Jan 10 to Jan 31
1974 Jumps from July 5 to August 30
1975 July 29 Jumps to Sept 5
Paper ends 1980 May 22
Issues by Month
We are in the process of digitizing the Fishermen's Advocate. Links to years and months will appear as they become available.
View other Newfoundland and Labrador newspapers available on the DAI.
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