Dan McLeod
Encyclopedia
For the professional wrestler Dan McLeod, see Dan McLeod (wrestler)
.
Dan McLeod (born 1943) is one of the founders and the present owner, publisher, and editor of the influential weekly newspaper, the Georgia Straight in Vancouver
, Canada
.
Dan was born and raised in Vancouver. He graduated from Kitsilano
High School and went on to study mathematics and meterorology at the University of British Columbia
, where earned an Honours B.Sc degree in mathematics. He was also a poet, and after readings by the poet Charles Duncan
at U.B.C. in the summer of 1961, he, with some friends, began a small newsletter, Trish, which he edited from about 1964 until the Georgia Straight was founded in 1964.
The paper was founded by Pierre Coupey
, Milton Acorn
, Dan McLeod, Stan Persky
, and others, and operated originally as a collective.
The first issue appeared on 5 May 1967 and cost a dime. It was at first a biweekly. On 12 May the paper moved into its first office at 432 Homer St., and soon after Dan was taken away in a paddy wagon and jailed for three hours for "investigation of vagrancy." College Printers refused to print the second issue, but an alternative printer was soon found. Dan continued to regularly find himself at odds with the Law, especially in the early days, and was even asked once by a policeman: "What do you want me to arrest you for—disturbing the peace?"
"The Straight" soon developed into an anti-establishment alternative newspaper
with a focus on investigative reporting, and providing a voice for the growing alternative culture in Vancouver, which grew rapidly in the late 1960s with an influx of many thousands of Vietnam War
draft dodger
s and military deserters seeking refuge, as Canada remained technically neutral. This exodus was "the largest politically motivated migration from the United States since the United Empire Loyalists moved north to oppose the American Revolution
."
Foundation. The same year he won the Bruce Hutchison
Lifetime Achievement Award for his "contribution to journalism in B.C."
In 2002, Dan McLeod was honoured with another Lifetime Achievement Award from the Western Magazine Awards Foundation.
The Last Streetfighter, the history of the Georgia Straight, documentary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QykaUVHvags
Dan McLeod (wrestler)
Dan McLeod was the ring name of a Canadian catch wrestler of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, who held the American Heavyweight Championship twice. Born George Little in Hamilton, Ontario, he worked as a miner in Nanaimo, British Columbia and wrestled his first match in 1889,...
.
Dan McLeod (born 1943) is one of the founders and the present owner, publisher, and editor of the influential weekly newspaper, the Georgia Straight in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Dan was born and raised in Vancouver. He graduated from Kitsilano
Kitsilano
Kitsilano is an upmarket neighbourhood on the West Side of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.Known colloquially as "Kits", this neighborhood is home to many yuppies, young families and students as well as yoga studios, organic markets, cafes and Vancouver's Greektown. The primary...
High School and went on to study mathematics and meterorology at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, where earned an Honours B.Sc degree in mathematics. He was also a poet, and after readings by the poet Charles Duncan
Charles Duncan
Charles Duncan may refer to:*Charles Duncan, Jr. , American administrator*Charles K. Duncan , United States Navy admiral*Charles Alfred Duncan , British soldier posthumously awarded the George Cross...
at U.B.C. in the summer of 1961, he, with some friends, began a small newsletter, Trish, which he edited from about 1964 until the Georgia Straight was founded in 1964.
Foundation of the Georgia Straight
- "Legend has it the joint decision to start a so-called underground newspaper like the Village Voice was made at a party following a poetry reading by Leonard CohenLeonard CohenLeonard Norman Cohen, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963. His work often explores religion, isolation, sexuality and interpersonal relationships...
. McLeod emerged as the prime leader behind the idealistic, naive, frequently irresponsible, consistently cheeky, often insightful, collectively-run initiative because he was most willing to take the brunt of police persecution and unmitigated legal harassment that ensued."
- In April 1967: "The proposed paper is christened the Georgia Straight over beer at the Cecil Hotel. The name aims to play on the fact that the weather forecasts will offer free publicity: they're always issuing gale warnings for the Georgia Strait."
The paper was founded by Pierre Coupey
Pierre Coupey
-Overview:Coupey was born in Montreal in 1942. He graduated from Lower Canada College , McGill University , the University of British Columbia , and studied drawing and printmaking at the Académie Julian and the Atelier 17 in Paris....
, Milton Acorn
Milton Acorn
Milton James Rhode Acorn , nicknamed The People's Poet by his peers, was a Canadian poet, writer, and playwright. He was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island....
, Dan McLeod, Stan Persky
Stan Persky
Stan Persky is a Canadian writer, media commentator and philosophy instructor.- Early life :Persky was born in Chicago, Illinois. As a teenager, he made contact with and received encouragement from Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg and other writers of the Beat Generation...
, and others, and operated originally as a collective.
The first issue appeared on 5 May 1967 and cost a dime. It was at first a biweekly. On 12 May the paper moved into its first office at 432 Homer St., and soon after Dan was taken away in a paddy wagon and jailed for three hours for "investigation of vagrancy." College Printers refused to print the second issue, but an alternative printer was soon found. Dan continued to regularly find himself at odds with the Law, especially in the early days, and was even asked once by a policeman: "What do you want me to arrest you for—disturbing the peace?"
"The Straight" soon developed into an anti-establishment alternative newspaper
Alternative weekly
An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper, that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting local people and culture. Their news coverage is more...
with a focus on investigative reporting, and providing a voice for the growing alternative culture in Vancouver, which grew rapidly in the late 1960s with an influx of many thousands of Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
draft dodger
Draft dodger
Draft evasion is a term that refers to an intentional failure to comply with the military conscription policies of the nation to which he or she is subject...
s and military deserters seeking refuge, as Canada remained technically neutral. This exodus was "the largest politically motivated migration from the United States since the United Empire Loyalists moved north to oppose the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
."
- "Then-editor (and now publisher) Dan McLeod was a grad student and a poet who strongly advocated press freedoms. He opened up the pages of the Straight as a forum for alternative opinions, which often got him in trouble with the law. Within the first two years of publication, McLeod and his paper were charged with 27 counts of obscenity, one charge of "counselling to commit an indictable offence" (for publishing tips on how to grow marijuana) and one count of criminal libel for comparing a judge to Pontius PilatePontius PilatePontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
."
Awards
In 1998 Dan won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Jack WebsterJack Webster
John Edgar "Jack" Webster, CM was a Scottish-born Canadian journalist, radio and television personality.-Life in the United Kingdom:...
Foundation. The same year he won the Bruce Hutchison
Bruce Hutchison
William Bruce Hutchison, was a Canadian author and journalist.Born in Prescott, Ontario, Hutchison was educated in public schools in Victoria, British Columbia. He married Dorothy Kidd McDiarmid in 1925, around the same time that he began his journalism career as a political reporter in Ottawa...
Lifetime Achievement Award for his "contribution to journalism in B.C."
In 2002, Dan McLeod was honoured with another Lifetime Achievement Award from the Western Magazine Awards Foundation.
Current activities
, Dan McLeod still owns, edits and publishes the Georgia Straight, and he and his partner Yolanda Stepien, are involved in many philanthropic and other projects supporting the arts. They have two grown children. Their son, Matt, is currently VP of Operations for the Straight, while Yolanda is the Distribution Director.External links
- The Georgia Straight
- For some excellent video clips on the history of the Georgia Straight, go to: http://www.straight.com/article-161796/last-streetfighter-history-georgia-straight
- "2,000 issues and counting." Dave Watson. April 20, 2006.
- "McLeod, Dan" on abcbookworld.com
- "Storming The Barricades: Vancouver's Underground Press Gangs: 1967-1973."
- "The History of Metropolitan Vancouver"
- "What a Long Straight Trip It's Been: From rag to respectability: the real dope on Canada's oldest underground weekly." Jennifer Patterson. Ryerson Review of Journalism, Spring 1996.
The Last Streetfighter, the history of the Georgia Straight, documentary.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QykaUVHvags