Journalism at the end of the 19th century was very different from what we know today. Most newspapers were unabashedly partisan, existing solely to support one cause or another, or, as was most usually the case, a political party. Although modern newspapers can sometimes be identified by their political leanings, there is usually at least some pretence of objectivity on view. No one seemed to feel the need for this sort of display at the time of Le Progrès . Libel laws do not appear to have had the same force back then either; the Pacaud brothers often went way beyond criticism of their opponents’ political views to mount personal attacks on their moral qualities as well. For example, when Jos Durocher, reeve of Sandwich West township (and well-known Conservative party member) was accused of defrauding the local school board, he was pilloried on a weekly basis in the pages of Le Progrès for the better part of a year , , , . Dr. Henri Casgrain, another enemy of the Liberal party, was also attacked on a regular basis; he seems to have been under constant surveillance, and his personal life as well as his political activities provided continuous fodder for Le Progrès’s diatribes , , . However, when the Pacauds attacked Dr. Casgrain’s professional reputation, a line was apparently crossed, and the newspaper was obliged to print the only retraction we have been able to find in over twenty years of publication , .

One way to avoid lawsuits was to obscure the details of one’s accusations. Le Progrès often did so in publishing “news” that was nothing but rumours, gossip, and innuendo. Unsigned editorials and use of pen names allowed many other things to be said with impunity. Subscribers could probably read between the lines and decode the oblique references employed by the writers. These writers might not have been quite so anonymous to readers at the time, but it is nearly impossible to identify them today , , , .

Another striking difference between newspapers of yesterday and today is the blending of news reports and advertising. Nineteenth century readers would have done well to exercise caution, as editors saw no need to identify “articles” who were nothing more than sales pitches for various products , , , . The distinction between science and what we would now call “pseudo-science” was equally feeble. According to articles appearing in Le Progrès, scientists of the day had, among other things, calculated the population of hell and discovered the sentence given to Jesus . One report detailed a couple’s 100th wedding anniversary . Frogs raining down from the sky seems to have been a fairly common occurrence , as were bizarre incidents involving lizards and snakes , . Strange epidemics, somehow unrecorded in the annals of medicine, wreaked havoc in the general population . One thing hasn’t changed, however: the spate of predictions that preceded the end of the 19th century proved to be no more accurate than the the ones greeted the arrival of the year 2000 .

New stories about medical discoveries are a good illustration of the transition period in which Le Progrès operated. Alongside medical horror stories , , the paper reported on truly wonderful medical advances . Patent medicine, however, was still in its heyday, as is reflected in the numerous advertisements for miracle cures for every ailment under the sun , , , , , , .

Compared to today’s newspapers, Le Progrès might be said to lack a certain amount of objectivity, fairness and accuracy. But it followed the journalistic practices of the day, and reading through some issues can give and gives us a good idea of what journalism was lime at the turn of the 20th century.