Ralph Costello

During his lifetime, Ralph Costello became one of the most influential journalists of 20th-century New Brunswick. As president of N.B. Publishing Ltd. and Publisher of The Evening Times-Globe and The Telegraph-Journal, he was a leading figure on both the local and national news scenes. He was a publisher who could write. As a youngster, he started out as a “space writer” for the wartime and post-war newspapers. Writing about golf, basketball, and other sports in which he participated,...See more

During his lifetime, Ralph Costello became one of the most influential journalists of 20th-century New Brunswick. As president of N.B. Publishing Ltd. and Publisher of The Evening Times-Globe and The Telegraph-Journal, he was a leading figure on both the local and national news scenes. He was a publisher who could write. As a youngster, he started out as a “space writer” for the wartime and post-war newspapers. Writing about golf, basketball, and other sports in which he participated, he soon became a colourful feature writer, editor, and eventually publisher of the two newspapers, which were to become, under his direction, major forces in shaping popular opinion in New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada. Before bringing the newspapers into their new home on Crown Street, he learned the business of reporting news in the “old building,” which used to dominate Canterbury Street in Saint John. He knew how to tell a story, and he also knew how to become a responsible publisher by marching to the drumbeat of his own conscience. His skills and abilities were recognized by his peers. He became president of the Canadian Daily Newspaper Publishers' Association and the national news co-operative organization, the Canadian Press. He also served as president and Honorary Life Governor of the Royal Canadian Golf Association. For reporters, printers, pressmen, and ad salesmen in the complex world of newspaper publishing, his reputation was always “firm but fair.” When New Brunswick Publishing moved into the new world of television, Ralph Costello was at the helm, championing the principle of “journalism for the people of New Brunswick.” Ralph Costello died in 2001. See less