 After working as a typesetter at the "Toronto Globe" at which he led a strike, Hocken, in 1892, Hocken was a foremen in the print room of the "Toronto News" when the Typographical Union went on strike.He and 20 other strikers founded the "Evening Star" as a strike paper with Hocken as the new paper's business manager.He subsequently left the "Star" and returned to the "News" where he became city editor.