Former Montreal Mirror contributors launch online arts and culture publication

What do you do when your cultural alt-weekly gets shut down? Move online, of course. Or at least that’s what former contributors to The Montreal Mirror have done with the launch of the new site Cult Montreal.  

As OpenFile Montreal reports:

Former Mirror sex columnist Sasha will continue to answer all your intimate questions. Johnson Cummins, who wrote the Punkusraucous Rex column in the Mirror, has started a new one he has called Hammer of the Mods in which he points to underground music concerts going on throughout the week. Lucas Wisenthal, a former contributor to the Mirror, is the city editor for the new site.

OpenFile also reports that the new site does not operate under a traditional hierarchal editorial structure – instead, they have created an editorial board where everyone has a say in the content. In terms of the finances, Cult Montreal was launched without funding and thus, its writers contribute sans payment.

Last month, Sun Media announced that it would be ceasing publication of The Mirror, effective immediately. Spokesperson Serge Sasseville cited unfavourable economic conditions as one of the reasons for the seemingly sudden move.

“The growing popularity of digital media and communications has irremediably changed the context in which free cultural weeklies operate, bringing about economic challenges which have unfortunately compromised The Mirror’s viability,” Sasseville said in a statement.

The sudden departure of The Mirror left Montreal without a free Anglophone alternative weekly, as its competitor, Hour Community, also shut down earlier this spring.

For more about Cult Montreal, check out their website or OpenFile Montreal's report on the new site.