Sun Media shuts down a number of community newspapers
At least six Sun Media newspapers have published their final editions in the last week.
At least six Sun Media newspapers have published their final editions.
The list includes the Dunnville Chronicle, Guelph Review, K-W Review, Leamington Post, West Niagara News and Windsor This Week.
Sun Media weeklies the Guelph Review and the K-W Review direct readers to the Stratford Beacon Herald, a Sun Media daily, in their respective farewell letters to readers. The Dunnville Chronicle, which published its final edition last week, directs readers to daily newspaper the Simcoe Reformer and the Beamsville-based West Niagara News is directing readers to the St. Catharines Standard.
Though there is no notice to readers on the websites of Windsor This Week or the Leamington Post, the Windsor Star has reported that Sun Media management from its London, ON office notified both newspapers’ staff yesterday that the papers would be shutting down.
Sun Media did not respond to J-Source’s requests for comment Thursday.
The shuttering comes just weeks after Sun Media announced it would be shutting down two production facilities and cutting 500 jobs as part of a reorganization led by newly-appointed vice president of editorial Eric Morrison.
Scott Rosts, the St. Catharines editor of Niagara This Week – a Torstar publication – wrote a column about the loss of West Niagara News in which he explains why community news matters. He writes:
While times certainly changed, and so did the publication over the years, one thing is for sure — there is a place for community newspapers. Whether it’s hunting for your sports scores, looking up the events that are happening this weekend, or just catching up on some of the news that the dailies in the area ignore, community newspapers play an integral role in our communities. We become a voice. A place to turn to, whether you’re looking to get the word out about something, or you’re just trying to find hyper-local content about where you live.
We will update this story as we learn more.
