Transcontinental’s The Amherst Daily News cuts down to weekly publication schedule
The 120-year-old newspaper The Amherst Daily News will publish its last daily edition on July 26. It re-emerges as a weekly, The Amherst News, on August 2.
The 120-year-old newspaper The Amherst Daily News will publish its last daily edition on July 26. It re-emerges as a weekly, The Amherst News, on August 2.
Managing editor Darrell Cole told J-Source there will be no changes to the full-time editorial staff of four, but added that one of the reporters had previously decided to leave the paper and that vacancy will not be filled. All of the columnists, who are freelancers, will join the new edition — including a new sports columnist.
The Amherst Daily News covers the town of Amherst, Nova Scotia which is about a two-hour drive northwest from Halifax. It prints between 16 and 24 pages every weekday — the weekly edition is being looked at as “possibly a 40-page minimum,” Cole said.
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Publisher Richard Russell said in an email to J-Source the decision to make the change was not taken lightly. “After looking at various options it was clear that with the changing media environment coupled with a challenging retail base in Amherst, this was our only option,” Russell said. Transcontinental already publishes another weekly, The Citizen-Record — which will move its publication day from Thursday to Wednesday, in the same market. Russell said having The Citizen-Record and a "well-established web presence (cumberlandnewsnow.com) in the market" meant "it made logical sense to transition (The Amherst Daily News) to a Friday-only publication.”
A press announcement about the transition indicated the website would be ramped up, “offering expanded web presence.” Cole added that the website will continue to be updated with daily news.
“It’s going to be a change,” he said. “We’re a small town community newspaper and we’re going to continue being a small town community newspaper. It’s just going to be a weekly format.”
