Local print journalists are concerned and dismayed over the purchase of Saltwire—the parent company of The Telegram—by Postmedia.
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court approved Postmedia’s acquisition of Saltwire’s assets after Nova Scotia-based Saltwire was granted creditor protection earlier this year.
The purchase does not include The Telegram printing press, casting doubt on the availability of large-scale printing services in the province.
Craig Westcott, editor and publisher of the Shoreline News, the Irish Loop Post, The Pearl and The Business Post, says he’s been told the printing press will shut down after August 24.
“Everyone’s working under the assumption that after the 24th, the proposed…date of closing of the transaction between Saltwire and Postmedia is the last day of the printing plant. And so we reckon we have two more printings in there before we go off-island,” he told Tim Powers on VOCM, “that’s going to be a hard night when we go in there to get our last paper.”
Justin Brake of the Independent takes no joy in the news, and says he’s concerned with what the Postmedia purchase means.
“In the case of Postmedia, we have a majority, American hedge fund-owned company moving into Canada, buying up all the newspapers. With the purchase of Saltwire, Postmedia will effectively have a monopoly on print media from Vancouver Island to Newfoundland and Labrador.”