Postmedia puts end to 2 francophone weeklies, citing financial viability

Postmedia puts end to 2 francophone weeklies, citing financial viability

Loss of local news outlets is ‘detrimental’ to health of communities, publisher says

New Brunswick has lost two more newspapers.

Postmedia has announced it's published the final editions of L'Étoile, based in Moncton, and Infoweekend, which served the northwest of the province.

The media conglomerate said in a statement that the two free, weekly, French-language newspapers were no longer financially viable.

Postmedia said there would be “one role impacted” by its decision. The company didn't elaborate.

The newspapers were published by Irving-owned Brunswick News Inc. until 2022, when they were sold along with Brunswick News to Postmedia.

The closures come on the heels of the July 2 final edition of the Miramichi Leader, also owned by Postmedia.

They also coincide with a reduction in print editions for Acadie Nouvelle, an independent French-language newspaper.

Until recently, Acadie Nouvelle was printed in Moncton by Postmedia. But in April, the conglomerate announced it would shutter its Moncton print operations and move printing out of New Brunswick.

That prompted Acadie Nouvelle to reduce its print editions from five to two per week.

Edmundston Mayor Eric Marquis said the end of Infoweekend means the loss of a reporter who covered local events and municipal councils in the northwest.

“I’m really disappointed to see that we will no longer have a regional newspaper here,” Marquis said.

The community previously lost Le Madawaska, an independent paper founded in 1913, sold to Brunswick News in 2003 and shuttered in 2018.

Marquis said the city may have to increase its efforts to get accurate information out to residents, without relying on social media, where misinformation is a concern.

Woodstock publisher bucking the trend

“The loss of anything right now, when it comes to journalism, is huge,” said Theresa Blackburn, founder and publisher of the River Valley Sun, based in Woodstock in western New Brunswick.

Newspaper closures are “detrimental to the political and the educational health” of communities, she said.

The former journalism instructor and CBC reporter founded the River Valley Sun seven years ago, bucking a trend that has seen the closure of hundreds of local news outlets across Canada in the past two decades.

Blackburn said she understands first hand the challenges of high printing costs for newspapers.

But she continues to print a monthly edition of River Valley Sun to serve the contingent of her readers “who like to physically hold a paper and physically thumb through it.”

Blackburn said she has asked for and received community support to keep the River Valley Sun running, and she expects very little financial return from the operation.

“I need to do this for my community,” she said.

Blackburn said she is “a journalist who happens to own a paper,” whereas Postmedia directors and investors “are business people who happen to own a paper.”

Ownership structure may indeed be a factor in the loss of local news outlets, said Erin Steuter, a sociology professor at Mount Allison University.

Steuter said that with Postmedia owned primarily by U.S.-based investors, the company’s “legal obligation is to create profit," while smaller, independent publishers may be more devoted to serving their communities.

“That has really contorted the whole decision-making, on whether a newspaper is viable or whether people should have access to the print edition.”

Steuter said she was disappointed to hear of the end of L'Étoile and Infoweekend, particularly for the francophone communities they served.

“We're losing a lot of community news, and we're losing a lot of reporters who are bringing, you know, important stories and diverse opinions to the attention of the people,” Steuter said.

In a statement, Postmedia said it “recognized the important role these publications have played in New Brunswick’s francophone communities,” and the company remains “committed to serving New Brunswick readers through our journalism in other titles.”

Erica Butler is a reporter with CBC New Brunswick. She lives in Sackville and works out of the Moncton newsroom. You can send story tips to erica.butler@cbc.ca.