Belleville News shuts down after trade between Torstar and Postmedia

“It’s kind of a shock,” says Robert Washburn, a journalism professor at Loyalist College who was a longtime columnist for the Northumberland News, one of the local newspapers closed this week. Photo by Madeleine Villa

By Madeleine Villa

BELLEVILLE – The Belleville News newspaper has officially stopped production as of Monday, after a trade between Torstar Corporation and Postmedia Network resulted in the closure of 34 local newspapers across southern Ontario.

The deal saw the two companies exchange a total of  41 Ontario newspapers.

Postmedia acquired 26 publications from Torstar, including the Belleville News, Quinte West News, Central Hastings Trent Hills News, Frontenac Gazette and Kingston Heritage.

Postmedia closed 24 of the papers. The two that will remain open are the Exeter Times-Advocate and the Exeter Weekender.

For Belleville residents it means that the only free newspaper they will receive is the Community Press, a weekly published by the Belleville Intelligencer.

The Belleville News, Quinte West News and Central Hastings Trent Hills News have all been closed.

The final edition of the weekly Belleville News was published last week. Photo by Madeleine Villa

“I feel like the way things are going, we are losing our sense of community – our local bond to one another,” said Camille Parent of Belleville in response to the newspaper shutdowns.

Others are also worried about how they will hear about local events.

“You need to know what’s going on in your community, like coming events and obituaries and local news – like what’s happening right here,” said Belleville resident Nancy McCrory. “I think that if local newspapers are gone, that’s going to be gone too. How much coverage can Belleville get in the Toronto Star or the Toronto Sun?”

Torstar acquired 17 newspapers, including the daily Northumberland Today and Peterborough Examiner. Cobourg-based Northumberland Today is among the 13 that has been closed.

Robert Washburn, a journalism professor at Loyalist College and a longtime columnist for Northumberland Today, said it was a shock to learn that the paper was shutting down.

“I would liken it to an aunt, an older aunt, maybe in her 90s, that you know is not feeling well and she’s been sick for a while and all of a sudden they pass away. And you knew they were sick and knew they were on a downslide, and then all of a sudden it happens. And it’s kind of a shock.”

A total of 244 people will lose their jobs as a result of the 36 papers closing.

Washburn says the news wasn’t unexpected, at least not for him.

“When it came, of course I was shocked and saddened by what took place. But I had anticipated that something was going to happen. Something had to give at some point, so I wasn’t totally surprised.”

As for the state of local journalism, Washburn said he is upset that historic papers are folding

“I think it’s very, very sad. I mean, you are talking about publications, some of them over 100 years old. The Cobourg Daily Star (predecessor to Northumberland Today) was founded in 1831. So I mean, that’s a newspaper with a very, very long tradition.”

Though it is sad for these local and historic papers to be closing, Washburn said, he sees an opportunity for the students he teaches.

“This opens up opportunities for those who are entreprenurial and are interested in creating and being innovative. This is a great time to step up and step into these gaps and see what new things can be done.”