Most Canadian publications have weathered recession

Source: Vancouver Sun

When two Daily News newspapers, one here and one in Prince Rupert, locked up Friday after putting their final editions to bed, they became Canada's first dailies to fold after the recent recession.

I don't want to trivialize the loss to the industry, to the communities and to the 50 people who worked for these publications, but with good luck and good management, they may also be the last.

Because, by North American standards, Canada's dailies seem to be do ing okay -- despite a pace of societal and technological change that threatens to overwhelm its worker bees, and despite big financial challenges for our owners.

Certainly, the picture is brighter in this country than in the U.S. There, many papers, including big ones in p-laces like Seattle, Tucson and Denver, have folded. Others have shrivelled in size and/or reduced the days they publish, merged with nearby weeklies, and the like.

We've had lots of belt-tightening in this country as well, but generally not to the same extent.

This isn't simply whistling in the dark by a columnist trying to hang onto a job he likes. I think my sense of modest optimism is shared by many colleagues who are pleased -- or relieved -- that not only did our Canwest papers find a buyer when they recently went on the block, they attracted several bidders. Not quite a bidding war, maybe, but certainly a competitive process to see who'd take the reins.

Even the events leading to the sad outcome in Nelson and Prince Rupert contain some positive aspects. These two little papers were collateral damage in a much bigger deal that saw B.C.'s David Black -- who is keeping more than 70 little papers alive and prospering -- buy more than a dozen titles from Glacier Media. The good news is that, while he closed these two serious money-losers, he obviously thought the others were worth acquiring.

John Hinds, the CEO of the Canadian Newspaper Association, sees sever al reasons to regard Canadian dailies more optimistically than their American counterparts.

"People read newspapers more in Canada," he said. "Our core readership is still there."

Also, he notes:

- Canadian newspaper markets tend to be more competitive than in t-he U.S., so Canadian media companies are more skilled at adjusting to change.

- U.S. papers traditionally relied more on classified revenue, which has taken a brutal hit in the Internet era, whereas Canadian ad sales are more diverse.

- -Most Canadian newspaper owners -- Canwest, The Sun's former owner, was an exception -- were less burdened with debt than American owners.

- The scramble to embrace new technologies and find new revenue streams appears more structured and businesslike in Canada, while it some times looks frantic and panic-driven on the other side of the line.

- The economic downturn seemed to enhance Canadian newspapers' role as a-reliable source of information. Readership is generally trending up after a period of decline.

© Vancouver Sun