The end of an Era?

With news of layoffs, printing press shutdowns, and publications ending, it has been a tough week for the newspaper industry.

Earlier, Metroland Media announced the early retirement of Ian Proudfoot. This move likely signals significant changes for Newmarket as well.  Could we be seeing the final days of local newspapers in our town?  Newmarket has had its own newspaper publications dating back to the 1850's.

The yorkregion.com web page reportedly attracts 500,000 hits per month.  Could this pan-York Region model replace the local newspapers?  Will we see the Newmarket Era, Aurora Banner, East Gwillimbury Express, Stouffville Sun-Tribune, Markham Economist & Sun, King Connection, Georgina Advocate, Richmond Hill Liberal and Vaughan Citizen being replaced by one single newspaper covering all of York Region?

That is the route Post Media has taken in Ottawa when it amalgamated the newsrooms of the Ottawa Sun and Ottawa Citizen cutting jobs in the process.

Based on current events, its likely that we won't see is the free paper being replaced by paid subscription.  Yesterday, Metroland Media announced that it was ending the paper publication of the Guelph Mercury (which is a paid subscription newspaper) but the Guelph Tribune, a free delivery paper would continue to print.

Back in April 2015 at the Newmarket Public Library's Idea Market forum, Newmarket Era editor Tracy Kibble called out my Newmarket Town Hall Watch and my brand of citizen journalism.  It was a brash move considering that my blog will likely outlast her publication.

Maybe after all the dust settles, Tracy Kibble can start her own blog to compete with Newmarket Town Hall Watch?  Personally I doubt it.  Tracy Kibble's brand of journalism is a paid job.  For citizen journalists like me, writing is our passion.  And for the reader, it is easy to tell the difference between the two.