Corporate media soap opera will play out

Lots of hubbub last week in the media world with the possible merger of two daily newspaper heavyweights in Torstar and PostMedia.

I get many of you don’t care, some do, while for others watching the freefall these media giants have been enduring is macabre sport.

As a lifelong newspaper guy, I care, but for specific reasons.

As far as myself directly, this publication or anything to do with Niagara West, no, don’t care a smidge.

Torstar and its various configurations in all of Niagara jumped the shark 3-4 years ago when they closed up offices, officially and in writing to residents started cutting back on neighbourhoods to which they deliver and reduced coverage to communities considerably.

The only thing keeping them from going braindead while on life support has been their flyer revenue - and the clock is ticking there. From checking with some of my corporate contacts, I am hearing flyer numbers are down in many areas by 25-30 per cent.

Flag festivities

When one looks to see the ridiculous rates for which they have been selling display ads in the last couple years, it magnifies the importance of the flyer revenue in a strategic view since ad revenue would project to such a minor aspect of their ad dollars.

The loss of any of the big flyer regulars, even just one or two of them, is going to mean more newspaper closures. Because these corporates won’t tolerate any more lossesand when you have eliminated all your physical offices (and related staffing) as well as printed quantity and circulation numbers - they guys have reached the last stop on the bus.

Another aspect my contacts cannot figure out is what is in it for Torstar. They, undoubtedly, have people at the top of the foodchain much brighter than I, but my friends are senior people and they understand Post is about to go under water for the last time, so anything Torstar does will put that off.

The problem becomes, Torstar now has an additional anchor around its neck which will only magnify and speed its descent.

While this touches on just a couple of obvious, but key, aspects, many people in and out of the industry have asked, “What about the Competition?”

I noted to some online inquiries that the Competition Act won’t play any role in this proposal since investigators chose not to proceed with any criminal changes from the 2017 swapping of 41 newspapers, which immediately resulted in 35 of those publications being shuttered.

I was interviewed on two occasions by Competition Bureau investigators after that, as I did a lot of business with Post’s Niagara operation at that time. All that dissolved instantly when that deal went through. That last point was just part of doing business with corporates. Eventually you will get torched. The competition issues related to the overall deal took on a very different spin.

It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out as it will effect Niagara This Week and all Torstar titles, the speed and power with which that wave hits remains to be seen.

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If you have some time Saturday, dropping by Beamsville Legion between 10 a.m.-4 p.m. to support Cody Deveau, I am sure, would be appreciated. A firefighter since 2016, Cody was in an accident when a drunk driver pulled a U-turn in front of him.

You can see more about his story on Page 3.

In the short term, his friends are doing what they can to support him and his business. Good luck with the event!

Summer fun at Grimsby Museum

Two exhibits highlighted over the summer months at Grimsby Museum provide a great way to spend an afternoon.

The Community Curators’ Exhibition opened in April and runs to Oct. 31. Admission for this display, which includes 16 collections from community members of all ages, is donation only. Some of the collections include: Star Wars collectibles, chintzware, spooners and brass figures.

Quilted Memories: ‘Stitched in Time’ Exhibition runs to Oct. 31. A collection of old and new quilts, show how quilts are made and what they represent. Admission by donation.