Company type | Public |
---|---|
Industry | Mass media |
Founded | 2017 |
Headquarters | , Canada |
Area served | Atlantic Canada |
Key people | Mark Lever, CEO |
Owner | Dennis family |
Website | www |
SaltWire Network Inc. is a Canadian newspaper publishing company owned by the Dennis-Lever family of Halifax, Nova Scotia, owners of The Chronicle Herald . Saltwire owns 23 daily and weekly newspapers in Atlantic Canada. [1] The company was formed in 2017 via its purchase of 27 newspapers from Transcontinental.
As of 2024, the company employs about 800 independent contractors and 390 staff (including Halifax Herald Ltd.) [2]
On April 13, 2017, Halifax's independently owned The Chronicle Herald announced its acquisition of 27 newspapers in the region from Transcontinental Media, via the newly formed parent company SaltWire Network. [3] The company had begun a gradual exit from mainstream publishing in order to focus on specialty media and educational publishing. [4] The exact purchase price was not disclosed, although business analysts estimated that the publications were worth approximately $30 million in total. [5] The transaction was criticized by a number of analysts, [6] as it occurred in the middle of a strike by Chronicle Herald employees during which the paper had claimed declining revenues as its reason for demanding major concessions including wage reductions, reduced pension contributions and the removal of several staff divisions from the bargaining unit. [7]
In June 2018, Saltwire Network changed the Carbonear-based weekly newspaper, The Compass, from a subscriber model to a free total market product deliver as a flyer package wrap.
In July 2018, Saltwire Network closed The Beacon, The Advertiser, The Pilot and The Nor'wester, and merged them into a free weekly known as The Central Voice—which began publication on August 1, 2018. [8]
In March 2019, all SaltWire publications introduced metered paywalls. [9]
In March 2019, SaltWire announced the sale of 10 of its buildings across Atlantic Canada. [10]
Also in March 2019, the company terminated its affiliation with the Canadian Press newswire service, opting instead to become a client of Postmedia and Reuters. [11]
In April 2019, SaltWire announced it was turning Corner Brook-based The Western Star into a weekly delivered free to consumers as a flyer wrap. This resulted in the layoff of around 30 employees. Independent delivery contractors were also affected. [12] At the same time, it was announced that the two Labrador weeklies would merge into one called The Labrador Voice, which closed a year later. [13]
In April 2019, SaltWire filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia against Transcontinental, accusing it of overstating and misrepresenting details surrounding the revenue of the papers it had acquired. [14] The company threatened a counter-suit, stating that the sale was "conducted based on fair, accurate and timely information", and accusing SaltWire of failing to "fulfil its payment obligations". [11] [15]
In 2024, both lender Fiera Private Debt and SaltWire applied to place the media company under creditor protection. Fiera was owed over $32 million. [16] SaltWire was then sold to Postmedia Network. [17]
Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2023, it is estimated that the population of the Halifax CMA was 518,711, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The regional municipality consists of four former municipalities that were amalgamated in 1996: Halifax, Dartmouth, Bedford, and Halifax County.
The Thomas Raddall Atlantic Fiction Award is a Canadian literary award administered by the Atlantic Book Awards & Festival for the best work of adult fiction published in the previous year by a writer from the Atlantic provinces. The prize honours Thomas Head Raddall and is supported by an endowment he willed to it. The award is currently worth $30,000, with additional finalists receiving $500 each.
CJCB-DT is a repeater television station in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, part of the CTV Television Network. Owned and operated by network parent Bell Media, the station has a transmitter in Blacketts Lake southwest of the city. It operated a TV studio in Sydney from 1954 until 2021, with all production and master control work now done in Halifax at CJCH-DT.
The Chronicle Herald is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, owned by SaltWire Network of Halifax.
The Cape Breton Post is the only daily newspaper published on Cape Breton Island. Based in Sydney, Nova Scotia, it specializes in local coverage of news, events, and sports from communities in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and the counties of Inverness, Richmond and Victoria.
The Daily News was a tabloid newspaper in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that was published from 1974 until ceasing operations in February 2008.
The Telegram is a daily newspaper published weekdays and Saturdays in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
The Western Star is a weekly newspaper published Wednesdays in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and also serving Stephenville and the Bay of Islands, Bay St. George and Humber Valley areas.
The Guardian is a daily newspaper published five days a week in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
Halifax, Nova Scotia, is the largest population centre in Atlantic Canada and contains the region's largest collection of media outlets.
The Casket is a weekly newspaper published in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, by SaltWire Network.
Shubenacadie Sam is a Canadian groundhog who lives at the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park in the town of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia. Every February 2, on Groundhog Day, Sam's shadow is closely observed at 08:00 AST to make the traditional prediction whether there will be an early spring. Due to Nova Scotia's Atlantic Time Zone, Sam makes the first Groundhog Day prediction in North America.
Jamie Baillie is a former Canadian politician. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Nova Scotia from 2010 to 2018, and was the Leader of the Opposition from 2013 until January 2018, when he resigned and returned to the private sector. At the same time, he resigned as MLA for Cumberland South, the riding he had represented in the House of Assembly since 2010.
Postmedia Network Canada Corp. is a foreign-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in English-language newspaper publishing, news gathering and Internet operations. It is best known for being the owner of the National Post and the Financial Post. The company is headquartered at Postmedia Place on Bloor Street in Toronto.
The Journal Pioneer is a weekly newspaper published in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
The Truro News is a weekly newspaper in Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada, covering Colchester County.
Breagh MacKinnon, known professionally as Breagh Isabel, is a Canadian recording artist, songwriter, and producer based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has written for a variety of Canadian artists, including Banners, Donovan Woods, Classified, Jocelyn Alice, and Ria Mae.
Hillsburn is an indie pop band from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. They have been hailed by several media outlets as one of the east coast of Canada's next big acts and were recently included on CBC's list of '21 Canadian albums we can't wait to hear in 2021'. Hillsburn have released three full-length studio albums, and have won or been nominated for a number of regional and national awards. Their latest record, Slipping Away, was released on May 28, 2021. Slipping Away was produced by Howard Redekopp, who has worked with other notable Canadian acts, including Tegan and Sara, The New Pornographers, and Mother Mother.
David Mark Ritcey is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in a by-election on March 10, 2020. A member of the Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia, he represents the electoral district of Truro-Bible Hill-Millbrook-Salmon River. He has had many years of hockey coaching experience and is a former interim president of the Maritime Junior Hockey League. His grandfather, Gerald Ritcey, had been a MLA for Colchester, parts of which became the current riding, from 1968 to 1974.
Municipal elections were held in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia on October 17, 2020. Here is a summary of the mayoral results in the largest municipalities in the province and the council results for Cape Breton and Kings County. Elections were also held for the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial school board.