Postmedia Network

Last updated

Postmedia Network Canada Corp.
FormerlyCanwest Limited Partnership (2000–2010)
Company type Public
Industry Mass media
Predecessor Canwest
FoundedJuly 13, 2010;13 years ago (2010-07-13)
Headquarters365 Bloor Street East
Toronto, Ontario
M4W 3L4
Products Newspapers, media websites, news content
RevenueIncrease2.svg $458.2 million CAD (2022) [1]
Owner
Number of employees
2,006 [2]
Website postmedia.com

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. [3] (also known as Postmedia Network, Postmedia News or Postmedia) is a foreign-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate [4] 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. [5]

Contents

The company's strategy has seen its publications invest greater resources in digital news gathering and distribution, including expanded websites and digital news apps for smartphones and tablets. [6] This began with a revamp and redesign of the Ottawa Citizen , which debuted in 2014. [6]

66% of Postmedia is currently owned by American media conglomerate Chatham Asset Management. [7]

History

The ownership group was assembled by National Post CEO Paul Godfrey [8] in 2010 to bid for the chain of newspapers being sold by the financially troubled Asper family's Canwest (the company's broadcasting assets were sold separately to Shaw Communications). Godfrey secured financial backing from a U.S. private equity firm, the Manhattan-based hedge fund GoldenTree Asset Management—which owns 35 per cent—as well as IJNR Investment Trust, Nyppex and other investors. [8] The group completed a $1.1 billion transaction to acquire the chain from Canwest on July 13, 2010. [8]

On October 6, 2014, Postmedia's CEO Godfrey announced a deal to acquire the English-language operations of Sun Media. [8] [9] The purchase received regulatory approval from the federal Competition Bureau on March 25, 2015, [10] even though the company manages competitive papers in several Canadian cities; while the Sun Media chain owns numerous other papers, four of its five Sun-branded tabloids operate in markets where Postmedia already publishes a broadsheet competitor. [9] Board chair Rod Phillips has cited the Vancouver market, in which the two main daily newspapers, the Vancouver Sun and The Province , have had common ownership for over 30 years, as evidence that the deal would not be anticompetitive. [9] The purchase did not include Sun Media's now-defunct Sun News Network. [9] The acquisition was approved by the Competition Bureau on March 25, 2015, [11] and closed on April 13. [12]

In 2016, the company sought to restructure its compensation plans and reduce spending by as much as 20%, after reporting a net loss of $99.4 million, or 35 cents per diluted share, in the fourth-quarter ended Aug 31, compared with a $54.1 million net loss, or 19 cents per diluted share, in the same period a year earlier. This resulted in 90 newsroom staff losing their jobs. [13]

On November 27, 2017, Postmedia and Torstar announced a transaction in which Postmedia will sell seven dailies, eight community papers, and the Toronto and Vancouver 24 Hours to Torstar, in exchange for 22 community papers and the Ottawa and Winnipeg versions of Metro. Except for the Exeter Times-Advocate , St. Catharines Standard , Niagara Falls Review , Peterborough Examiner , and Welland Tribune , all acquired papers will be closed. [14] [15]

On June 26, 2018, Canadian Press reported that, by the end of August, Postmedia will be closing the Camrose Canadian in Camrose, Alberta, Strathmore Standard in Strathmore, Alberta, Kapuskasing Northern Times in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Ingersoll Times in Ingersoll, Ontario, Norwich Gazette in Norwich, Ontario and Petrolia Topic in Petrolia, Ontario. It will also cease printing the Portage Daily Graphic in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, the Northern News in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, and Pembroke Daily Observer in Pembroke, Ontario while maintaining a digital presence for the three publications. As well, the High River Times in High River, Alberta will go from being published twice a week to once a week. [16]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Postmedia laid off approximately 80 employees and permanently closed 15 community publications while navigating the financial strain of COVID-19. While the company utilized government subsidies, they claim they were unable to offset the decline in revenue. [17]

Postmedia closed 15 community newspapers in Manitoba and Ontario’s Windsor-Essex area as the publications were no longer financially sustainable. [17] The publications included Manitoba’s Altona Red River Valley Echo, Carman Valley Leader, Gimli Intertake Spectator, Morden Times, Selkirk Journal, Stonewall Argus & Teulon Times, Winkler Times, and The Prairie Farmer, leaving Portage La Prairie as the company’s community presence in the province. [17] For Ontario, the closures included the Kingsville Reporter, Lakeshore News (Windsor-Essex area), LaSalle Post, Napanee Guide, Paris Star, Tecumseh Shoreline Week, and Tilbury Times. [17]

On February 17, 2022, Postmedia announced a definitive agreement to acquire Brunswick News Inc. (BNI). As well as several New Brunswick daily and weekly newspapers and "digital properties", BNI's assets included a parcel delivery business and "proprietary distribution software". [18]

In 2023, Postmedia announced it would be moving a dozen of its Alberta community papers to digital-only platforms, aiming for more outsourcing deals and laying off employees. The announcement was made January 18, 2023, during an internal memo to staff that was obtained by The Canadian Press, describing the measures as a part of a "transformation plan geared toward managing costs". Later that day, Postmedia said it had also sold the Calgary Herald building for $17.23 million to U-Haul Co. after trying to sell it for nearly a decade. [19]

In July 2023, Postmedia Network Canada Corp. and Nordstar Capital LP annonce that merger discussion between the two newspaper publishers will not continue. [20]

Operating branch

Postmedia News is the news branch of Postmedia Network, providing similar content to all of its subsidiary news outlets and websites. It is identified as a source on all of its subsidiary newspapers. [21] The news agency provides news, sports, entertainment, photography, financial and feature information and data to Postmedia Network's Canadian newspapers, online properties and a number of third party clients in Canada and the United States.[ citation needed ]

Criticism

Ties to right wing politics

In October 2018, it was reported that CEO Andrew MacLeod had declared the company "insufficiently conservative". That resulted in Kevin Libin, who had played an active role in defeating a union drive at the paper earlier that year, [22] taking charge of all political reporting and analysis in Postmedia newspapers to ensure the newspapers became more "reliably conservative." [23] [24] In June 2019, Kevin Libin, comments editor and editorials editor of the National Post and Financial Post and a founding editor of Western Standard, was assigned “executive editor of Postmedia politics". [4] The role focuses on the coverage of federal politics in the National Post. In addition, it focuses on the coverage of federal and provincial politics in all of the dailies owned by Postmedia. [24]

In November 2019, Postmedia announced that 66% of its shares were now owned by Chatham Asset Management, an American media conglomerate which owns American Media, Inc. and is known for its close ties to the Republican party. [25] [26]

Centralization and lack of localization

The creation of the Postmedia Network effectively concentrates more than 90 percent of all Canadian dailies and weeklies in one company, a fact lamented by J-Source, a Canadian media watchdog, in a 2015 online article. [27]

Margo Goodhand, a former Edmonton Journal editor-in-chief, wrote in a 2016 Walrus article that Postmedia executives were behind the outsourcing of Postmedia content to a site within an office in Canada for the sake of producing “Regina Leader-Post sports pages, Arts fronts for the Montreal Gazette, editorial pages for the Vancouver Sun”. [24] [28] In a 2020 article by The New York Times, it was reported journalists had attested that since Chatham Asset Management took over, Postmedia had centralized operations and cut staff so that its 106 newspapers were essentially clones of one another. [29]

Relationship with the government

On November 27, 2018, The Competition Bureau applied for a court evaluation contesting Postmedia's claims of solicitor-client privilege, for records seized by the bureau during raids at the company's offices. [30] In March 2018, the Competition Bureau issued a court filing accusing Postmedia and Torstar of structuring the deal they made together with no-compete clauses in an effort to reduce competition in the newspaper industry in violation of the Competition Act . [31] [32]

According to Marc Edge, author of The Postmedia Effect, the network received $9.9 million in government financial assistance in 2022. In the same year, Postmedia's operating income was only $13 million. [33]

Treatment of staff

In 2016, Paul Godfrey took a $900,000 bonus during a time when Postmedia laid off staff company-wide. [34] CFO Doug Lamb received $450,000, COO Andrew MecLeod $425,000, legal and general counsel Jeffrey Harr $300,000, and National Post president Gordon Fisher $200,000. Unions representing Canadian journalists wanted the Postmedia executives to reject the total $2,275,000 as the newspaper chain continued to cut staff. [35]

Assets

Advertising

Publishing

Broadsheet dailies and weeklies

Tabloid dailies

Community newspapers

Postmedia owns newspapers that serve smaller communities across Canada, including:

Former assets

Magazines

  • Financial Post Business
  • Living Windsor
  • Muskoka Magazine
  • Kingston Life Magazine
  • Interiors Magazine
  • Backpack Magazine
  • Cannabis Post
  • Muskoka Visitor Guide
  • Ontario Farmer Magazines (Hog, Beef, Dairy)
  • Swerve
  • TVtimes

Online

  • Canada.com
  • Infomart.com
  • Canoe.com
  • celebrating.com
  • connecting.com
  • driving.ca
  • househunting.ca
  • remembering.ca
  • shoplocal.ca
  • SwarmJam.com

In addition, Postmedia Network owns all websites associated with all properties listed on this page either wholly or in partnership.

Software

See also

Other media groups in Canada include:

Related Research Articles

<i>Vancouver Sun</i> Canadian daily newspaper

The Vancouver Sun, also known as the Sun, is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the largest newspaper in western Canada by circulation. Since 2022, it is published five days a week from Tuesday to Saturday.

<i>The Province</i> Canadian daily newspaper in British Columbia

The Province is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the Vancouver Sun broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only two major newspapers.

<i>National Post</i> Canadian national daily newspaper

The National Post is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only. The newspaper is distributed in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. Weekend editions of the newspaper are also distributed in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro International</span> Swedish media company

Metro International is a Swedish media company based in Luxembourg that publishes freesheet newspaper, the Metro. This newspaper is primarily intended for city commuters in business areas.

<i>Toronto Sun</i> Canadian tabloid newspaper published in Toronto

The Toronto Sun is an English-language tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several Sun tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Postmedia Place in downtown Toronto.

Sun Media Corporation was the owner of several tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49 percent owner of the now defunct Sun News Network. It was a subsidiary of Quebecor Media.

Osprey Media L.P. was a Canadian newspaper regional chain that published 20 daily newspapers, 34 non-daily newspapers, and a number of shopping guides and magazines in the Canadian province of Ontario. Formerly an independent income trust, Osprey was taken over by Quebecor's Sun Media division in 2007. With the sale of Sun Media to Postmedia Network a decade later, many of its former newspapers owned by Osprey today are either owned by Postmedia or Torstar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canwest</span> Former Canadian media company

Canwest Global Communications Corporation, which operated under the corporate name Canwest, was a major Canadian media conglomerate based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, with its head offices at Canwest Place. It held radio, television broadcasting, and publishing assets in several countries, primarily in Canada.

Postmedia News is a national news agency with correspondents in Canada, Europe, and the United States and is part of the Canadian newspaper chain owned by Postmedia Network Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Torstar</span> Canadian mass media company

Torstar Corporation is a Canadian mass media company which primarily publishes news. In addition to the Toronto Star, its flagship and namesake, Torstar also publishes daily newspapers in Hamilton, Peterborough, Niagara Region, and Waterloo Region In addition to the Metroland Media Group and a minority position on Canadian Press. The corporation was initially established in 1958 to take over operations of the Star from the Atkinson Foundation after a provincial law banned charitable organizations from owning for-profit entities. From 1958 to 2020, the class A shares of Torstar were held by the families of the original Atkinson Foundation trustees. The private investment firm NordStar Capital LP, now owned by Jordan Bitove, acquired the company in 2020.

<i>The Sudbury Star</i> Daily regional newspaper in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

The Sudbury Star is a Canadian daily regional newspaper published in Sudbury, Ontario. It is owned by the media company, Postmedia. It is the largest daily paper in Northeastern Ontario by circulation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Godfrey</span> Canadian businessman and politician

Paul Victor Godfrey, CM, OOnt is a businessman and former Canadian politician. During his career, Godfrey was a North York alderman, Chairman of Metro Toronto, President of the Toronto Sun and head of the Toronto Blue Jays. He was instrumental in bringing the Toronto Blue Jays to Toronto and has campaigned to bring the National Football League to Toronto. He is the former president and CEO of Postmedia Network.

<i>24 Hours</i> (newspaper) Canadian free daily newspaper

24 Hours, is a group of English-language and French-language free daily newspapers published in Canada. It was published in French in Montreal and Gatineau, and in English in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. The Gatineau edition was discontinued in 2008 and the Calgary, Edmonton, and Ottawa editions ceased publication in 2013. The Toronto and Vancouver editions were sold to Postmedia Network as part of Quebecor's divestment of English-language news, and they were later acquired by Torstar in an asset swap on November 27, 2017 and immediately shut down in favour of the Torstar-owned Metro papers in those cities.

<i>The Peterborough Examiner</i>

The Peterborough Examiner is a newspaper that services Peterborough, Ontario and area. The paper started circulation in 1847, and is currently owned by Torstar and operated by its Metroland division. Between 1942 and 1955, it was edited by Canadian man of letters Robertson Davies, whose unique three-paragraph editorial style won several awards. Davies remained owner and publisher of the Examiner and Ralph Hancox the editor until 1967, when it was sold to the Thomson chain of newspapers. Subsequently, Sterling, Hollinger and Sun Media owned the newspaper before Postmedia.

<i>St. Catharines Standard</i>

The St. Catharines Standard is a daily newspaper of the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. As of May 2020, the publication was owned by Torstar but on May 26, 2020, the company agreed to be acquired by NordStar Capital, a private investment firm. The deal was expected to close prior to year end.

Metroland Media Group is a Canadian mass media publisher and distributor which primarily operates in Southern Ontario. A division of the publishing conglomerate Torstar Corporation, Metroland published more than 70 local community newspapers–including six dailies–and many magazines. Metroland has a substantial market presence in its geographic area, but has considerable competition from other large media and publishing organisations. In addition to printing most of its own publications, Metroland operates as a commercial printer of flyers and magazines.

<i>The Gazette</i> (Montreal) English-language newspaper in Montreal, Canada

The Gazette, also known as the Montreal Gazette, is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The Barrie Examiner was a daily newspaper published in Barrie, Ontario from 1864 to 2017.

<i>StarMetro</i> (newspaper) Defunct chain of Canadian free daily newspapers

StarMetro was a chain of Canadian free daily newspapers published in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Toronto, and Vancouver. The chain was a joint venture between the Canadian publishing conglomerate Torstar and Swedish global media company Metro International. The chain was originally branded as Metro prior to rebranding on April 10, 2018. StarMetro was not affiliated with the French-language Métro newspaper published by TC Transcontinental in Montreal.

<i>Welland Tribune</i> Canadian daily newspaper

The Welland Tribune is a daily newspaper that services Welland, Ontario and surrounding area. The Tribune was one of several Postmedia Network newspapers purchased by Torstar in a transaction between the two companies which concluded on November 27, 2017. The paper continues to be published by the Metroland Media Group subsidiary of Torstar. In late May 2020, Torstar accepted an offer for the sale of all of its assets to Nordstar Capital in late May 2020, a deal expected to close by year end.

References

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  2. 2021 Annual Information Form (PDF), Postmedia Network Canada Corp., 2021
  3. "Federal Corporation Information". Corporations Canada. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  4. 1 2 "You Must Be This Conservative To Ride: The Inside Story of Postmedia's Right Turn". canadalandshow.com. August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  5. "Contact Us | Postmedia". postmedia.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Postmedia revamps Ottawa Citizen's digital service". CBC News, May 20, 2014.
  7. "Postmedia Fiscal 2020 Q1 financial report" (PDF). on page 15 under 'Related Party Transactions'
  8. 1 2 3 4 Olive, David (January 23, 2015). "Postmedia and the heavy price it pays to survive: Olive". Toronto Star . Toronto, ON. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "Postmedia buys 175-paper Sun Media for $316m". Toronto Star , October 6, 2014.
  10. Competition Bureau will not challenge Postmedia’s acquisition of Sun Media. Competition Bureau , March 25, 2015.
  11. "Postmedia purchase of Quebecor's Sun Media OK'd by Competition Bureau". CBC News. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  12. "Postmedia-Sun Media deal officially closes". The Globe and Mail. April 13, 2015.
  13. "Five things to know with Canada's news media industry under public policy review - CityNews Toronto". CityNews Toronto. June 21, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  14. "Postmedia to close community newspapers in Stratford, London, St. Thomas". CBC News. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  15. "Torstar, Postmedia swap community papers, most to close". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  16. "Postmedia to close more local newspapers, cut staff by 10 per cent". Ottawa Citizen. Canadian Press. June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
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  32. "Torstar, Postmedia and the arrogance of the deal". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  33. Edge, March (June 13, 2023). "Postmedia is in a crash dive – Ottawa should let it decline". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  34. "Postmedia executives receive $2.3-million in retention bonuses" . Retrieved August 16, 2019.
  35. Woodhouse, Kristin (November 24, 2016). "Unions demand Postmedia executives reject $2.3 million in bonuses". vancouver.citynews.ca. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  36. 1 2 3 4 5 Telecom; Media (November 27, 2017). "'The alarm bells should go off:' Postmedia, Torstar deal will see 36 community papers closed - Financial Post".