Thursday 23 July 2009

Dunnville done?

Is the Dunnville Chronicle, a former Osprey Media newspaper established in 1896, done?

A TSF tipster says the scaled-back Ontario weekly is down to one person in editorial - the managing editor - and he is leaving Sun Media soon to take another job.

TSF can't blame him. Our tipster says the ME lost his part-time reporter in the December layoffs and his full-time reporter quit a few months ago. So he has been flying solo, working all hours of the day to get the paper published.

"There is no word on whether a replacement will be sought or whether the paper will be shut down," says our tipster. "Knowing the way the company operates, it will probably be shut down."

But if PKP decides there is still money to be made in Dunnville, there are more than enough unemployed journalists out there to fill the position.

"It is doubtful, though, that anyone who takes that job will last long because of the amount of time they'll have to spend covering everything, writing and taking photos, editing the copy and putting the paper together."

5 comments:

  1. just for accuracy sake, and I assume it's up to date:

    Editorial Department

    Bob Liddycoat - Managing Editor

    Cathy Pelletier - Reporter/Photographer

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  2. All remaining production and printing in Peterborough will be done as of this weekend. PKP may have canned his visit, but not his intent.

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  3. Cathy Pelletier was/is a freelancer, not a full- or part-time reporter, for even more accuracy sake. And also Bob's wife.

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  4. I was going by the masthead on the website.
    Thanks for the clarification.

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  5. Most weeklies in southwestern Ontario have only one full-time person. This is not unique to Dunnville, although this brand of cost cutting management is indeed shameful.

    I would hope they wouldn't shut the paper down entirely. I would think they'd bring in some wet behind the ears, fresh out of community college kid to throw in there and pay him/her next to nothing to boot.

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