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Tri-Cities Now is latest community newspaper iced by Glacier Media

by Stephen Hui on September 10th, 2015 at 2:19 PM
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      It's a sad day for people who read or work at newspapers in Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Anmore, and Belcarra.

      The Tri-Cities Now has announced it is closing up shop next month.

      A statement on the community paper's website reads:

      The last issue of the Tri-Cities NOW will be published Thursday, Oct. 1.

      We want to thank our readers for their support.

      It’s been a privilege to serve our community for more than 30 years.

      Vancouver-based Glacier Media Group owns the Tri-Cities Now as well as the Tri-City News.

      (Update [3:05 p.m.]: The Burnaby NewsLeader and New Westminster NewsLeader are also set to close.)

      Last December, Glacier gained ownership of the Richmond Review, Tri-City News, Burnaby NewsLeader, and New Westminster NewsLeader from Black Press.

      In return, Black Press took over the Surrey Now, Langley Advance, and Maple Ridge Times.

      "The deal lessened competition by giving Glacier a community-newspaper monopoly over the western part of the Lower Mainland and Black Press a monopoly in eastern suburbs of Vancouver," the Georgia Straight's Charlie Smith wrote when the Richmond Review shut down in July.

      Glacier recently cut the Vancouver Courier from two days a week to one, and laid off a couple of its journalists.

      CEO Jonathon Kennedy referred to "challenging" economic and market conditions in Glacier's condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30.

      "Adjusted revenue declined 8.5% to $70.9 million and adjusted consolidated EBITDA [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] declined 30.9% to $9.8 million for the period ended June 30, 2015 compared to the same period last year," Kennedy stated.

      "The declines in both revenue and EBITDA were due to a number of factors. These included declines in community media print advertising revenue, although part of the decline (approximately $1.0 million), was from the sale, closure and restructuring of a group of community media assets in B.C."

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