The consolidation of the community newspaper industry

Two newspaper empires divide and conquer the remains of B.C.’s battered industry

2015 may mark the end of the two-newspaper town in B.C. Declining ad revenue has led to rapid consolidation in the industry, with B.C.’s two newspaper conglomerates (Surrey-based Black Press and Vancouver’s Glacier Media) trading community papers like game pieces. The strategy is simple: one company takes over both papers in a given community and then shuts the least-profitable one down. The last two years have been particularly Survivor-esque for B.C.’s ink-stained wretches—as the death toll below indicates.