From the CBC:
Nordstar, the company that owns the Toronto Star and other newspapers, announced Friday that it is seeking bankruptcy protection for the unit that owns more than 70 local newspapers and axing more than 600 jobs in the process.
Nordstar says it is putting its Metroland Media Group division into creditor protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act as part of a restructuring plan.
One of those local newspapers that has bit the dust is the Etobicoke Guardian. When I first moved to Etobicoke a decade ago, I'd get the Guardian bundled with a bunch of flyers. Sometimes I'd skim it, but often it went straight into the recycling bin. Then, one day, I stopped getting it. My neighbours would get it, but it was as if they had a no-delivery order for my house. I never complained.
Still, this is a sad day for smaller communities and 600+ people who are now out of work without severance. That's the kicker. Losing your job sucks, but if you're severed fairly, there's a silver lining. When you're fired without any severence, it's salt in the wounds. Especially if you work in a rapidly shrinking industry.
And it's rapidly shrinking. This is why the CBC is so important, and why it's so disturbing that the Conservative Party of Canada speaks so openly about defunding the CBC. For many in this country, the CBC is the only local news left.
Not only should be not defund the CBC, but we should increase our spending. And we should do it yesterday.
