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Demise of our local newspapers
Perhaps no other business in our area has changed more than the newspaper business. When I was a politician I had several local daily and weekly newspapers to provide information and to learn of events in the area. Amazingly they are almost all gone now. Cumberland County has taken a particularly hard hit. Some of the newspapers like The Oxford Journal provided valuable information for 120 years before closing.
The Amherst Daily News was founded in 1893 and folded in 2020 after 127 years of providing information to Amherst and Cumberland County. The paper was established around the time that efforts were still underway to complete the Chignecto Ship Railway.
With the advent of the internet and social media as outlets for news and a competitive source for advertisers, newspapers have been unable to survive. Of the five daily and weekly newspapers in Cumberland County, none have survived.
The list of closed newspapers in Cumberland is depressing.
The Amherst Daily News was founded in 1893 and folded in 2020 after 127 years of providing information to Amherst and Cumberland County. The paper was established around the time that efforts were still underway to complete the Chignecto Ship Railway.
With the advent of the internet and social media as outlets for news and a competitive source for advertisers, newspapers have been unable to survive. Of the five daily and weekly newspapers in Cumberland County, none have survived.
The list of closed newspapers in Cumberland is depressing.
- Parrsboro Record: 1897–2011
- Oxford Journal: 1898–2016
- The Citizen: 1973–2006
- Springhill Record: 1928–1975
- Amherst Daily News: 1890–2020
These were unique businesses with several lasting over a hundred years. Very few businesses can make that claim. Imagine.
During my time in office, The Chronicle Herald maintained a full office in Truro and had a full time reporter in Cumberland County. With no full time dedicated reporting in Cumberland, we often feel like we are not part of the province.
In response to this national phenomenon, federal governments have brought forward several pieces of legislation designed to help newspapers survive. They were unable to help our unique papers in Cumberland but the benefits seemed to focus on larger newspapers.
Google, Meta, and Amazon scoop up more than half of global advertising dollars and that number is projected to increase. The United States has a similar problem and they have proposed legislation similar to the Canadian legislation, but it is not passed yet.
This trend is projected to continue. The result will be more consolidation, joint ventures, and more requests for public funding.
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is the new wildcard as a source of information and news. AI can deliver exactly what the reader is interested in and nothing extra. AI will become another serious competitor for newspapers and journalism in general. That trend has already started.
I certainly miss our local newspapers.
Thanks for reading.
Bill
During my time in office, The Chronicle Herald maintained a full office in Truro and had a full time reporter in Cumberland County. With no full time dedicated reporting in Cumberland, we often feel like we are not part of the province.
In response to this national phenomenon, federal governments have brought forward several pieces of legislation designed to help newspapers survive. They were unable to help our unique papers in Cumberland but the benefits seemed to focus on larger newspapers.
Google, Meta, and Amazon scoop up more than half of global advertising dollars and that number is projected to increase. The United States has a similar problem and they have proposed legislation similar to the Canadian legislation, but it is not passed yet.
This trend is projected to continue. The result will be more consolidation, joint ventures, and more requests for public funding.
Artificial Intelligence, or AI, is the new wildcard as a source of information and news. AI can deliver exactly what the reader is interested in and nothing extra. AI will become another serious competitor for newspapers and journalism in general. That trend has already started.
I certainly miss our local newspapers.
Thanks for reading.
Bill