Discussions

Almost a year to the day that many local media jobs were lost as a result of CKX's closure, many will be aware that another sad day in local media history will come on Friday. As some might be aware FP Newspapers will be shifting printing of the Brandon Sun's Rosser Ave location to Winnipeg, resulting in the layoff of their Brandon press room and mailroom staff... or about 40% of their local workforce.  
 
A few facts from Sun Editor James O'Connor's piece over the weekend regarding the change:  
 
- their new press deadline will be 11:05 PM, one hour earlier than previous.  
- since papers are will be driven out from Winnipeg overnight, there may be the odd winter day where a road closure results in the paper being later. They plan to use their website to help fill this void  
- O'Connor is quite clear that he places blame on the loss of the Globe and Mail print contract as what ultimately necessitated the change  
- O'Connor re-iterates to us that the Sun is doing well as a business and refers to his paper as an example of a "ray of shining light" in an industry that is going through difficult times in many markets  
 
I'd like to wish those that will be losing their jobs on Friday the best of luck in their future endeavours. Many moons ago as a young student going through school, I actually spent a summer working for the paper under different management.. which makes a loss like this hit closer to home than some might realize. I'll never forget the distinctive smell of the pressroom early in the morning, but at the same time it's encouraging that current management expects to confidently move forward in the operation their paper with minimal effect on the paper they're able to put in their readers' mailboxes. As I've always said, a healthy modern information climate includes several quality sources and the Sun is one of those sources that we need to stay at their best if we're to be as informed as we all deserve to be.

Edited by Adam, 9/27/2010 11:01 AM