SaltWire Network Inc. is a Canadian newspaper publishing company owned by the Dennis-Lever family of
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...
Global News
Global News is the news and current affairs division of the Canadian Global Television Network. The network is owned by Corus Entertainment, which oversees all of the network's national news programming as well as local news on its 21 owned-a ...
, April 13, 2017. The company was formed in 2017 via its purchase of 27 newspapers from
Transcontinental
Transcontinental may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Transcontinental", a song by the band Pedro the Lion from the album ''Achilles Heel''
* TC Transcontinental, a publishing, media and marketing company based in Canada, a subsidiary o ...
.
History
On April 13, 2017, Halifax's independently owned '' The Chronicle Herald'' announced its acquisition of 27 newspapers in the region from Transcontinental Media, via the newly formed parent company SaltWire Network. The company had begun a gradual exit from mainstream publishing in order to focus on specialty media and educational publishing. The exact purchase price was not disclosed, although business analysts estimated that the publications were worth approximately $30 million in total. The transaction was criticized by a number of analysts, as it occurred in the middle of a strike by ''Chronicle Herald'' employees during which the paper had claimed declining revenues as its reason for demanding major concessions including wage reductions, reduced pension contributions and the removal of several staff divisions from the bargaining unit.
In June 2018, Saltwire Network changed the Carbonear-based weekly newspaper, ''The Compass'', from a subscriber model to a free total market product deliver as a flyer package wrap.
In July 2019, Saltwire Network closed ''The Beacon'', ''The Advertiser'', ''The Pilot'' and ''The Nor'wester'', and merged them into a free weekly known as ''The Central Voice''—which began publication on August 1, 2018.
In March 2019, all SaltWire publications introduced metered paywalls.
In March 2019, SaltWire announced the sale of 10 of its buildings across Atlantic Canada.
Also in March 2019, the company terminated its affiliation with the Canadian Press newswire service, opting instead to become a client of Postmedia and
Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was est ...
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In April 2019, SaltWire announced it was turning Corner Brook-based ''The Western Star'' into a weekly delivered free to consumers as a flyer wrap. This resulted in the layoff of around 30 employees. Independent delivery contractors were also affected. At the same time, it was announced that the two Labrador weeklies would merge into one called ''The Labrador Voice''.
In April 2019, SaltWire filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia against Transcontinental, accusing it of overstating and misrepresenting details surrounding the revenue of the papers it had acquired. The company threatened a counter-suit, stating that the sale was "conducted based on fair, accurate and timely information", and accusing SaltWire of failing to "fulfil its payment obligations".
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native En ...
Valley Journal Advertiser
''The Valley Journal Advertiser'' is a weekly newspaper serving Annapolis, Kings and Hants counties in Nova Scotia. It was formed in 2016 by merging the formerly separate ''Hants Journal'' and ''Kings County Advertiser'';Windsor)
*''Valley Wire'' (Free weekly)
Prince Edward Island
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The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide ...
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Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city i ...