Guelph Mercury to close
Daily newspaper to stop publishing, affecting 23 full-time and three part-time employees
The Guelph Mercury, one of Canada’s oldest newspapers, will publish for the last time Friday, Metroland Media Group Ltd. announced Monday.
“This is a sad day,” said Donna Luelo, publisher of the Guelph Mercury and the Waterloo Region Record. “Nobody wants to close a newspaper.”
“The decision was not made lightly,” Luelo said. “But the decline of classified and national advertising in recent years has made it impossible for the printed copy of this daily newspaper to stay profitable.”
The closure of the print edition will affect 23 full-time and three part-time employees; eight of those positions are in the editorial department. Severance packages will be provided to the affected employees. Metroland has other newspaper and media properties in the area and there may be job opportunities for some staff members at those businesses.
Although the print edition will cease publishing, Metroland will provide an online version of the Guelph Mercury, guelphmercury.com. As well, the real estate publication, Guelph and District Homes, and the lifestyle magazine Guelph Life will continue as print products.
“Closing the Guelph Mercury is an unconscionable blow to the people of Guelph,” Paul Morse, president of Unifor Local 87-M, said in a release.
The union local represents editorial employees at the newspaper.
“Newspapers play a vital role in keeping Canadian society healthy. Canadians must recognize that professional, quality journalism is critical in supporting our democratic way of life,” said Morse.
Gary Ellis, a national representative with Unifor, was at the Mercury Monday in the wake of the announcement.
“It’s a very rough day,” he said. “We’re obviously disappointed and devastated by the closure.”
The closure of the 149-year-old print edition comes at a time when consumption of news continues to rapidly change. Some people no longer turn to newspapers while social media and online publications are increasingly popular.
This was the “only viable option” i n view of the Mercury’s poor financial performance and continued circulation woes, Luelo said.
The Mercury currently has fewer than 9,000 home subscribers.
Metroland’s commitment to delivering local content to the Guelph community will also continue through the Guelph Tri- bune. The Tribune publishes a newspaper twice a week and also hosts the website guelphtribune.ca. Its print edition reaches over 40,000 households in the city and area.
“There are many difficult considerations with regard to the closure of this newspaper,” said Luelo. “Foremost of these, we have a very talented team of people who produce The Mercury each day. We also have many current and past carriers who have tirelessly made sure our customers received their newspaper. And, of course, we have the thousands of subscribers who invited us into their homes six days a week.
“That’s quite a privilege,” she said.
Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie said he was “shocked” by the announcement. “The people that I know that work at the Mercury … they are people of integrity and excellent work ethic and really good journalistic acumen,” he said. “I feel for them today.”
Guthrie said the loss of the Mercury will be felt throughout the city, in light of the newspaper’s support and sponsorship of charitable groups and community events.
“They were more than just news,” he said. “They were an integral part of the community.”
Metroland Media Group is part of Torstar Corp. and also publishes the Waterloo Region Record, the Hamilton Spectator and other community papers.