Beginning Nov. 28, subscribers to the Chronicle Herald’s print edition will be unable to access it in certain rural Nova Scotia areas.
SaltWire, the media company that owns the newspaper, circulated a letter to subscribers in some rural areas on Monday informing customers they would be switched to a “digital-only subscription.”
As of next Monday, the print edition will not be distributed to subscribers in those rural areas. Saltwire will reduce delivery routes because of the decreasing number of subscribers and rising delivery costs.
The letter to customers stated that “Our mobile apps, SaltWire.com as well as the e-edition replica newspapers outpaced the demand”
Customers can access all SaltWire publications via digital subscription, including the P.E.I. Guardian, the St. John’s Telegram and the Chronicle Herald as well as the Cape Breton Post.
SaltWire could no longer be reached for comment. It’s unclear which areas of the province will no longer have access to print editions, or whether other SaltWire-owned newspapers in other parts of Atlantic Canada are also moving to digital only for rural subscribers.
But some current subscribers don’t want to switch to the digital version.
Donald Fletcher has had his Chronicle Herald newspaper delivered every morning to his mailbox for 26 years. He lives in the small Cumberland County community of New Salem, about 40 kilometres west of Parrsboro, N.S.
Surprised to learn that his long-standing subscription to print will be converted to digital-only starting Monday, he was shocked.
He said, “It’s tragic is what it’s,” It’s another thing we’re losing.
Fletcher stated that he would cancel his subscription as he doesn’t intend to use the digital copy. He does have a tablet, but it is too difficult for him to read.
He said, “I like to sit at my kitchen table with my cat and paper and look through it.” “But anyway, it’s gone now.
Thelma Redmond of Richmond, Cumberland County, picked up her last delivered copy of the Chronicle Herald on Friday.
The Herald is still being read by the 93-year old. It was her grandfather who read it to her as a child in Folly Mountain.
“They didn’t have many luxuries back in those days,” said Wayne Redmond, Thelma’s son. “The Chronicle Herald was all they had for entertainment, and they still follow it.
She just picked up her last newspaper today and will continue to read it for hours. If she doesn’t have a paper, she’ll go into the pile of old papers and start reading them again.”
Because his mother has memory issues, he holds on to familiar things. Paper is the only thing that has remained constant.
He said, “She’s really upset.”
Wayne says he’s had trouble reaching SaltWire customer service since the letter came, but hopes they will set up newspaper drop boxes in a central location for those who are no longer able to get deliveries.
“Why don’t they just have one in every little village they’ve abandoned, so that people can pick up their paper at a relatively convenient local location?” he asked.
Dwindling print editions
Newspaper subscribers in Atlantic Canada have steadily been Losing their printed editions.
In October, SaltWire ended the Monday print edition for all of their daily newspapers in Atlantic Canada.
Last month, the media company pointed out that inflation was increasing in print operations and fuel costs were factors in their decision.
All employees received voluntary buyout plans from the company. Five Halifax newsroom staff took it.
April Lindgren, a Toronto Metropolitan University journalism professor and lead researcher on the project, is Local News Research Project.
She believes that SaltWire’s move to digital is not surprising, as it only applies to certain rural areas of the province.
Some media companies are looking to reduce costs due to plummeting advertising revenues and the drying up of federal COVID-19 support.
She stated, “Let’s face the facts: The cancellation of the printed edition is a way of saving money because it costs money for to be out there dropping copies of newspapers off at homes,”
Although driving long distances to deliver newspapers can be costly, Lindgren believes that removing print editions will leave loyal customers behind. She said that older people living in rural areas will be the hardest hit by digital-only newspapers.
“That’s problematic, because we know that the Internet access is terrible,” she stated.
Local News Research Project: Report Find it Since 2008, 23 of Nova Scotia’s local news organizations, mainly newspapers, have shut down and only nine have been launched.
She said, “This could be the beginning of an unfortunate tendency of cutbacks or possibly even closings to more local news operations down in the future.”
Fletcher is connected to the internet at his New Salem home, but Fletcher plans to receive his news via the evening TV news and radio.
“I’m done. He stated, “There will be no digital in the house as long I’m there.”