Right in the centre - Newspapers and their future

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Published on Thursday, March 27, 2025

By Ken Waddell

Neepawa Banner & Press

The following column is a revision of a column from a year ago. Tomorrow, March 29, I will  turn 77. For almost half of those years, I have been in the newspaper business full time. For 59 of those years, I have been involved in writing and publishing and that dates long before the desktop or laptop computer.

Many people have asked me questions about the newspaper industry, people from seniors to farmers to sports figures to politicians, including premiers and prime minsters. They ask questions, lots of questions, and here’s a few examples:

Q. How are you able to keep on giving away your papers?

A. Because we have loyal advertisers who need the pages of the local paper to get their message out to the people who are their customers. Advertisers include businesses, both big and small, local organizations, towns and municipalities. Without ads, there is no local paper.

Q. What is the best way to support our local paper?

A. Buy ads and submit news stories and pictures. 

Q. Is there any other way?

A. Yes, there is! All newspapers used to have a subscription fee and some still do. However, it is somewhat simpler to set out our circulation area and service that area with free pick up papers in as many places as possible. In return, grateful readers can make a donation to their local paper. Subscription fees are around $60 per year so if a person wants to make a donation they can send a cheque to this paper at the address shown at the bottom of Page 4.

Q. Why do local papers matter?

A. Papers are usually filled with local news, ads and photos you won’t see anywhere else. They shouldn’t be filled up with provincial, national or international news that you can find on TV or the internet hours or maybe even days before the weekly local paper hits the streets. Local papers are usually much more reliable than any other news source.

Q. Are there less papers than there used to be?

A. Yes, many have disappeared. In the past few years, local papers have ceased to exist in Melita, Reston, Deloraine, Souris, Brandon, Carberry and Altona. That’s only seven examples, but about 20 papers are now gone across Manitoba. This past summer we acquired our third paper, the 139 year old Virden Empire Advance.

Q. Why have so many papers disappeared?

A. That’s a great question and it will take a little bit longer to explain. Almost all of the closed papers used to be locally owned and when the owners went to retire, they were bought up by large investment corporations. These corporations were run by shareholder boards and managed by CEOs who often had no local connection. The local papers were seen as a cash cow to satisfy the shareholders. To do that, staff numbers were cut. Fewer staff meant less news, fewer pictures, less ads sold. The CEOs kept squeezing more blood out of the papers until they died. In many cases, big corporations just walked away and left the few remaining staff, the buildings and equipment blowing in the wind. 

Q. Can newspaper staff work off-site?

A. Yes, they can and sometimes do. It works as long as the jobs get done and the staff stay in close touch with their local community.

Q. Ken, you are well past retirement age, what happens when you can’t do this any more?

A. We have excellent staff and they can do a lot without my presence or involvement. We have two sons who stick pretty close by in case “the old man” can’t do the work any more. We have put that theory to the test a few times when I have been hospitalized in the past. Contingency plans are underway but I am currently in very good health and plan to work until God says to stop. Thank you and may God bless you and yours!

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this column are the writer’s personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the newspaper staff.