Strongly criticized by the English-speaking community after announcing major cuts in the reaction room of Montreal Gazettethe company Postmedia is trying to appease the anger: it will set up an advisory committee to “strengthen the sustainability” of Quebec’s last English-language daily.
This announcement comes the day after the exit of businessman Mitch Garber, who indicated that he was ready to acquire the newspaper. Deploring that his offer was refused by Postmedia, the ex-dragon had criticized on Twitter the Toronto company, which owns several daily newspapers in the country, of being managed by an American fund.
The Montreal entrepreneur showed himself to be more tempered on Thursday, and clarified his intentions regarding the future of Montreal Gazette. ” There Gazette benefits from being part of Postmedia and sharing services and costs. What the Gazette needs is a certain percentage of local ownership. Postmedia can help achieve this,” he wrote.
Mitch Garber should not be part of this new advisory board. On Wednesday, he said he had declined Postmedia’s proposal.
The company says for its part to take note “of the wave of support for Montreal Gazette and local journalism” and thus officially announces the formation of an advisory committee. Its composition will be revealed next week. ” [Le comité] will be made up of politicians, businesses and community leaders who believe in the vital role of local journalism. His role will be to offer advice, support and strategies to help generate revenue and will not play any role in editorial direction or content.
Only English-language daily
Postmedia, however, does not return to the layoffs announced at the end of January. The press group, notably owner of the National Post or evenottawa citizen, said at the time that 11% of its newsroom staff across the country would lose their jobs. But to Montreal Gazette, 25% of positions could fall by the wayside. There would then be barely more than thirty people in the Montreal reaction room. After several postponements, the layoffs are expected to take effect on Friday.
The union said Wednesday it was hopeful of reaching a compromise that would ensure that departures are lower than expected. In the meantime, a petition has been posted online urging management to turn around — or at the very least limit the cuts to an 11% threshold. “Apart from the logistical challenge of covering a vast and densely populated region, the Gazette is the only minority language publication in the Postmedia empire, informing more than one million Anglophones and allophones of French-speaking Quebec. Postmedia counters that even after 25% cuts, Montreal Gazette would remain one of the most important newspapers.
Originally bilingual, Montreal Gazette has existed since 1778. Owned by Postmedia since 2010, the newspaper has suffered several waves of voluntary retirements in recent years. Once numbering more than 100 employees, its newsroom has grown steadily smaller. Montreal Gazette is now only published five times a week.