Strongly criticized in the English-speaking community after announcing major cuts in the reaction room of the Montreal Gazettethe company Postmedia is trying to appease the anger and will set up an advisory committee to “strengthen the sustainability” of the last English-language daily in Quebec.
This announcement comes the day after the exit of businessman Mitch Garber, who let it be known 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 controlled by an American fund.
On social networks, the Montreal entrepreneur was more temperate, and clarified his intentions regarding the future of the 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 the 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 even ottawa citizen, had then announced that 11% of the staff of its newsrooms 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 left in the Montreal reaction room. After several postponements since the announcement, the layoffs are expected to take effect this 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 to urge management to turn around, or at the very least limit the cuts to an 11% threshold.
“In addition to 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, the Montreal Gazette would remain one of the most important newspapers.
Originally bilingual, the Montreal Gazette has existed since 1778. Owned by Postmedia since 2010, the newspaper has suffered several waves of voluntary retirements in recent years. Once made up of more than a hundred employees, the newsroom has grown steadily smaller. THE Montreal Gazette is now only published five times a week.