The newspaper 24 hours, distributed free in the Montreal metro, published its latest paper edition on Thursday. The daily has announced that it will now only be accessible in digital format.
Already, in February 2021, Quebecor had announced that the 24 hours paper version would only be distributed once a week.
Declining subway ridership since the pandemic, the arrival of cellular signal throughout the network, and rising material prices appear to have precipitated this decision, according to Professor Patrick White, of the School of Media at the University. ‘UQAM. The announcement comes just over a month after Quebecor announced the elimination of 240 positions in its media subsidiaries; several of these layoffs occurred in the team of the 24 hourshe said.
In an article summarizing the evolution of paper newspapers in recent years, journalist Gabriel Ouimet quotes in the latest edition of 24 hours a study according to which “today, a third (33%) of Quebec adults obtain their information mainly on social networks, a proportion which rises to 50% among those aged 25 to 34 and to 67% among those aged 18 to 24 years “.
According to Professor White, the heyday of Underground newspapers is simply over. “It’s the end of an era,” he said. Distribution was very expensive, in a context of labor shortages and rising paper prices. And the readers are not at the rendezvous. »
“Even if it is a mourning for our team, the future is bright for 24 hours and its community. We will continue to deal with the same themes that fascinate us and that turn you on, on our digital platforms, “wrote Thursday Charles D’Amboise, director of information content at the 24 hours. To mark the occasion, the newspaper has also made its latest paper edition a souvenir issue retracing great moments in the history of Montreal that it has reported.
With exclusively digital content, the 24 hours hopes to reach a younger clientele, notes Professor Patrick White, who says, on the other hand, that he is worried about a shift towards viral and less in-depth content.
The weekly paper version of the 24 hours had the particularity of presenting extensive files, with a selection of articles from other Quebecor publications, he notes. If the disappearance of 24 hours paper was “written in the sky”, says Mr. White, “we will still have to continue to deal with social subjects, to talk about climate change”.
Its competitor in the Montreal public transit network, the newspaper Metrohas only published one paper edition per week since June 2022. It had already gone from three publications to two in December 2021. Its management did not comment on the news.