Sale of Irving-owned N.B. papers bad news for local content, industry watchers say

The sale of New Brunswick's Irving-owned newspapers to an Ontario-based media giant does not bode well for community-based journalism, say those who have been watching the industry for years.

"The devil you know is sometimes better than the devil you don't know," said Julian Walker, a former journalist and author of Wires Crossed, which examines media concentration in New Brunswick. 

Postmedia Network Inc. announced Thursday night that it will buy three dailies and six weeklies from Brunswick News. 

Michael Camp, a professor of journalism at St. Thomas University who once worked for the Irving papers, said it's a sad day for journalism in the province. 

He's doubtful that Postmedia will maintain all of the current publications. 

"The question will be how much local journalism will there be?" Camp said. 

He particularly laments the loss of local news in communities served by weeklies. 

"I regret very much that we're losing this local news presence," he said.

"I also feel badly for the people who will be displaced from their jobs. And I wonder about the future of journalism in New Brunswick."

As for the three dailies in Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, Camp isn't sure what the future holds.

"Postmedia would be wise to maintain at least the façade of local news for those three operations," he said, noting as well that "there's nothing to be gained from changing them all to one name."

Walker isn't sure all three city papers will survive either. But he suggested that maybe they shouldn't. 

"Ultimately, one good daily might be better than three poor ones," he said.

If they were to move to one daily, Walker said it shouldn't necessarily be one Postmedia daily.