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Postmedia Network

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Postmedia Network Canada Corp.
Company typePublic
TSX: PNC.A, PNC.B
IndustryMass media
PredecessorCanwest
FoundedJuly 13, 2010; 14 years ago (2010-07-13)
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario, Canada
ProductsNewspapers
RevenueCAD$676 million (2018)[1]
Number of employees
4,733[2]
SubsidiariesPostmedia News
Websitepostmedia.com

Postmedia Network Canada Corp.[3] (also known as Postmedia Network or Postmedia) is a Canadian media conglomerate[4] consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in newspaper publishing, news gathering and Internet operations.

The company's strategy has seen its publications invest greater resources in digital news gathering and distribution, including expanded websites and digital news apps for smartphones and tablets.[5] This began with a revamp and redesign of the Ottawa Citizen, which debuted in 2014.[5]

History

On July 13, 2010, the Manhattan-based hedge fund GoldenTree Asset Management acquired the Asper family’s bankrupt CanWest media empire for $1.1 billion.[6]

On October 6, 2014, Postmedia's CEO Godfrey announced a deal to acquire the English-language operations of Sun Media.[6][7] The purchase received regulatory approval from the federal Competition Bureau on March 25, 2015,[8] even though the company manages competitive papers in several Canadian cities; while the Sun Media chain owns numerous other papers, four of its five Sun-branded tabloids operate in markets where Postmedia already publishes a broadsheet competitor.[7] Board chair Rod Phillips has cited the Vancouver market, in which the two main daily newspapers, the Vancouver Sun and The Province, have had common ownership for over 30 years, as evidence that the deal would not be anticompetitive.[7] The purchase did not include Sun Media's now-defunct Sun News Network.[7] The acquisition was approved by the Competition Bureau on March 25, 2015,[9] and closed on April 13.[10]

Margo Goodhand, a former Edmonton Journal editor-in-chief, wrote in a 2016 Walrus article that Postmedia executives were behind outsourcing of Postmedia content to produce “Regina Leader-Post sports pages, Arts fronts for the Montreal Gazette, editorial pages for the Vancouver Sun” to a site within an office in Canada. [11][12]

In 2016, the company sought to restructure its compensation plans and reduce spending by as much as 20%, after reporting a net loss of $99.4 million, or 35 cents per diluted share, in the fourth-quarter ended Aug 31, compared with a $54.1 million net loss, or 19 cents per diluted share, in the same period a year earlier. This resulted in 90 newsroom staff losing their jobs.[13]

On November 27, 2017, Postmedia and Torstar announced a transaction in which Postmedia will sell seven dailies, eight community papers, and the Toronto and Vancouver 24 Hours to Torstar, in exchange for 22 community papers and the Ottawa and Winnipeg versions of Metro. Except for the Exeter Times-Advocate, St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Falls Review, Peterborough Examiner, and Welland Tribune, all acquired papers will be closed.[14][15]

In March 2018, the Competition Bureau issued a court filing accusing the two companies of structuring the deal with no-compete clauses in an effort to reduce competition in the newspaper industry, in violation of the Competition Act.[16][17]

On June 26, 2018, Canadian Press reported that, by the end of August, Postmedia will be closing the Camrose Canadian in Camrose, Alberta, Strathmore Standard in Strathmore, Alberta, Kapuskasing Northern Times in Kapuskasing, Ontario, Ingersoll Times in Ingersoll, Ontario, Norwich Gazette in Norwich, Ontario and Petrolia Topic in Petrolia, Ontario. It will also cease printing the Portage Daily Graphic in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, the Northern News in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, and The Daily Observer in Pembroke, Ontario while maintaining a digital presence for the three publications. As well, the High River Times in High River, Alberta will go from being published twice a week to once a week.[18]

On November 27, 2018, The Competition Bureau applied for a court evaluation contesting Postmedia’s claims of solicitor-client privilege, for records seized by the bureau during raids at the company's offices.[19]

On June 2019, Kevin Libin, the National Post and Financial Post comments editor and editorials editor and a founding editor of Western Standard, was assigned “executive editor of Postmedia politics". [4] The role focuses on coverage for federal politics in the Post. In addition, it focuses on coverage of federal and provincial politics within all of the dallies owned by Postmedia.[11]

In November 2019, Postmedia announced[20] that 66% of its shares were now owned by Chatham Asset Management, an American media conglomerate which owns American Media, Inc., and is known for its close ties to the Republican party.[21]

Assets

Advertising

  • The Flyer Force
  • Go!Local

Publishing

National
Broadsheet dailies
Tabloid dailies
Free dailies
Community newspapers

Postmedia owns newspapers that serve smaller communities across Canada, including:

Former assets

Magazines

Online

In addition, Postmedia Network owns all websites associated with all properties listed on this page either wholly or in partnership.

Software

Other properties

Ownership structure

The ownership group was assembled by National Post CEO Paul Godfrey[6] in 2010 to bid for the chain of newspapers being sold by the financially troubled Canwest (the company's broadcasting assets were sold separately to Shaw Communications). Godfrey secured financial backing from a U.S. private equity firm, the Manhattan-based hedge fund GoldenTree Asset Management—which owns 35 per cent—as well as IJNR Investment Trust, Nyppex and other investors.[6] The group completed a $1.1 billion transaction to acquire the chain from Canwest on July 13, 2010. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the company has over 4,700 employees.[23] The company's shares were listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange in 2011.[24] In 2016, Godfrey took a $900,000 bonus during a time that Postmedia laid off staff company-wide.[25]

See also

Other media groups in Canada include:

References

  1. ^ Annual Information Form (PDF), Postmedia Network Canada Corp., 2018
  2. ^ 2015 Annual Information Form (PDF), Postmedia Network Canada Corp., 2014
  3. ^ "Federal Corporation Information". Corporations Canada. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  4. ^ a b "You Must Be This Conservative To Ride: The Inside Story of Postmedia's Right Turn". www.canadalandshow.com. Retrieved 2019-08-12.
  5. ^ a b "Postmedia revamps Ottawa Citizen's digital service". CBC News, May 20, 2014.
  6. ^ a b c d Olive, David (January 23, 2015). "Postmedia and the heavy price it pays to survive: Olive". Toronto, ON. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  7. ^ a b c d "Postmedia buys 175-paper Sun Media for $316m". Toronto Star, October 6, 2014.
  8. ^ Competition Bureau will not challenge Postmedia’s acquisition of Sun Media. Competition Bureau, March 25, 2015.
  9. ^ "Postmedia purchase of Quebecor's Sun Media OK'd by Competition Bureau". CBC News. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  10. ^ "Postmedia-Sun Media deal officially closes".
  11. ^ a b "The new worry about the next election: your daily news - Macleans.ca". www.macleans.ca. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  12. ^ Goodh, Margo (2016-02-04). "Above the Fold". The Walrus. Retrieved 2020-01-01.
  13. ^ "Five things to know with Canada's news media industry under public policy review - CityNews Toronto". CityNews Toronto. June 21, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  14. ^ "Postmedia to close community newspapers in Stratford, London, St. Thomas". CBC News. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  15. ^ "Torstar, Postmedia swap community papers, most to close". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  16. ^ "Competition Bureau's concerns over Postmedia-Torstar newspaper swap revealed in court filing". Financial Post. March 22, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  17. ^ "Torstar, Postmedia and the arrogance of the deal". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  18. ^ "Postmedia to close more local newspapers, cut staff by 10 per cent". Ottawa Citizen. Canadian Press. June 26, 2018. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  19. ^ "Torstar (Again) Blocks Release of Evidence in Conspiracy Case". The Tyee. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  20. ^ "Postmedia Fiscal 2020 Q1 financial report" (PDF). section 14
  21. ^ "Behind Trump Tabloid King, a Connected and Flush Hedge Fund". Bloomberg. 2018-08-30. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  22. ^ a b c d e Telecom; Media (November 27, 2017). "'The alarm bells should go off:' Postmedia, Torstar deal will see 36 community papers closed - Financial Post".
  23. ^ ""Postmedia Network Annual Information Form"" (PDF). Postmedia Network Canada Corporation. October 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  24. ^ "Postmedia begins trading on TSX", Financial Post, June 14, 2011, retrieved February 21, 2016
  25. ^ "Postmedia executives receive $2.3-million in retention bonuses". Retrieved 2019-08-16.
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