Local papers merged, local focus lost

One of the valuable things lost in the headlong corporate consolidation that characterizes Quebecor Media is the hometown and local character of its newspapers. This is no better illustrated than by the decision to merge three, venerable local papers in eastern Ontario, formerly part of the Osprey Media chain, into one.

According to a post on a Sun-expat website, the Cobourg Daily Star, founded as a weekly in 1831; Port Hope Evening Guide, founded in 1878 and Colborne Chronicle, founded in 1959 from the ashes of the Colborne Express, 1866, and the Colborne Enterprise, 1886 have now been replaced by Northumberland Today. To add insult to injury, the 16-page daily now costs $1.25, up from the $1 Cobourg and Port Hope readers were paying.