Metroland now has 100 members in the Canadian Community Newspapers Association (CCNA), after purchasing the Perth (ON) Courier. The sale was effective October 25, 2006.
Readers should not expect immediate changes to the paper. Metroland has stated that they would like to keep the paper, more or less, as it is. The most notable change has been the addition of a total market coverage (TMC) product called the Perth Weekender, which began last weekend. Stories and advertisements will be split between the two newspapers.
Publisher and former owner John Clement will stay on at the paper. Clement’s family bought the paper in 1852 and it has been handed down through successive generations. Mr. Clement said the decision to sell weighed heavily.
“It has been in my family for about 155 years, and we are the second-oldest community newspaper in continuous publication in Canada. I’ve been here since I was a young teenagerÔÇöabout 47 yearsÔÇöand it was very definitely a difficult decision.”
Over the past year, Metroland has purchased the 14 papers in the Ottawa region that were part of Runge Publications.
“[Those purchases] made me think, ‘gee, what’s happening here,’ and it was certainly a factor. It took me three or four months to make up my mind,” said Mr. Clement.