Journalist working to save 136-year-old Ontario community newspaper

A Canadian journalist who arrived in Canada as a refugee claimant from Pakistan in the early 2000s is looking to restart the local newspaper in the community of Tilbury, Ont., after it was closed in 2020.

Mohsin Abbas is a news entrepreneur with a proven track record. According to the CBC News story he’s started independent publications before. He currently runs the Milton Reporter while also working for BBC News and reporting in Urdu and Punjabi.

“I know the importance of local journalism,” he is quoted as saying in the story. “It’s our social responsibility.”

While the former newspaper used to be a weekly, the new iteration will mostly publish online – but it will produce a print version about once per month.

The website is already up and running. It’s an inspiring and heartwarming story.