The Sherbrooke Record, the English-language daily newspaper covering Quebec’s Eastern Townships, celebrates its 126th anniversary Feb. 9.
The newspaper has continuously published the small daily which serves the region’s English-speakers despite a dramatic decrease in the minority-language community which today accounts for less than 10 per cent of the total population.
The storied daily, managed by Alta Newspaper Group, a division of Glacier Media, has flourished under the ownership of some of the most illustrious names in Canadian newspaper history: the Bassett family, the triumvirate of Conrad Black, Peter White and David Radler who began their newspaper careers there in 1969, and Quebecor’s Pierre Peladeau. Newsrooms across Canada and beyond are populated by Record alumni.
The small but mighty newspaper was totally destroyed by fire in 1999 resulting in the loss of its building and press, but resumed printing after three days. It is the only print newspaper distributed in the Eastern Townships after The Gazette (Montreal) and the two French dailies La Tribune and La Voix de l’est ceased distributing a Monday-Friday paper in 2019-2020.
Longtime Record publisher and former CCNA president Sharon McCully attributes the newspaper’s success to its commitment to local news and the support of local subscribers and advertisers. Earlier this year, The Record added a weekend edition and an online Youth edition to its titles.
