CCNA’s popular newspaper ownership feature is now available on the Internet.
By logging into CCNA’s web page at http://www.communitynews.ca/ownership, members can read articles, examine membership numbers, and find links relating to newspaper ownership.
The “Who Owns What?” feature examines newspaper ownership in Canada. It is based on research done by CCNA.
The feature can also be found in an ownership report published in the December-January edition of the Publisher, the association’s monthly tabloid. That issue is in distribution now.
The research shows that despite a record number of ownership changes during the past year, overall corporate ownership of community newspapers has changed very little.
Only 38 per cent of CCNA member papers are controlled by seven corporate groups. A corporate group is defined as any national or regional entity owning 10 or more community newspapers. This percentage is unchanged from last year.
CCNA’s research has identified a total of 1,117 publications in Canada that meet a basic definition of community newspaper. Some 200 of these are French language newspapers in Quebec. CCNA membership stands at 677, one less than at the end of 1999.
On the corporate front, there are several key changes. CanWest Global has been added to the list of corporate owners after their recent acquisition of Southam and Hollinger newspapers. Thomson Newspapers has been removed from the list. The one-time newspaper powerhouse now owns only a single community newspaper in Ontario.
Of the 417 CCNA publications identified as independents, 192 are part of smaller regional groups (2-9 publications) and 225 are single title ownership.
Total weekly circulation of CCNA member papers has increased to 7,172,157, up from 6,860,112 at the end of 1999.