In a press release issued September 19, Quebecor Media Inc. president and chief operating officer Pierre Francoeur named Michael Sifton as the new president and chief executive officer of Sun Media Corp. Sifton was previously the president and CEO of Osprey Media, which was acquired by Quebecor earlier this year.
“Michael Sifton brings a unique combination of a long family history in Canadian newspaper publishing and extensive experience to address the challenges in today’s tumultuous media industry,” Francoeur said in the release. “I could not imagine a more highly qualified successor for the positions I have occupied at Sun Media.”
Pierre Karl P├®ladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor Inc., also revealed that Francoeur will retire in the summer of 2008 and will assist the company during the transition leading up to that date.
“The prospect of working with so many talented people in an industry that is transforming itself to harness new potential is exciting,” Sifton said. “Certainly there will be synergy in many areas of journalistic and business operations as well as economies of scale. The trick is to make sure we focus on what drives the business – local contacts, local information; we want to build on that. We have a wonderful footprint across the country for both the collection and dissemination of news and information – a powerful platform.”
Quebecor purchased Osprey Media in August for $414 million, and gained a total of 29 weekly newspapers, which are members of the Canadian Community Newspapers Association, plus a total of 20 daily newspapers. Through Bowes Publishers Limited, Quebecor now owns 111 CCNA member newspapers.