Despite layoffs, Postmedia says don't expect big changes to Atlantic Canadian newspapers

The chief executive officer of Postmedia is moving to reassure people in Atlantic Canada that they should not expect major changes in their local newspapers. At least, not right away.

Toronto-based Postmedia acquired the assets of the insolvent SaltWire Network Inc., Atlantic Canada's largest media company, in a deal that closed earlier this month, paying $1 million for SaltWire and its more than 20 newspapers. Since March, the company has been under court-ordered protection from creditors who were owed more than $90 million.

On Wednesday, Postmedia CEO Andrew MacLeod held a meeting with SaltWire employees, then took part in a round of media interviews.

"I can't state for certain right now what the future looks like, but I promise to move quickly, and I promise to build the model that will be stable and viable going forward," MacLeod said in an interview with CBC News.

"And when we have more information and we know what the structure looks like, we'll be communicating directly with employees very quickly."

On Thursday morning, the union representing editorial staff at the Halifax Chronicle Herald reported that four of its members — three editors and one reporter — have been laid off.

One change that can be expected is the disappearance of the SaltWire name. MacLeod said the new company will emphasize the names of the individual media holdings, which include the Halifax Chronicle Herald and the Cape Breton Post in Nova Scotia, the Guardian in Charlottetown and the Telegram in St. John's. He referred to the deep historical connections many of those papers have with their communities.

SaltWire was created in 2017 when it acquired the assets of Transcontinental Media in Atlantic Canada while the company was embroiled in a protracted dispute with its unionized newsroom workers. SaltWire subsequently launched a lawsuit against Transcontinental, alleging the company had overvalued its newspaper holdings. MacLeod said Postmedia has no interest in continuing the lawsuit against Transcontinental.

MacLeod said readers shouldn't notice a big change in their local newspapers. 

"I mean, our goal is not to come in and revamp everything, especially on the printed product," he said. "So we think a degree of stability, we think there's some learnings we can share with newsrooms in terms of how to grow and develop audiences."

MacLeod said Postmedia has been able to grow its audiences over the past 18 months while other companies have lost readers. He said it's clear the SaltWire business model wasn't working and Postmedia has a better model.

"We need scale, we need scale to build audience and we need to be efficient in how we manage our operations," MacLeod said.

"And I think one of the things that the media landscape has learned over the last 10 years is that consolidation is important because it allows for efficiencies and it allows for you to create a more stable, viable model going forward."