36 newspapers to close after Torstar and Postmedia trade

By Madeleine Villa

BELLEVILLE – Thirty-five newspapers across Ontario will be closing in the near future after a deal Monday between Torstar Corporation and Postmedia Network.

The deal saw the two companies exchange a total of  41 Ontario newspapers.

Postmedia acquired 26 publications from Torstar, including the Belleville News, Quinte West News, Central Hastings News, Frontenac Gazette, and Kingston Heritage.

Postmedia will be closing 24 of the papers. The two that will remain open are the Exeter Times-Advocate and the Exeter Weekender.

Torstar acquired 17 newspapers, including Northumberland Today and the Peterborough Examiner. Cobourg-based Northumberland Today is among the 13 that will be closed.

The closures are due to falling advertising revenues, according to Metroland.

The four papers that will continue to run through Metroland Media are the Welland Tribune, Peterborough Examiner, St. Catharines Standard and the Niagara Falls Review.

Approximately 244 people will lose their jobs.

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