SaltWire Network, Atlantic Canada's largest newspaper company, has filed for creditor protection while a private equity fund that partly owns it initiates insolvency proceedings. The situation is another blow to local journalism, putting dozens of papers and hundreds of jobs at risk.

Halifax Regional Municipality

SaltWire Network, recognized as Atlantic Canada's largest newspaper company, has entered into creditor protection. This development comes as a private equity fund, which is a partial owner of the network, has started insolvency proceedings. The unfolding scenario is particularly detrimental to local journalism in the region, endangering the sustainability of numerous publications and risking the livelihoods of hundreds of individuals employed within the industry.

The move to file for creditor protection showcases the financial distress SaltWire Network is currently facing. As insolvency proceedings begin, there is a looming uncertainty over the future of local news outlets under the company's umbrella. This step is indicative of broader challenges faced by the media industry, particularly those impacting local news organizations.



Canada's largest newspaper company files for creditor protection

For Bill Niven, this is a ritual as old as time. I bought this house 27 years ago and I subscribed to the hard copy of the newspaper the next day. So it's been 27 years. The paper itself, The Chronicle-Herald, dates back 200 years. The oldest independent newspaper in Canada. But this is not just about that one paper. In 2017, its owners went on a shopping spree buying up almost all of the newspapers in Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island, creating the SaltWire Network. Now, the private equity fund that financed those acquisitions says SaltWire owes it more than 32 million dollars and is trying to dissolve the company, putting the future of those papers at risk. The newspaper, there's something behind it. There are people who went to journalism school who, you know, who've studied what, you know, what news is all about. And they refer to themselves as a cohort or you refer to them as a cohort? I think, yeah. At this journalism school, the professor says everyone should be concerned about the trouble at SaltWire. No one else is going to those town council meetings. No one else is reporting on Jane's figure skating gold medal. So to lose that would be devastating. In court documents, the lender says it has lost faith in senior management who have mismanaged the business, used employee pension funds for operations and failed to pay seven million in taxes. SaltWire points to the unprecedented challenges facing the media industry and says it's filing for creditor protection to ensure the company's future. As much as a union employer dynamic can be adversarial, you know, we all are on the same side trying to keep the business going, keep our jobs. SaltWire has 400 employees and another 800 contractors who deliver the papers. When I opened that thing, I know that people all over town, all over the province probably, are reading the same paper, same articles and that gives me, it's like an automatic sense of community. For now, the company says whether to mailboxes or inboxes, the papers will still arrive. Kayla Hounsell, CBC News, Halifax.

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