As a small-town Alberta newspaper shuts down, others fight to stay alive

CBC

31-03-2025

After covering elections and issues around Coronation, Alta., for more than a century, the East Central Alberta Review published its final edition last week.
The newspaper launched in 1911 — the first issue came out months before Coronation was incorporated.
By its 114th year delivering the news, the paper reached 26,000 homes across more than 90 communities east of Red Deer, according to publisher and owner Joyce Webster.
"I've been here 44 years, putting the newspaper out. So it's probably going to be a little bit of a hole in my life," she said on the Calgary Eyeopener last Tuesday.
"It is sad because the community is not going to be able to get information from their local council meetings or the crime beat."
Webster said she's ready to retire and tried to sell the newspaper but couldn't find a buyer.
"So much of the advertising, unfortunately, has gone to social media," she said.
The final nail in the coffin for the East Central Alberta Review, Webster added, was a change to Canada Post's advertising mail policy.
Last year, the postal service stopped delivering newspapers with commercial inserts, like flyers advertising local businesses, to Canadians signed up for the Consumers' Choice program, which allows people to opt out of receiving advertising mail, according to Canada Post.
"When that happened, it literally took another $24,000 off the bottom of my bottom line. So it wasn't literally feasible to continue," said Webster.
Dozens of other Alberta news outlets shut down
From 2008 to last month, 62 news outlets closed in Alberta, according to the Local News Research Project, run by a group of Canadian journalism researchers.
During that same time, 23 new outlets opened in the province.
Across the country, 529 local news outlets closed in 351 communities.
"The organizations seem to be under a great deal of strain," said Tyler Nagel, a journalism instructor at SAIT and PhD candidate, adding many community papers are facing a sharp reduction in ad revenue.
"Similarly, in many towns, they're seeing a reduction in readership as aging populations continue to diminish and young people seem to be either less interested in the news or, in some cases, moving out of the communities."
Nagel compares professional local journalists to local fire departments: both go to work when disasters strike or problems surface.
"When an important issue faces a community, having that objective professional source of information that can push back against claims being made on social media or set the record straight for a community. That's really important for everyone who lives there," he said.
Newspapers in Claresholm, Three Hills face challenges
The Three Hills Capital has been printing local news since 1916. Meanwhile, the Claresholm Local Press is looking forward to its 100th anniversary next year.
Both have faced huge challenges adapting to the changing advertising environment.
"You're always competing with social media," Rob Vogt, editor of the Claresholm Local Press, said on the Eyeopene r last Thursday. "Everybody has a platform now. Everybody can basically publish their own newspaper."
General Motors was a big source of ad revenue for Three Hills Capital, before the car company closed its dealerships in Three Hills and the surrounding area, according to publisher Tim Shearlaw.
"All of a sudden, General Motors decided that it was over for small dealerships," he said on the Eyeopener.
"We lost thousands of dollars in that respect. And, of course, a draw to the community, because in a rural community, a car dealership is an anchor."
Despite the challenges, both newspapers plan to continue publishing long into the future.
"We survived the pandemic and we've seen an increase in the last couple of years," said Shearlaw. "We're a family operation, and we continue to put out a product that we're very proud of."
"We've survived everything, you know. That includes the Depression and the two world wars," said Vogt. "I think we're going to keep on going as long as we can."