I have mixed feelings about the closure of the Prince George Free Press.
I can't lie. The Free Press has been a strong competitor of the Citizen for the past 20 years. Whether it was competing for stories, readers or advertising dollars, I always wanted the Citizen to win and the Free Press to lose.
That competitor is no more as of today but I'm not celebrating.
The end of the Free Press is a sad day for the loyal employees who lost their jobs.
The end of the Free Press is a sad day here at the Citizen. More than a dozen former and current staff members of the Citizen once worked at the Free Press. They have many fond memories and formative experiences from their Free Press days that make them valuable Citizen employees.
The end of the Free Press is a sad day for Prince George. Besides being a business that provided good-paying jobs to local residents, the Free Press served an important function as an additional voice in the local news media. The Free Press was the recipient of numerous provincial and national awards for its journalism and advertising.
The end of the Free Press is sad but its closure is not another nail in the coffin of the newspaper industry.
A century ago, six newspapers all tried to succeed in the early days of Prince George. Along with the Citizen, there was the Fort George Herald, the Fort George Tribune, the Prince George Herald, the Prince George Post and the Prince George Star. By the end of 1918, the war was over in Europe and so was the newspaper war in Prince George. The Star merged with the Citizen that fall and the Citizen was the last newspaper standing.
That didn't mean the end of newspapers in Prince George. Far from it. Various other competitors sprang up to challenge the Citizen's dominance over the decades. The end of the Free Press in 2015 is no different from the closure of other newspapers in Prince George over the years. The newspaper business has always been challenging and the overall media business today - with Twitter, Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, Sirius and others - is as difficult as it has ever been.
I am a board member with the B.C. & Yukon Community Newspapers Association and every publisher in every market is seeing the same thing. The demand for news is greater than ever and the need from business owners and operators for proven ways to reach potential customers remains strong. That means the core of our business - providing news to a demanding audience and connecting advertisers to that audience - remains solid. The challenge is providing news and advertising in the most timely way in the variety of formats the audience is looking for.
Newspapers have been meeting that challenge since they began and the Citizen is no different. Some people might think technology is hurting newspapers but technological improvements over the decades have allowed us to streamline every aspect of our operation, from news photography to ad building to printing on recycled newsprint using soy-based inks.
It's not technology that is really hurting newspapers, it's mythology. The myth that newspapers are dying and that this is a sunset industry has been circulating for decades, yet newspapers continue to publish and savvy investors, including Warren Buffett, continue to put money into this industry. My fellow BCYCNA publishers all agree that we're our own worst enemy sometimes and we have our share of blame in creating and sustaining the "newspapers are dead" myth. When Target or Zellers or Woolco or Woolworths close their doors, nobody says department stores are finished but when journalists see their colleagues losing their jobs, they can't help but question the health of the sector.
The future of newspapers is uncertain but the newspapers that remain, now and into the future, have three things in common. First, they continue to be relevant to the audiences they serve and with that readership comes the advertisers that want to reach those readers. Second, they embrace change in technology and the marketplace but never lose sight of their core mission to serve their audience. Last, they diversify their revenue stream.
Long gone are the days when Citizen advertising representatives strictly sold space in the newspaper to their clients. In today's environment, our sales staff see themselves as helping local businesses, large and small, develop a smart, cost-effective marketing plan that will attract customers and grow sales. That means offering a variety of publications and formats beyond just the six-day-a-week print edition of the Citizen as a means to reach that audience. The Citizen publishes a variety of general interest and specialty magazines, for audiences in Prince George and across the Central and Northern Interior, providing numerous outlets for businesses to reach their clientele.
But we haven't limited ourselves to just print and online publishing.
Our special events division is the newest way we connect businesses and customers in an informative and entertaining format. Whether it's the bridal show, the outdoor show, the health expo or our latest effort, next weekend's Northern FanCon, our special events help build community by bringing residents together.
Expect the Citizen and other newspapers to embrace other new and innovative ways to diversify their revenue and continue operating long into the future.
Newspapers come and go but the industry remains. In its 100th year, the Citizen endures in Prince George, not only surviving but thriving.
- Citizen publisher Colleen Sparrow
