The folks at the National Post, Montreal’s The Gazette and the Ottawa Citizen can breathe a huge sigh of relief today because it doesn’t look like they’ll be closing up shop in the near future, as has been predicted in recent weeks. The Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail reported today that a group of media bigwigs have put a bid on the table to purchase the three papers. Curiously, the three buyers—former Canadian senator and Citytv founder Jerry Grafstein, media consultant Raymond Heard and Quebec newspaper editor Baryl Wajsman—are not revealing who their financial backers are. But Grafstein did tell the Globe that it was his faith in the future of newspapers that motivated the bid.
No word yet from the Asper family about how they feel about the pitch. The Aspers wanted to sell their newspapers together as a package, not one by one. But the media trio hand-picked the three publications, leaving out Victoria’s The Times Colonist, the Calgary Herald, the Edmonton Journal, The Vancouver Sun and The Province. It’s like being ignored by the basketball captain in gym class all over again.
About the author
Jenny Vaughan was the Editor for the Summer 2010 issue of the Ryerson Review of Journalism.