The paper had made money until they took control. They then proceeded to strip it of anything valuable. They fired long term circulation employees who knew how to market the paper. They brought in people from smaller markets with little newspaper experience who had never worked in a competitive market. They then told them to make it work with fewer people and a smaller budget.

They sold the building that the paper had owned in Burnside. I doubt the proceeds of the sale was reinvested in the paper, but was mailed to Head Office in Montreal. They then moved and started paying rent in one of the most expensive buildings in Halifax.

With the sale of the building they moved the printing presses to their other properties. With this, the paper had to pay to have the product produced at a Transcontinental facility where it took the back seat to the other customers the company had. The paper lost control of its own destiny.

Transcontinental shoulders all of the blame for the destruction of the Daily News. They wanted to print the product, that was their sole objective. They didn’t care about their employees or the role the paper played in the community. That was quite obvious. The least they could have done is tried to sell it to someone who might have been interested in building the paper instead of taking the profits. But instead they were worried about the lucrative flyer contracts they had, that pollute our mailboxes and doorsteps. They kept the flyer business but killed the paper.

People should boycott their weekly flyer pack disguised as a community newspaper. Call them and tell them you don’t want it at your door.

And please don’t forget the others who lost their jobs. The people that no one mentioned who worked for the various distributors that made sure the paper got out every morning. These people got nothing, not a mention or a cent for their loss.

Halifax is getting beat by very intelligent people in Moncton and will have a new Facility with the IAAF World Juniors in 2010. Halifax well it feels it has to go for the impossible against two cities with many stadiums.
I can see a Softseater type show at the new grandstand on the moncton campus and a possible hosting of one of FIFA’s junior Championships like last years U-20 which Canada hosted.

Would loved to have called today but was unable to.

My rant is this; Mayor Peter Kelly, who I believe has done a decent job as mayor, and his attempt to play big time concert promoter. This is not a role for a mayor if this what Mr Kelly would like to do in life then I suggest that he hang up his chains of office and move in to this profession. I see nothing wrong with the Mayor supporting events for the city but it is not his job to lure these events. That belongs to an event promoter . Also in my opinion the reason Halifax has been having problems securing major acts is the treatment the announcement of the Celin Dion event received. The people in that industry are all connected and bad treatment of one will lead to others avoiding Halifax either in support of each other or fear that they will tared with the same brush as was used on Celin. In this case I believe the only people to blame for Moncton winning out in the event race are the People of Halifax them selves.

Yes I loved how supporters like the Daily News that have seemed ready to push a concept on the people of Nova Scotia while their bottom lines were in the RED.

Halifax indeed is a paper tiger.

R.I.P. Daily News – I’m sure you will be missed, but it’s a mass grave you’ve been dumped in and there will be many more like you to come.

And Andrew, you can only blame bungling executives for so long – you might as well start criticizing the head of the Black and White Television Department at Sony for not keeping that dream alive.

I have a suggestion. Halifax is a young vibrant city and represents a wide spectrum of diversity. As such, Halifax should have more than one form of Print media to reflect this diversity. I recently sent an email out to SUN media publications inquiring about the possibility of their paper setting up shop in Halifax. Michael Sifton- President and CEO for Sun Media indicated that “At this point in time, we do not have any plans to head to Halifax. This being said, it is good to know that if we did, we would have at least you as a reader.”

Let’s be honest, one email won’t make much of a difference. But if Halifax were to rally support in trying to court Sun Media in starting a publication; that may sway their decision. I would also think that a Sun Publication in Halifax could have a broader appeal outside of Halifax than the “Daily” had, which in turn may increase readership. Just a thought.