New Brunswick newspaper pauses publication, approaches TV station about taking charge

Residents in Charlotte County, N.B., planning on picking up next week’s edition of the Saint Croix Courier will be out of luck.

The paper has been around since 1865, longer then Canada had been an official country, but this week the newspaper announced they will be pausing publication while they search for a new owner.

The search hasn’t gone far outside of Charlotte County, as the Courier’s owners Advocate Media has approached CHCO-TV about taking over the paper.

“It does seem like a crazy thing to get into the newspaper industry in this day and age with everything being digital,” admits CHCO-TV news director Vicki Hogarth. “But it really isn’t about being, and I hate to say this, but it’s not about being a smart business move so much as it is keeping something that is older than Canada and such a special part of our community alive.”

For the past few years, the majority of the reporting at the paper has been done more than 500 kilometres away in Nova Scotia. Hogarth says conversations with Advocate Media on the idea of taking over the paper service only started a few weeks ago but have moved quickly.

Since the news broke Wednesday, there has been an outpouring of support from the community with residents offering to help any way they can, according to Hogarth. Some have even offered to write columns for the papers.

“If we make this a community effort we can really bring it back to what it used to be in the glory days of the Courier,” says Hogarth. “And I think the community already sees that and feels that and is excited about it.”

She says those living in a small town and communities often may feel overlooked by bigger media outlets, but says a local paper is a way to cover their stories from government to the high school science fair.

Brian Dickson is one of the co-founders of CHCO-TV and has fond memories of the Saint Croix Courier from its heyday. He agrees with Hogarth that having a newspaper gives the community real local news.

He says this is a great opportunity to reimagine the 159-year-old paper.

“I think it would mean everything,” says Dickson on revitalizing the Courier. “It’s the heart and soul of this community and has been for so long. I think a television station like ours which is local for sure can do something to bring it back.”

Saint Andrews Mayor Brad Henderson knows first hand that sometimes a complete reset can lead to not only a new but better paper.

“There is an organization called Santa’s Helpers that provides Christmas to families in need all over Charlotte County and it was run by the Lions Club,” says Henderson. “CHCO actually partner with a group of friends of mine and we completely reinvented the event. Even though the Lions Club said it was over it actually got complete rejuvenated and now raises over three times it use to.”

He says everyone in Charlotte County has some sort of connection to the Courier, noting you can’t go through an attic in the area without finding a copy or two.

“There is news clippings that your parents or your grandparents clipped out (as) you’re growing up and I could tell countless stories where the Saint Croix Courier was in my life,” says Henderson, who interned with the paper back in the day.

He also says newspapers like the Courier are a great help for local governments, as many times the local paper is the only media present at council meetings.

Fellow politician Kathy Bockus spent nearly 18 years with the Courier before jumping into politics. The Saint Croix MLA is eager to see what CHCO will do if they do take it over.

“We all identified with the Courier,” says Bockus. “When you go to cover an event they would look at me and say, ‘Oh, the Courier is here.’ So I’m sad but I am heartened to hear it might continue down the road.”

Hogarth says the paper would be a non-for-profit, similar to their operations at the TV station.

“We want the community to realize this is a paper about them and for them,” Hogarth says. “And for that very reason any funds that are created from this endeavor being successful would go back into the paper.”

Hogarth stresses no deal has officially been struck at this time. She would like to see the paper back in publication as soon as possible, and says in a perfect world they would be rolling out the newspaper in full capacity by the fall.

Before that can happen, Hogarth says an editor-in-chief would have to be hired to run the paper.

“They really value local publication,” Hogarth says of the Charlotte County community. “They keep them informed about what is going on. The Courier isn’t just about hearing the news, it is about celebrating everyone and everything that make Charlotte County and special place to call home.”

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