MP Atamanenko slams newspaper closing, decries media concentration
By Alex Atamanenko
“The closing of the Nelson Daily News and the loss of 25 jobs in this community is another blow to rural BC,” said BC Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko, today. He was reacting to yesterday’s news that BC media chain Black Press purchased eleven papers from Glacier Media, including the Nelson Daily News, the Trail Daily Times and the Grand Forks Gazette. Black Press plans on closing down the Nelson paper.
In a letter to President David Black, Atamanenko called for the CEO’s reconsideration of the Nelson paper’s closure.
“Nelson’s local economy has again taken a hit,” says the letter. “You have just fired 25 people who support families and business in this small community of 9,298 people. In the City of Vancouver that would be equivalent to firing 1,560 people,” wrote Atamanenko.
“As well, I am concerned about the increased concentration of ownership of print media in the province,” stated Atamanenko. “This could have serious consequences, diminishing the diversity of voices heard in our communities, given less competition.
“The Nelson Daily News has been an institution in town for over 100 years. It’s closure will mean the loss of an important daily tool in community life, and the life of businesses in the area,” he noted.
