THE North Shore News has a new owner.
Glacier Media Inc., a Vancouver-based media company, announced Tuesday it had reached an agreement with Postmedia Network to buy its Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island community newspapers as well as the Times Colonist for $86.5 million.
Glacier already owns community newspapers in the interior and northern B.C. and across Western Canada, as well as specialized business and trade publications as far east as Ontario. Their website is glaciermedia.ca.
The agreement won't affect the content in the newspaper, however, said Doug Foot, publisher of the North Shore News.
"As far as we're concerned, it's business as usual; we're going to be the same North Shore News," said Foot, adding that Glacier is a company with a lot of experience in community papers and a network now spanning the province. "I think that being a part of that family is going to be a really good fit for the North Shore News."
Glacier CEO John Kennedy said the company hopes to expand its coverage of B.C. to serve a larger market for regional and national advertisers.
"The North Shore in particular is a great community, vibrant community, so this allows us to offer a more complete market coverage across Western Canada," he said. "We want to continue the commitment to strong editorial and community service the North Shore News has practiced."
The deal is expected to close on or about Nov. 30.
