In an effort to cut costs, some newspapers in the U.S. and Canada have announced they are shedding print editions and moving to digital delivery of news. The Ottawa Citizen, owned by Postmedia Network Inc., will print its last Sunday paper on July 15, and plans on eliminating 20 newsroom jobs.
I asked Cam Cardow, the brilliant Canadian cartoonist and longtime Citizen contributor (who I syndicate thru CagleCartoons.com), what he thought of the grim announcement:
I’m a little shell-shocked byt this. I’m looking at the huge losses Postmedia is reporting and understand that those losses will lead to even more cuts, meaning jobs. Apparently the Citizen is expecting more announcements this summer and I think everyone has to be realistic about where the industry is ended and what this means for their employment status. It is a truly sad outcome for those of us of grew up with newspapers, who love the feel of the paper and the smell of the ink. You always hope for the best, but at some point you have to accept that just because the band is playing on doesn’t mean the plunge into the cold, black icy abyss will be put off any longer.
