The announcement by the two largest Canadian-based media corporations, Postmedia Network Inc. and Torstar Corp., to close numerous free daily and community newspapers across Canada is certainly a blow to several localities. In the Ottawa region alone, I count up to nine such newspapers on the chopping block. Both companies claim that their deal will result in cost savings and the shut down is primarily due to declines in print advertising revenue. However, along with several hundred employees loosing their jobs across Ontario, the real pain will be felt by readers within the communities affected. For some, community newspapers offer the main legitimate media source for local news, especially among seniors who may not have access to the Internet or paid dailies. As most community newspapers are free, they have become an important source of information to those who cannot afford to subscribe to paid dailies or on-line Internet services.
In addition, the existence of a healthy and thriving free press is an essential element of any real democracy. Legitimate media print and other sources provide citizens with information and facts to allow for informed discussion about the issues that affect our communities and nation. They also provide a real opportunity for the development and training of young journalists and other media staff. Many young writers who learn to become adult writers got their start in community newspapers. They have provided a mainstay for education related to investigative journalism, giving the large dailies an inventory of future journalists on the national scale.
Yes, it is estimated that about fifty percent of people get their news, legitimate or fake, from various sources on the Internet. However, a good deal of such news often has not been verified through the traditional means associated with credible and professional journalism. The news content of such sources cannot be readily verified and the providers cannot really be held accountable. Their integrity must be questioned, along with the possibility for editorial bias and manipulation of the facts for self-interests. For the most part, the same cannot be said for legitimate news media, especially in print media. Who is to hold politicians, organizations, corporations and governments accountable if not the news media?
I’m afraid that the above recent announcement represents another bleak harbinger for the future state of the free press in Canada, and possibly also in the U.S.
FROLITICKS 
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