Winnipeg Sun Switches to Broadsheet

This is going on third week or so of the Winnipeg Sun's switch from the tabloid format it has had since its 1980 beginning. The paper initially was only three days a week and began evening delivery about a month into publication. Initially, the paper was black and white but eventually started having colour in their Sun logo. The publication was owned and operated by Winnipeggers, many of whom were refugees from the shuttered and beloved Winnipeg Tribune.  After getting to a respectable 34,000 plus circulation, Quebecor bought the paper and folded it into their national national Sun chain.

The early Sun was a little more serious paper in that there was no Sun girl. Editorial policy was more local and more encompassing. The tabloid format was streamlined and within two years some editions had a whopping 120 pages. The new Sun managers had a way of doing things that was more pugnacious and heavily conservative. It should be no surprise now that with a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, the new Winnipeg Sun should continue to be very conservative. However, it has picked up on local which the former owners seemed to have cut considerably in recent years.

Kevin Klein contributes regular columns and there are several additions in terms of columnists and writers on the paper. The relationship with the former Sun ownership continues but the focus there is all too often on the federal government. It is likely why Klein has tried to beef up local coverage.

The broadsheet format change is more of a hybrid. The broadsheet has a tabloid sports section in it. That section more closely resembles what a Sunday Sun was like. Even the logo more or less is the same. However, the front section has a banner type font reading Winnipeg Sun with a that at first glance looks like the Free Press even though the lettering is completely different. A rising sun in the middle of the letters is the one splash of colour in the heading. The stories and columns are laid out around a main picture. 

Inside the broadsheet is a fair amount of news and editorial. This seems to be true of both the Saturday and Sunday printed papers. It would appear that the newspaper is a work in progress so I am treating it more like what those 1980s days were like when the paper kept adding colours, days printed, delivery and the like. Klein keeps adding content because it is the only way to grow subscriptions.

Print newspapers are now quite dead yet. Just like books were written off far too early, newspapers and magazines can survive but they can't exist on classified and commercial ads. The big 6 gatekeepers such as Google and Facebook are starting to run afoul of antitrust. The fact that they can have anti-competitive practices hurts news media is only one aspect of concern. Their systems are capable of taking down banks, airlines and government services. The Microsoft update shows how badly we can be hurt. It cost billions.

Government can't pay media but these large groups that use content paid for by groups such as the Free Press and the Sun need to be held to account. If a new Conservative government drops supports for TV/film and media, it is entirely possible we see large areas of industry, news and production cease. 

Winnipeg is lucky as it has two local owners for their major newspapers. Kevin Klein will have his work cut out for him re-building the Sun. It still heavily favours a lot of national Sun/Postmedia content. To appeal to women, they will need different content than they do now. The New York Times gets thousands of subscribers for their game section. Other newspapers get reader for their advice columns. It was the Winnipeg Sun that was original home of Miss Lonelyhearts. There are many things that a newspaper is on a daily basis. But a big part of it should be informative and entertaining. 

The Sun really needs to build their Winnipeg Jets and Moose coverage. It is possible some relationship with the various sports podcasts is appropriate. This could apply to radio stations as well. Hal Anderson has contributed to the Sun for years. However, the paper could benefit from more restaurant reviews. More entertainment reports on what is happening in the city.

I get that this will be a piece by piece building project. And it won't all be about print newspaper. But it can be about news and information. And it can be a heck of a lot better than TikTok or Facebook.

Pierre Poilievre Next Prime Minister of Canada?

Double digits poll support over the Liberals, it would seem the Conservatives are in a position to take a historic victory with a majority not seen since Mulroney. His axe the tax stand of removing the carbon tax is resonating with a lot of people. However, he hasn't made clear if he is dropping all the efforts in the area of climate change. For example, will he drop electric car support, geo-thermal, solar or electric power grids in favour of oil and gas. Some of their policies suggest they will sell water and allow resource development in presently protected areas. There doesn't seem to be anywhere to ask questions about if any of this is true. Increasingly, Conservatives are not responding to any media...even those that would seem friendly to it.

It probably isn't necessary. Poll numbers are great, money is coming in and even if the economy improves, it still doesn't change the message. The gas tax cuts will be the first things to go if and when Poilievre is elected. Climate change supports are likely to go next. The only thing that might mitigate that is what happens in the U.S. and the world. If the markets start to really change for oil and gas products, it will not help if Canada is not manufacturing electric vehicles and investing in other technologies. The German government has already said they are committed to energy such as hydrogen. Some Conservatives have attacked her for saying this.

On crime, the statistics are bad over the last ten years with rising numbers. While some numbers are lower, violent crime and property crimes have spiked. It isn't just as federal government problem. It affects provincial and municipal governments as well. The Conservatives say this all began when the Liberals took over as government in 2015. While this is true, it ignores the others levels of government, few of which were Liberal. Police themselves have said there are many factors leading to more violent crime, some of which are are at levels of government below the federal one such as social services, education and housing.

The Liberals though are taking it on the chin mostly from inflation. And even though it has come down to 2%, a lot of people are still carrying a lot of debt and renewing debt on such things as mortgages at higher levels. Bank of Canada rates have come down and are forecast to come down more but people are still hurting. After nearly 10 years, it very hard to win elected office again for the same leader. Nearly impossible. Pierre Trudeau couldn't do it and relied on the Conservatives under Joe Clark not being able to retain confidence. Poilievre is hoping to land a large majority to keep that from happening like it did to Joe Clark.

The government could collapse in October if the Bloc don't get some of their policies pushed through on seniors. They appear to be expensive promises and it is uncertain if the government supports them or believe they are necessary. The Liberals will likely weigh the benefits of supporting this plan, especially if it only buys a few week of confidence. An election could easily be before Christmas.

The Bloc Quebecois could end up being the Official Opposition in this scenario as they were from 1993 to 1996. The difference then was the Liberals were in government and campaigned to keep Quebec in Canada. Would the Conservatives do that or would they push them out the door? There are so many policy issues that largely remain unknown. A vote on the carbon tax is what Poilievre wants to make the election all about but he hasn't indicated much detail on other areas including defence and national unity.

Poilievre has said he will make it a priority about bringing down the cost of housing. This past year thus far has seen housing starts go up 4%. Lower interest rates should help builders with more starts but even with historically low rates a few years back, housing prices were rising. This isn't something the Conservatives can change any more than the Liberals. 

The Conservatives think inflation might go down if they eliminate the gas tax but it could increase spending in other areas which could raise inflation. It certainly did that for housing prices even when the overall rate was 2% inflation. The only thing that will really moderate prices is capacity. We don't enough housing units overall and haven't for many years.

The market is tricky that way. If there is a mad rush and bidding on houses goes crazy, people will not benefit. Supply chain issues, zoning and approvals all take time. Some areas in Toronto and Calgary are saying no to anything except detached housing. This happened when Harper was in power as well with Poilievre in cabinet. Now the Liberals are in power but provinces in Ontario and Alberta have conservatives governments and struggle as well. The truth is that all levels of government are responsible for this.

In some university towns in 2024, there are now rentals available because the federal government has limited students. However, this is now putting pressure on universities because of reduced tuitions. Meanwhile, some businesses won't have skilled people coming out of the university system leaving the job market unfilled. 

Clearly, we need more policy ideas from Poilievre if he is to become prime minister.  If tax cuts are the only thing offered, the possibility of rising deficit is strong. And if service cuts are in the offing, where will they come? In Manitoba, we saw a balanced budget under Pallister but it came at the cost of cutting constructions budgets, not settling contracts and a whole host of other spending throttling that was eventually was going to have to be paid later on. The NDP under Kinew seems reluctant to end some of those tax cuts even as the deficit grows. They will have no choice at some point because borrowing money to pay for tax cuts is just not on.

What a Poilievre government might do aside from cutting taxes, climate investments and the CBC is unclear. And will the social conservatives on the team have sway on abortion, IVF, assisted death and other areas? No one knows. It is possible his government might be as light on legislation as the Republican Congress in the U.S. is. The big difference between the U.S. House of Representative and Canada's Parliament is that a majority in Canada is able to achieve far more with less chance of a veto by the courts and Senate.

As far as foreign affairs goes, it is likely that aid to Ukraine could come into question. Some Conservatives are outright hostile to the assistance and our more supportive of Russia. As far as Israel goes, there are enough evangelicals in the party supporting a war there for biblical reasons. Canada's allies give the country less leeway to not pull weight. Presently, the Liberals are being pressured to get to 2% GDP for defence spending. Poilievre has said he is not committed to spending that much. It is unlikely he will be able to pull that attitude in NATO meetings. 

A sudden election could very well have Pierre Poilievre become prime minister without a clear direction. One possible clue of what is to come is to look at the Doug Ford government in Ontario which defeated the Liberals who had been in power for 15 years. Ford has won two majorities and seems set to win a third majority. Ford, unlike Poilievre, is a populist which propels his agenda. It remains to be seen is Poilievre can get people to like him as much as Ford. Moreover, there tends to be a trend in Canada that provinces often balance out political support. In other words, if Canada goes Conservative, it often results in changes on the provincial level.

Change is important in government. It also allows the opposition to rebuild and focus their role as critics and alternatives. At the moment, it is hard to see what change will be coming, especially with an election possible very soon.

Rogers Buys Bell Canada Enterprises Shares in Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment

Rogers has become the foremost teams and facility owner in Canada with the purchase of Bell's shares in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in Toronto. Rogers, which already owns 100% of the Toronto Blue Jay, will now take 75% ownership of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto Argonauts, Toronto FC, Toronto Marlies (AHL), Raptors 905 (Mississauga) and Toronto FC II teams. Rogers also takes majority ownership of the Scotiabank Arena, OVO Athletic Centre and the Maple Leaf Square. Rogers already owns 100% Rogers Centre (Skydome) and facilities in Florida for the Blue Jays.

The reaction of the Toronto media has been full on over the top. Some are saying it is brilliant, others are concerned about so much power with one corporation and others convinced it doesn't create winners in Toronto sports. All of those things can be true. Toronto will only have two major sports franchises not owned by Rogers. The Professional Women's Hockey League team and the upcoming WNBA team. 

There are numerous sports ownership groups out there. Few are as entrenched in one city covering as many sports as Rogers now does. The only ownership they presently lack is a NFL team. Few have captured one city as well as Rogers. Some of the debt from the purchase Rogers has made should come from NBA expansion fees, renewal of NHL TV rights and facilities rentals for concerts and events to name a few areas. Sports franchises continue to rise in value all the time.

Bell retain TV rights for 20 years for hockey and basketball for CTV and TSN. This is probably the least the government would allow. Rogers having complete control would be awful. It would likely violate antitrust in Canada and possibly elsewhere. After Rogers gobbled up Shaw, the Canadian government of any political stripe is likely to frown on the company if the act like pigs.

Bell is massively in debt after investing in their 5G network. They also have kept their dividend going for 16 years. Their corporate media buy of CTV/TSN assets have not served them well and they have cut 1/4 quarter of their workforce. The amount of debt has been weighing them down. Selling the teams while retaining rights is likely the best way to reduce debt if that is what they plan to do. Paying a dividend and not reducing debt would be dumb.

Rogers also has debt. It is why they are selling Monday rights to NHL games in Canada to Amazon for the next two years. That starts this year. For cable cutters who have Rogers and Bell, it is yet another reasons to stop cable altogether. Amazon already does Thursday Night Football and hired veteran Al Michaels but they have been graced with trash games for the last year. The first game for the NHL on Amazon is a more promising Pittsburg Penguins and Montreal Canadiens. They will also be doing a NHL talk show on the network.

Bell can't seem to run the conglomerate they have. The heavy debt, huge corporate bonuses and large dividend means they don't run their assets very well. The rely on government subsidy and protection. The six big global ad companies led by Google and Facebook hoover all the ad money. This is a world-wide problem and the U.S and Europe are acting on in antirust. The Liberal government in Canada has helped subsidize news and taxed companies like Google. The Conservatives have indicated big changes are coming including the likely end of CBC. It is unclear if this helps internet, media and telecoms in in Canada. They could all be close to folding and asking for international buyouts in the next years.

Bell keeps begging the government for help but it is hard to be sympathetic when they always cut, always acquire businesses and then cut them and give their leadership bonuses while having large profits and asking the government for subsidies or loosened rules to acquire more and provide less.

There is talk Bell might sell the antenna real estate it has all over the country. They are already downsizing real estate assets they have. Lower interest rates should help them. However, it has literally been decades of high prices and cuts over the years.

Rogers could make the sporting assets a real money spinner but they also seem to acquire assets, debt and high fees with other cuts in service. Meanwhile, telecom competition is growing while profits remain high. It could be Rogers feels more heat if their teams are chronic underperformers.

Party City Expands in Winnipeg and Canada

In 2019 Party City was bought by Canadian Tire and operates separately from Party City in the U.S. which started in New Jersey in 1986. The 65 Canadian stores were bought for $175 million and the plan was to double sales and then the pandemic hit. Now, Canadian Tire has expanded locations and focusing on holiday sales.

The company should not be confused with Winnipeg-based Party Stuff which has three locations in the city and has existed since since the 1950s and owned by the Glass family since 1982. Their Polo Park location on Century has been there since 1985. The family also has a Halloween shop on Regent in addition to their other Party Stuff locations.

Party City, owned by Canadian Tire, should be not be confused with the Spirit Halloween stores either. This is one of their big competitors although those stores are only in places less than half a year. It would be a mistake to think that party stores are only about the holidays certain times of year. They are for milestones and fundraisers as well as retirements and birthdays.

Winnipeg has rated two new stores of the four that are newly built for Party City. 

Locations of the four new stores:  

• Party City Kanata, 501 Earl Grey Drive, Kanata, ON 

• Party City Kitchener Sunrise Centre, 1400 Ottawa Street South, Kitchener, ON 

• Party City Winnipeg Kenaston, 1765 Kenaston Boulevard, Winnipeg, MB 

• Party City Winnipeg Polo Park, 1545 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, MB 

The former EQ3 location at Polo Park is one location. Since the furniture store moved into the old Sears, the old EQ3 sport has looked for a permanent replacement. It held a Spirit Halloween store strangely enough. Party City should find the Polo Park spot a busy location. And for Cadillac Fairview, the store is a unique attraction.

The other location opened is the former Nygard store in Linden Woods. It seemed a big reach to find a single retailer to take over the large space but Party City has filled the whole spot.

The one stop aspect of a party store is favoured by many. Walmart and Costco just don't carry as many balloons and knick knacks, decorations. The party stores also cover other religious and ethnic celebrations well. It just don't feel like a Christmas store. Halloween though has grown into an enormous industry in the last years.

In Winnipeg's case, the expansion of some large Party City stores fills some retail holes that have remained open for some time. The loss of some major retailers with U.S. ownership was substantial. This has been mitigated by Canadian companies buying U.S. assets when the opportunities came. In a lot of cases, U.S. liquidators were only interested in shutting things down.

In the case of Party City, Canadian Tire took it over in 2019 and folded into its retail operations. It means Party City items are in Canadian Tire stores as well. This has been a successful marketing move for Canadian Tire as they can get clothing, party and other supply chain movement into their stores.

Having Canadian Tire as owner gives a huge amount of stability to Party City. The Canadian retailer is simply one of the best and has fund ways to be profitable and growing even with huge American competition. As for other competitors such as Party Stuff, there appears to be room for them as they also rent party tables, equipment that so many people need to run a successful party.  For the consumer in Winnipeg, it means many options.

More Housing for Seasons in Tuxedo Site

The Seasons of Tuxedo and Seasons in Tuxedo area has been non-stop construction for more than a decade. IKEA has been up since 2011 years and the area on both sides of Sterling Lyon have been transformed. From zero population back then as industrial land, it now has thousands living and working there every day.

Krispy Kreme and Arby's are but the latest additions as the last spots fill up in and around the Outlets of Seasons mall. In a spot  across the street from Frankie's are zoning approvals going forward at 457 Sterling Lyon for two 7 storey apartment buildings with 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units. Three bedrooms in Canada is the unicorn of multi-family dwellings. 

The Seasons district 13 years ago was the former CN Intermodal site but now it is an example of infill mixed development. The site at 457 Sterling Lyon is one of the last sections large enough for apartments to go. The other apartments in the development have filled fast. It is a testament to the idea that mixed developments are the right direction as they were in the past. The Courts of St. James and the Holiday Towers are among a few long term examples of mixed developments succeeding for decades. However, they fell out of fashion for many year and some places, especially downtown have no balance between residential, office and retail.

The new apartments will be walking distance to any of the amenities one might expect in any neighbourhood. The Red River Co-Op grocery store and a few pharmacies have the basics covered. However, there also doctor, dentist and vet offices within walking distance and a bus terminus is located right by the mall. A sidewalk on the south side of Sterling Lyon is sadly lacking though.

Winnipeg is still need of many apartments for its growing population, rising rents and low vacancies. As has been said many times now, the affordable housing of 20 years from now is being built now. And the only way to lower rents today is to build capacity in the system. The Seasons site is fortunate to not have to face opposition from residents like so many other areas do. Since it was industrial before, the developer has been able to get quicker approvals. Polo Park and the surrounding area have been trying to get approvals for housing for more than a decade and the wait continues. There is no doubt that people would move to and live in the area if the option was there. Undoubtedly, many other shopping areas of the city will see apartments go up as the surface parking lots take up a lot of space.

These apartments being built at Seasons will have some underground parking as well. Many apartments have storage for bikes as well since the Harte Trail is so close and people are using for quick commutes and recreation. Still, the attraction of such apartments is how walkable everything is. It likely takes longer to get your car than it does to walk to the store.

Look for these apartment to go up some time around 2025.

Canada's Couche-Tarde-Circle K Attempting Takeover of 7-Eleven

Getty Images / 7-ELEVEN, Inc.

It sometimes comes as shock to North Americans that 7-Eleven is owned by the Japanese. It has been since 1991 when it bought a bankrupt Southland in Dallas, Texas that owned the company. The late 1980s and 1990s saw major purchases by Japanese companies of assets in North America. At the time it caused all sorts of fear. However, Sony and 7-Eleven among them, have been  good owners of these assets. Perhaps, they might have been run better because they were Japanese.

At the moment Nippon Steel is trying to takeover U.S. and both Republicans and Democrats are vowing to block the deal. The U.S. steel manufacturer says that without the takeover thousands of American jobs will be lost. With this in mind. a decision either way on the steel purchase could factor in on the 7-Eleven purchase by Canada's largest convenience store owner. If the steel deal goes through, questions will arise about the ability of takeovers going the other way. If the deal doesn't go through, Japan can make similar arguments about why the 7-Eleven deal should not go through.

Circle K has been around as a brand in western Canada since 2018. It was part of a re-branding of the Mac's Stores that dotted the city for decades. Mac's logo once had been a cat's head that eventually became a red owl. Circle K's owner Couche-Tarde essentially means "night owl." 

The first acquisition bid by Circle K has been rejected as being too low and not taking into account antitrust. The combined assets of 7-Eleven and Circle K in North America could bring calls for a sell off of some stores and gas stations. A Circle K and a 7-Eleven on the same corner from one another would hardly be competitive. 

People in Winnipeg are familiar with this with Sobeys and Safeways using the same flyers while often being across the street from one another. Sobeys was required to sell some stores in Winnipeg to complete their purchase but there are still many stores very near one another. This is the case across much of western Canada.

The owners of 7-Eleven have asked the government to declare the company part of their national security core assets. The Japanese government seems reluctant to do that since the company essentially bought a U.S. company and asking that it be declared forever Japanese could hurt other trade. As mentioned before, Nippon Steel's deal for U.S. Steel depends on each country mostly staying out of it except where it comes to antitrust.

While 7-Eleven might have the same owner in Japan and Canada, they operate with their local customers in mind. However 7-Eleven has far fewer locations in Canada than what is found in Japan. In Canada all magazines have been purged from the stores. There used to be a whole row. Japanese 7-Elevens still have a row of them. It is not uncommon to see 20 or 30 people casually reading inside stores. Some stores are dropping the magazines but it is at a slower pace that it has been for Canada.

What Japan has purged are Slurpee machines in some stores. They just not big sellers compared to Canada. In some stores there a 20 flavours of Slurpees lined up along with the Big Gulp dispensers. Japan sets up more space for food sales, especially, rice balls known as onigiri. Chicken and other items are fresh every day at the store. With literally thousands of stores in Japan, deliveries are made multiple times a day of product. Canada has under 620 7-Eleven stores for the whole country. Winnipeg has many stores but at least four due to issues of lease or crime have closed.  The city could lose ten more and crime has been blamed by top execs of the corporation.

Canada has its own executive offices of 7-Eleven in Surrey, B.C. and world-wide executive offices are in Irvine, Texas. Ownership and management of 7-Eleven is in Tokyo. Canada has it's execs appointed by world head office. For the first time in 15 years it is headed up by a Canadian.

All things being equal, a takeover of Circle K by 7-Eleven is just as likely a scenario. The issues of antitrust would still apply. The 7-Eleven company has outbid Circle K a number of times for U.S. assets. The only reason Circle K appears stronger is that they have been assessed as having more market value and are favourable to shareholders.

If Circle K takes over 7-Eleven, it might eventually get approved by their board only if there is a plan that the U.S. and Japan and other countries can agree on. In Japan the Fair Trade Commission could order some aspects of 7-Eleven divested such as banking or other aspects of the business. However, since Circle K is not in the Japanese market in a big way, it will be curious what concerns they might raise.

While 7-Eleven is a very successful company, it is has underperformed the market for five years. It is has not increased shareholder value despite acquisitions. The market valuation for the company is below Circle K which has had very successful shareholder increases. There are shareholder activists in 7-Eleven who are pushing the company to do better. They might not support the Circle K bid based on not enough money offered but they won't support the company running to the government to thwart the takeover based on nebulous national security claims. Nor will the government likely allow two Japanese konbini companies to combine to take a 60% presence in Japan just to keep out Circle K.

As good a company as 7-Eleven is, the low shareholder value makes them vulnerable. Couche-tarde has asked for a meeting to see what the board of 7-Eleven might be looking for. It is a meeting that that they can't easily rebuff. If 7-Eleven itself is looking for new acquisitions around the world, it can ill afford to look as if they can buy assets and no Japanese asset is available for sale due to their efforts and government protection. 

Make no mistake, the thousands of 7-Elevens in Japan have become part of the culture and a critical supply chain provider of so much. I was present when in Japan when the purchase took place in 1991. The stores were popular but in the last decades they have taken off and are clearly everywhere. Other konbini stores that are prolific are FamilyMart, Daily Yamazaki and Lawson. In my hometown on Tsuru, I had a Daily store and a FamilyMart within walking distance. I preferred FamilyMart for their fresh sandwiches. However, both had fresh foods I liked that they were close. A 7-Eleven was about a 20 minute drive from by scooter so I went there from time to time. Back then the Slurpees were limited to a few flavours and like a lot of Canadians outside Canada, I felt the Slurpees were different and not as good. I have felt this way about Slurpees in the U.S. as well.

As far as the rest of the store went, it had snacks and product not found in Canada. Fresh sushi is always there as well as rice balls. However, at Japanese 7-Elevens you can buy concert tickets and pay bills in addition to the ATM. All Japanese stores have free Wi-Fi which is a popular attraction.  It doesn't appear to be the case in Canada or the U.S. as a corporate-wide thing. It is just a few examples of how service is all about how Japanese 7-Eleven's operate.

Canada does innovate in ways unique to its market. Throughout Canada, a large number of stores will be serving alcohol in a small lounges. In Winnipeg that will be at their Ness location where 10 seats will be reserved for 18 and older for cider, beer and wine. The area will be open 12 to 11 every day. Some people thought it was a bad idea but some people thought movie theatres and alcohol was a bad idea and today Cineplex in Canada outperforms the market.

Some 7-Elevens in Canada sell gas but it is seen less in Manitoba than other areas. Circle K in North America is more likely to be a seller of gas. Another offer is likely for 7-Eleven  from Circle K soon. However, it is entirely possible that Circle K makes an approach to Mitsubishi to buy Lawson instead. The convenience store subsidiary is enormous as well and might be more amenable to a purchase offer.

Regardless if Circle K and 7-Eleven become one company, it is likely they will continue to innovate and offer more fresh food. In Winnipeg, the big question is how will 7-Eleven and other convenience stores deal with the issue of crime. In Japan crime is not something most of the stores have to worry about. In much of Japan, vending machines are everywhere which seems impossible in much of Canada. 

If the companies ever combined in Canada, it would mean the 2,100 stores of Circle K and the 620 stores of 7-Eleven would start to have the synergy that Japan has to keep prices down and deliveries coming a few time a day. It still would come close to the amount of stores Japan has and how much competition there is.

Media Changes in North Dakota and Minnesota

Media shake-ups abound on both sides of the border. in 2024, Winnipeg Sun was spun off from National Post media group to locally owned Kevin Klein Group. It marks the first time that both major newspapers in the city have been owned locally in their history. For the Sun, it has led to more local news columnists. It also led to breaking more stories.

The Winnipeg Free Press has also added more local columnists over the years even if some have been controversial such as Charles Adler. Local is what newspapers and TV/Radio news need to stand out and yes, make money. Large conglomerates cut and cut again and then often just close and add the tax loss to write off debts. They are rarely builders. Free Press ownership is shared by Winnipegger Bob Silver and former Winnipegger Ronald N. Stern.

Two local owners of major newspapers in Canada is so unusual that is you can count on three fingers the cities they are in. For the west, it is only one city: Winnipeg. And so far they are fighting a battle against what many in Europe call the six gatekeepers: Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft. Even those who receive no government money, companies such as these can control access to their platforms. The breakdown of Microsoft update shutting down the Internet is one 2024 example of how bad things can get. And digital ad money gets swooped up and AI from these giants creates content mined from creators all over. In other words, an independent journalist who breaks a story can see it used by the biggies and not get paid for it.

The gatekeepers can do this to even larger companies too. Artificial Intelligence is being used to create new stories. But where does that information come from? It is often mined from companies such as the New York Times. If the largest newspapers, media companies and the like are vulnerable from the super giants, how do the rest of us even cope. Those saying that the government tinkering in business ignore the fact anti-trust moves are to keep things competitive in a capitalist market. For example, the modern Internet became possible when AT&T was broken up. It triggered some of the biggest investments in telecom ever seen which was essential to a widespread, faster Internet.

The questions of what to do about the supranational giants will remain the question of the day. In recent weeks, Google's search engine has been declared a monopoly by the U.S. government. It remains to be seen see what the federal agencies will decide to do. In the meantime, news and media companies are coming up with new strategies to stay relevant and profitable. North Dakota and Minnesota have seen some of their largest media companies make moves in 2024.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has dropped the Minneapolis part and it is now Minnesota Star Tribune. This would be in keeping with their sports teams that have always been wise to using Minnesota for their NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB teams without fail. Minneapolis and St. Paul are truly Twin Cities and there are communities of some size all through the metropolitan area. Changing the name makes sense.

A competing broadsheet in St. Paul, Minnesota also dropped their city name in favour of just Pioneer Press. It is not owned locally and have experienced massive cuts over the years. In 2006 they had over 200 unionized writers. By 2023, that number was down to 23. The MediaNews Group that owns the paper and has a reputation of cuttings. Still, like the Star Tribune, it is trying to extend its readership and their website to include all of Minnesota. Their website is twincities.com which doesn't even mention Pioneer Press.

The Twin Cities also has MinnPost.com which is a non-profit digital news for the region. TV and radio stations have substantial news and sports content in Minnesota as well as North Dakota. PBS has extensive coverage of the regions. While there is less local ownership of TV and radio stations in big markets likes Minneapolis, there remains some. In this way, they are not much different than Winnipeg where nearly all local TV and radio has ownership outside Manitoba.

It is the digital audience that everyone in media is trying to capture. Just as landlines are being cut, people are cutting their print newspapers and cable. The problem is that digital ads don't pay as much as print or TV ones. Plus, the gatekeepers scoop up all the money that is there as well as use the content for their own ends. It is the definition of antitrust. 

What the big digital companies don't do as well is news that people might want or need locally. Reddit has discussions on local stuff but it isn't curated in news, weather and sports categories in the way other media is. To that end, local news and TV/radio in North Dakota and Minnesota are offering much more local appeal. Having a local meteorologist reporting is standard for TV stations in the U.S. where some of the wildest weather keeps them on our toes. Winnipeg does not make this a priority. Also, the new digital sub-channels that a station like WDAY Fargo as makes local sports a priority. Al the high school football games in the Fargo region is on the WDAY sub-channels. We don't have digital sub-channels on TV or radio in Manitoba yet and none seem to be happening in Canada. It would appear media empires and the CRTC just don't see the need. If it is Canadian content guidelines that are required, there would seem to be enough library material of older shows to put in place.

In terms of Minnesota, the 157 years old Star Tribune is hiring more writers, not less. The are focusing on placing more reporters outside Minneapolis-St. Paul and covering areas such as business, downtown, regional state issues and investigations. Cannabis stores are new in Minnesota so they will cover that. This is a familiar area for Free Press who covered cannabis with a dedicated journalist for a while. Overall, the state-wide focus means that the Star Tribune will be reaching large audiences but still remain hyper-local. Large media networks just don't cover those areas except in general terms of news, weather and sports.

There will be a lot of eyes on the Star Tribune's investment in expanded coverage. Glen Taylor, the billionaire local owner, is spending new money on top of the $100 million that he paid for the paper in 2014 has turned the paper around. It makes money and has maintained around 225 writing staff and a total of 1,000 or so altogether. The Free Press, by contrast, has 50 reporter and 580 total staff. The Free Press also have community newspapers, Brandon and Steinbach journalists which adds to total writers in Manitoba.  

The Winnipeg Free Press, like Star Tribune, have rich owners. The Free Press is owned by Bob Silver from Winnipeg and Ronald N. Stern, formerly from Winnipeg but now based in Vancouver. Bob Silver is the director in charge. Stern owns companies valued just under $2 billion including many based in Winnipeg. Some wags have suggested that only papers with deep pocketed owners, preferably local, will ever invest in local media. Examples abound in Canada and the U.S. of this.

Digital subscriptions, as the New York Times has shown, is the way for the newspapers to find success. However, the big six grow ever more powerful so that that they can simply use artificial intelligence to create news stories largely harvested from what others report. All the money flowing to the big six even threatens the major industrial nations. It is the inherent danger if antitrust is not pursued. Total monopolies bullying nations.

The Star Tribune is probably not finished evolving. Both the Star Tribune and Free Press are doing newsletters and podcasts. Those are likely a lot of better for a newspaper than X/Twitter or Facebook. As the fifth largest newspaper in America and the addition of hiring six more Minnesota reporters, it will be creating considerably content.

In Canada, TV and radio conglomerates such as Corus, Rogers and Bell use their news teams across platforms. However, they have all made cuts and likely overpaying for show rights in the U.S. This makes them routinely ask to cut Canadian content. Rarely do they use Canadian-made content such as news as part of their commercial success. The mergers and acquisitions and overpaying for product brings inevitable cuts. And for what? Some of the radio and TV stations that get bought get closed down. Often enough there isn't even an attempt to sell the enterprise. Luckily, in Winnipeg, the National Post sold three papers including the Winnipeg Sun to Kevin Klein so they could be owned locally. There is a strong possibility that the papers might have been closed otherwise.

Throughout North America, the rate of closures is about two newspapers a week. Often this mean no local coverage of any regional issues which can lead to poor performance from local officials who face no scrutiny. You don't need a billionaire for a small media company but you sure could use a leading citizen or two interested in running and operating something that can't be treated like a franchise 

with identical reporting.

The Star Tribune has a billionaire owner in Glen Taylor and a local interested in investing in more reporting. The competitive market in Minnesota will be very interesting to keep an eye on. However, Minnesota is not the only state to keep an eye on. North Dakota has seen their own local media become regional in focus.

In the case of North Dakota, Winnipeg has been able to watch the growth of this media company much more closely. Anyone from Manitoba has been able to read the Grand Forks Herald and Fargo Forum newspapers has been exposed this Pulitzer-prize winning companies. The Herald won the Pulitzer for its coverage of the 1997 flood and fire which flooded and burned down their building.  The Forum won the Pulitzer for coverage of the 1957 F5 tornado that killed over 100 people. It was the northern most F5 today until the Elie, Manitoba F5 in 2007. 

The Black-Marcil family have built their business from the Fargo Forum platform. The newspaper was started in 1878 and took on the name Forum in 1891. The Black-Marcil family have owned it since 1917 and took over the Grand Forks Herald in 2006. Forum Communications is also a TV and radio owner. Most in Winnipeg will be familiar with today's WDAY (formerly WDAZ) that has been on the cable band for decades. Along with Prairie Pubic Broadcasting (PBS), these two station remain the only North Dakota stations still seen in Manitoba.

Forum Communications, from their Fargo headquarters, has run a large news team from their newspaper as well as their TV station. WDAY began in 1953 and was originally a NBC affiliate with a helping of other network programming from CBC, ABC and Dumont. A sister station in Grand Forks was started in 1967 because the region needed a station since Fargo's signal was now powerful enough to reach the area with CBC Winnipeg's broadcast. WDAZ ended in 2006 except for a news bureau of WDAY.

The Marcil family has had to adjust to the size of the state and but to go where their audience is. The state capital is down the highway from Fargo and has to be covered so a Forum bureau reporter is based there. The WDAY network maintains a bureau and sales office in Grand Forks. All of the newspapers that Forum Communications has purchased from big media companies have been folded into a news service that covers North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota.

In 2024, Forum Communications continues to pick up independent TV stations in places like South Dakota with the intent of establishing a regional media presence. The company has been expanding rather contracting. While it was a blow to Grand Forks to lose WDAZ, the trade off has been great state broadcasting of local sports throughout the region including Grand Forks. No national media corporation will ever be interested in this type of work.

Forum also owns WDAY radio but literally everything in radio is owned by huge conglomerates. Forum contracts out management to a North Dakota media group. Almost everything in American AM radio is conservative or Christian broadcasting. In many cases there is not a single employee working aside from some technical person. It has been problematic in disasters as there is often no one to even broadcast emergency signals as mandated by the FCC.

Bismarck, which is the second largest city in North Dakota, literally has no media that is locally owned. Were it not for  Forum Communications, it would not have any North Dakota owned media. So much of newspaper, TV and radio industry is controlled from somewhere else and often, they would rather shutter the business than attempt to sell it. It has been Forum Communications that has picked up these assets when they have come available.

In Canada and the U.S. we have seen newspapers, TV station and radio stations closed down with very little attempt to find buyers. Assets are trades by big corporations and then dumped after after a while. It is only local owners who will care such as we see in Minneapolis and Fargo or in Winnipeg. And the goal of the local owners is to expand coverage and reach a larger regional audience.