The Klein ownership of Winnipeg Sun begins its second year. Along with the Sun, the group took over Portage la Prairie and Kenora's papers as well. Postmedia was in the midst of a sell-off and without a sale, it was likely the papers would have been shut down. The paper have moved to it's own distinctive look so that it not confused with the rest of the Sun newspapers across Canada. A broadsheet format was used and a different logo and font was the standard. A tabloid section was still used for sports which meant for an odd fitting print paper. The website was redesigned and updated again with better firewalls. The Sun and National Post have remained a primary source for national news, sports and opinion. I have not seen a move to Canadian Press and it's ally Associated Press wire service being used.
The Sun has been stripped down as much as possible. There are few ads in the actual paper. They have added columnists on a column by column basis and lean heavily right wing. I believe they have one news writer and one sports writer now. Kevin Klein and his wife Heather contribute the bulk of the content. This is on par for what many newspapers are in Canada. They rely on fewer and fewer people, Even now, companies like Corus continue to lay off news staff. This week alone in Winnipeg give news staff left go. If print, TV and radio continue to let go staff, information is likely only going to come from individuals from foreign-owned social media.
Since the June 1 weekend or so, the Sunday Sun is calling itself the Winnipeg Sun-Tribune. It is only for that day of the week. The format is about a 25 page tabloid. Klein mentioned the Tribune name came from the tribunes of Rome and suggested powerful advocacy and speaker against the powerful. There is no mention of the Winnipeg Tribune which many of the original 1980 Sun writers and press people migrated from when it was closed that same year. The Free Press bought the Tribune name so not mentioning the Winnipeg Tribune might be a legal defense.
The grand old days of the Winnipeg Sun by the late 1980s and into 1990s was that the Sunday Sun could number 120 pages and had oodles of news, sports and entertainment. The days of a print catalogue that big might be over but a full digital world is being pushed back in meaningful ways. Bookstores and buying books are making a comeback. A book id still an easier format for many to read that yet another screen. Likewise, records are making a comeback. New and used record stores are all over Winnipeg and even at the beach. As people retire, they are chafing at the sound of digital and buying records again.
There is room for a Winnipeg Sun-Tribune in print and digital. Certainly the days of a 120 pages newspaper is over but digital is not interested in small business in the same way radio and newspapers can be. Not everything is best supplied by Amazon. It is not entirely clear that a newspaper of political columns will break through. A newspaper need sports, news and entertainment as well. However, I won't criticize the business plan if it is working.
Conservative media in Canada is in a tizzy though. They are feeding on one another far more than they feed on Liberals ad NDP. Even in Manitoba, the conservative media is not exactly banging the drum for the PCs. I will continue to consume the media all over Manitoba but performative opinion pieces are boring. And campaign speeches over and over from prospective candidates are not exactly earthshattering. It is still early days though.
Newspapers here are routinely datamined by artificial intelligence and not being paid for it. It hurts the Free Press. It hurts the Sun. Intellectual property has to be protected and we are not doing that. The Sun should stay original but if they want a target, go after the digital media that is beggaring them.
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