Sherbrooke mobilizing to keep regional newspapers alive

Sherbrooke's major institutions are working together to make sure their regional newspapers don't disappear.

An oversight committee, put in place by former mayor Jean Perrault, will be monitoring the possible sale of the six daily daily newspapers owned by Groupe Capitales Mdia(GCM).

Committee members want to make sure potential buyers will continue to publish regional news out ofthe Eastern Townships.

GCM applied for protection from creditors last week, pushing theQuebec government to step inwith an emergency $5 million bridge loan.

Until a new owner comes forward, it is uncertain what will happen with GCM's publications, includingLa Tribune,which covers the Sherbrooke, Drummondville and surrounding areas.

Former Mayor Jean Perrault, Mayor Steve Lussier, the Universit de Sherbrooke, Bishop's University and well as the Chamber of Commerce, among others, issued a joint statementon Friday to assert the importanceof regional news coverage.

"What interests me is to know what is happeningin our schools, in our city, and that I can only get from local dailies," said Perrault.

Mayor from 1994 to 2008, Perrault said local coverage shaped the development of the region by keeping the spotlighton issues that other media outletswouldn't be covering.

"It's important to have a local paper to reflect what is happening here."

Impact on local English paper

If La Tribune were to disappear, the future of the region's only dailyEnglish newspaper, the Record, could also be threatened, said Perrault, because La Tribune distributes the paper, first published in1897.

"We have an incredible asset to be able to raise our kids in English and French, from grade school to University," he said.

"If we lose our English and French dailies, it will be a hard blow."

Michael Goldbloom, the principal and vice-chancellor of Bishop's University, said the two dailies were "vital" for the city.

"A region that loses its local paper loses a lot of its soul," said Goldbloom, who also worked as a journalist, and wasappointed chair of the board of CBC/Radio-Canada.

Bishop's and the other organizations involved in the Committeewill be working to develop new partnerships to provide financial support to La Tribune, Perrault explained, perhaps opening the door on new models of advertising and revenue sources.

Mayor Steve Lussier will also be participating in the upcoming parliamentary commission on the future of media in Quebec, which began Monday.