Nelson Daily News

Nelson Daily News
TypeDaily newspaper
FoundedApril 22, 1902
LanguageEnglish
Ceased publicationJuly 16, 2010
HeadquartersNelson, British Columbia, Canada
ISSN0832-431X

The Nelson Daily News was a daily newspaper in Nelson, British Columbia, closed in 2010. Its last owner was Black Press, the largest publisher of weekly newspapers in British Columbia, which owns the competing weekly Nelson Star.

The Daily News was founded in 1902 and lasted for 109 years, serving as a newspaper of record for Nelson, which was said to be the smallest community in Canada with a daily newspaper.[1] Daily circulation in 2010 was approximately 2,000, and the paper was in a financial decline.[2]

Black Press purchased the Daily News in July 2010, as part of a larger deal that saw Glacier Media sell several of its British Columbia papers, mostly weeklies, to Black. Former Black executive Don Kendall bought Glacier dailies in Cranbrook and Kimberley as part of the same deal, remarking that Black "wasn't as interested in some titles – Cranbrook, Kimberley, Nelson, and Prince Rupert – but Glacier was only selling the papers as a block."[3]

Black did purchase the Nelson Daily News and Prince Rupert Daily News in 2010, and ended up closing them days later. It already owned competing weeklies in both markets, the Nelson Star and The Northern View in Prince Rupert.[2] Rick O'Connor, Black's chief operating officer, said the Nelson and Prince Rupert newspapers, along with two other weeklies shuttered the same day, had lost $1 million in the past year. The closure of the Nelson Daily News meant 25 layoffs.[4]

After closing the Nelson Daily News, Black Press hired the News' former editor Bob Hall to run the Nelson Star, which increased its frequency from weekly to twice-weekly.[5]

Black purchased the Daily Townsman and Daily Bulletin from Kendall a year later, promising that both "will continue to run under their current business plan and we anticipate few changes."[6]

  1. ^ Schafer, Timothy (July 16, 2011). "Marking a Black Day in Nelson Newspaper History". TheNelsonDaily.com. Archived from the original on February 14, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Field, Terry (July 15, 2010). "Closing of Two Small BC Dailies is Good Business, New Owners Say". Troy Media. Calgary, Alta. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  3. ^ Coulter, Barry (July 7, 2010). "Townsman/Bulletin Under New Ownership". Cranbrook Daily Townsman. Cranbrook, B.C. Retrieved March 12, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ Hoggan, Kyra (July 7, 2010). "Black Press Speaks to Newspaper Closures". The Castlegar Source. Castlegar, B.C. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  5. ^ Shepherd, Chris (July 26, 2010). "Exclusive: Hall Hired to Run Nelson Star". News.InTheKoots.com. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  6. ^ "Black Press Buys Cranbrook, Kimberley Dailies". The Morning Star. Vernon, B.C. July 22, 2011. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved March 12, 2012.