Times Colonist advertising director Ed Kennedy says the paper’s parent company has agreed to sell the masthead and talks with local investors are underway.
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Talks are underway to bring ownership of the Times Colonist, described as the oldest daily newspaper in Western Canada, back to Victoria, according to the paper’s advertising director.
Ed Kennedy, advertising director with the Times Colonist, said in a message to readers that the paper’s parent company has agreed to sell the masthead and is working with a group of local investors to buy it.
The Times Colonist is owned by Lodestar Media, the media division of Glacier Media, which purchased the paper in 2011.
Kennedy said the paper has been owned by companies outside the provincial capital for more than 75 years, and that after that long period there is now a chance to return it to local ownership.
In his note to readers, Kennedy said the Times Colonist “has been part of Vancouver Island for almost 168 years,” adding that it is the oldest operational business in B.C.
The newspaper was created in 1980 through the merger of the British Colonist, founded in 1858 by Amor De Cosmos, and the Victoria Daily Times, which started publishing in 1884.
The Times Colonist says it reaches a quarter of a million households every week, and Kennedy said there are still “many details to work through before the sale can be completed,” adding that the paper will keep readers informed as the process progresses.
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