Guelph Mercury stops publishing print edition, all staff cut

The Guelph Mercury will stop publishing its print edition as of Friday, the paper's publisher Donna Luelotold CBC News in an email Monday.

No staff will remain at the paper, Luelo said.

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"Mondaywas a tough day and the staff were very sad," said Luelo in the email.

"The Guelph Mercury has a great team; their concern was for each other, the hundreds of carriers that delivered the newspapers and the thousands of subscribers that invited us into their homes sixdays a week."

It's very much a loss.- Chris Clark, former editor of theGuelph Tribune

Luelosaid the Mercury will continue to have a webpresence, but that it's too early to say where that content will come from.

"The decision was not made lightly, but the decline of classified and national advertising in recent years has made it impossible for the printed copy of the daily newspaper to remain profitable,"Luelosaid in a release published on the paper'swebsite.

Without the physical paper, 23 full-time and threepart-time employees will lose their jobs. Eight jobs will be lost in theMercury's editorial department.

In the release, ownerMetroland Media Groupsaid it will provide severance packages to affected employees. It's not yet clear what will happen with the Mercury's website.

'Intensely local' paper

The Guelph Mercury was first established as a local daily newspaperin1867, making it one of the oldest daily papers in the country.

The paper's motto is "intensely local" and in 1950, it committed to putting25 stories and 75 local names in every issue, according to thepaper's website.

Despite that,the Mercury's circulation had recently declined to fewer than 9,000 home-delivery subscriptions, Metroland said.

In light of those numbers, Luelo said shutting down the print edition was "the only viable option."

"It's very much a loss," said Chris Clark, former editor of the Guelph Tribune, another Metroland publication. Clark retired last June, after 30 years with the Tribune.

"I could sense trouble. You know, it's sort of been on the demise for a while," Clark said. "It's like when you know a person is dying, but when it happens, it hits pretty hard."

Real estate publicationGuelphand District Homes, the lifestyle magazineGuelphLife and theGuelphTribunewill all continue,Metrolandsaid in the release.