Thursday 7 June 2007

Sun/24 signposts

Watching the moves of Quebecor's 24 Hours from the sidelines is much like watching a cliched who-dun-it mystery. You know what's coming, it is all a matter of how and when.

News this week that Vancouver's free 24 Hours has been beefed up to a full tabloid-sized paper, along with an increasing number of 24 Hours ads in Sun Media newspapers, adds credibility to the rumour that the Sun tabloids will eventually be merged with 24.

Quebecor's Pierre Karl Peladeau told a gathering in the Toronto Sun newsroom there will be no merging of Suns and 24s, but 24's presence in Sun circles is getting stronger by the month.

With Vancouver's free 24 Hours now looking and behaving like a full-fledged tabloid, revamping the remaining 24s across Canada seems inevitable.

And if that happens, would most consumers continue to pay 53 cents ($1.06 beyond the GTA) for a Sun, or switch to a free, full-sized tabloid? You said it.

The balance of 2007 should reveal more of the story, with the Toronto Sun presses being silenced this summer by Quebecor's new printing plant, the possible sale of 333 King Street East, contract renewal negotiations for Toronto Sun editorial workers.

1 comment:

  1. "Quebecor's Pierre Karl Peladeau told a gathering in the Toronto Sun newsroom there will be no merging of Suns and 24s, but 24's presence in Sun circles is getting stronger by the month."

    And considering that EVERYTHING that PKP and the Sun Media senior executive has said would NOT happen (that's a list that includes "sabbaticals are staying" to "there will be no more layoffs) has, in fact, happened, why on earth would any Sun employee believe anything that senior management tells them?

    Seriously, this is one of the main reasons why morale among staff at Sun Media is so bad ... because every single employees knows that they're being lied to by management all the time.

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