Tracey (left) and Stanton (right) agreeing to the terms | Photo Credit: Alex Lambert
The Eganville Leader has been publishing for more than 100 years, and over that time it has developed a reputation as being one of the highest quality news publications in the area.
However even after an established legacy of news coverage the paper was at-risk of shutting down its printing press for good.
Current publisher of the Leader, Gerald Tracey, said community newspapers are a vital source of local information.
The Eganville Leader was fated to close for good by the end of February due to facing “uncertain prospects”, the closure was announced over a year ago.
Despite failed business deals with a myriad of interested buyers, an entrepreneur from London, Ont., was able to strike a deal.
The buyer is Ray Stanton, a businessman who grew up on a farm in Caledon and in the past decade or so has taken a keen interest in small-town newspapers.
Stanton is also the past-president of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association, of which he still remains on the board, and is the current president of London Publishing Inc.
“I have known Gerald for 15 years and most people in our industry know the Eganville Leader as it is one of the best weekly newspapers in the province,” Stanton said.
Tracey said agreeing with Stanton’s ownership prospect was a no-brainer.
Tracey accredits Stanton for his business model; Stanton’s model allows the publications to continue operating under their independent values.
Typically a business acquisition brings many changes and although the Leader has had to change and adapt through the decades, both Tracey and Stanton are sticking to what works.
“The only plan is to keep the paper the same way that it is today,” Stanton said, “Gerald has agreed to stay on for a few years that we couldn’t be happier about.”
Tracey has been involved with his family’s paper his entire life, he said it was almost like growing up on a farm because of how everyone was so involved in its operation.
He said the Eganville Leader’s staff and the surrounding community alike are very happy to keep the ship sailing.
Stanton’s interest in small-town news sparked when he would be reading the weekly newspaper during his childhood on the farm.
“I grew up with local weekly newspapers, ” Stanton said, “the business remains to be a sound business, not as lucrative as it once was, but still a viable business if you produce a top quality product.”
Following the agreement between Tracey and Stanton, Stanton later cut a 50/50 split deal with John Hueston, publisher of the Aylmer Express.
Hueston, Stanton and Tracey have known each other for around a decade and Tracey knew the other two were already interested in the Leader’s operation.
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- Hueston (pictured above) has also had been interested in the Leader for a long time | Photo Credit: Ontario Community Newspaper Association
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- Stanton (left) currently lives on a beef farm in King City and really enjoyed fishing and checking out the local agriculture scene when he was visiting the Ottawa Valley | Photo Credit: Alex Lambert
After a few deals fell through, Tracey is happy to have a good buyer who didn’t want to overcomplicate the acquisition.
As he winds down a more than 50-year career with the local paper, Tracey said he couldn’t imagine life any other way.
Stanton’s acquisition of the Eganville Leader becomes effective March 1.
(Written by Mik Horvath)