A weekly newspaper covering part of eastern Ontario has shut its doors after more than 131 years in business.
A post on the Winchester Press Facebook page says the paper produced its last issue on New Year’s Day.
The post offered no details on the reasons behind the closure, attributing it to “circumstances beyond the control of the staff.”
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The Winchester Press, which operated since 1888, offered news, sports and arts coverage for an area including southern rural Ottawa, Kemptville and Dundas County.
The paper was owned by the Morris Newspaper Group, which operates another regional paper that has temporarily suspended publications for part of the month.
The Winchester Press thanked its readers, which it estimated at roughly 4,400, for their support over the paper’s long stretch in business.
“We were truly blessed to be welcomed into your places of business, homes, schools and hospitals to document life in our towns, warts and all,” the Facebook statement read.
“We hope that those who have come before us and forged the reputation of the Winchester Press through late nights, early mornings, endless hours and honest journalism will know that we did all we could.”
Another Morris Group publication, the Prescott Journal, posted a Facebook statement announcing it would not be producing print editions for the next two weeks due to “circumstances beyond our control.”
“It is an unfortunate necessity as we adjust to some internal changes needed to ensure the long-range stability of our products as we move forward,” the statement read.
The publisher of the Morris Newspaper Group did not immediately respond to request for comment.
