Formation On April 13, 2017,
Halifax's independently owned
The Chronicle Herald announced its acquisition of 27 newspapers in the region from
Transcontinental Media, via the newly formed parent company SaltWire Network. Transcontinental began a gradual exit from mainstream publishing in order to focus on specialty media and educational publishing. The exact purchase price was not disclosed, although business analysts estimated that the publications were worth approximately $30 million in total. The deal came amid a year-long strike by the employees of
The Chronicle Herald. The deal shocked striking staff because it meant that management had the money to buy a newspaper chain, while asking the union for concessions on benefits and wages because of money flow issues. The transaction was criticized by labour leaders because Herald management was essentially crying poor in negotiations. After being on the picket-lines for 18 months, with the help of a provincially appointed mediator, the strike finally came to an end in August 2017. 61 editors, writers and photographers went on strike, 26 were laid-off when the agreement passed, but management conceded to not replace laid off staff with non-unionized employees during the eight-year agreement.
Paywalls and downsizing In June 2018, Saltwire Network changed the
Carbonear,
Newfoundland-based weekly newspaper,
The Compass, from a subscriber model to a free total market product delivered as a flyer package wrap. July 2018 saw Saltwire Network close
The Beacon,
The Advertiser,
The Pilot and ''The Nor'wester
, and merge them into a free weekly known as The Central Voice''. The new paper began publication on August 1, 2018. In March 2019, all SaltWire publication websites introduced metered
paywalls. At the end of March 2019, the company terminated its affiliation with the
Canadian Press newswire service, opting instead to become a client of
Postmedia and
Reuters. In April 2019, SaltWire announced it was turning
Corner Brook-based
The Western Star into a weekly delivered free to consumers as a flyer wrap. This resulted in the layoff of around 30 employees. Independent delivery contractors were also affected. At the same time, it was announced that the two Labrador weeklies would merge into one called
The Labrador Voice, which closed a year later. In April 2019, SaltWire filed a lawsuit in the
Supreme Court of Nova Scotia against Transcontinental, accusing it of overstating and misrepresenting details surrounding the revenue of the papers it had acquired. The company threatened a counter-suit, stating that the sale was "conducted based on fair, accurate and timely information", and accusing SaltWire of failing to "fulfil its payment obligations".
Bankruptcy and sale In March 2024, both lender Fiera Private Debt and SaltWire applied to place the media company under creditor protection. Fiera was owed over $32 million. On July 26, 2024,
Postmedia Network entered an agreement to purchase SaltWire. When the sale was announced, SaltWire employed about 800 independent contractors and 390 staff (including Halifax Herald Ltd.). At an insolvency court hearing in Halifax, on August 8, 2024, a Nova Scotia Supreme Court justice approved the sale. Postmedia completed the transaction on August 26, 2024. Postmedia did not buy all of SaltWire's assists. The biggest asset left unsold was the Newfoundland printing plant that was used by
The Telegram and other community papers.
The Telegram therefore announced that it would discontinue daily publishing after August 24, 2024, and convert to a weekly published on Fridays. The
Cape Breton Post building on George Street in Sydney was sold in October 2024, after the building became surplus with the paper being printed at the same press as the
Halifax Herald. ==Becoming PNI Atlantic News==