Today we distributed 111,000 copies of the first weekly newspaper edition of Vancouver Is Awesome to homes across the city.
Under normal circumstances, bringing our publication into a new medium would be something to celebrate, but the mood here is sombre. Our sister publication, the Vancouver Courier, has temporarily ceased publication due to financial pressures exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Many local community newspapers in B.C., like the Courier, are free and delivered to your door thanks to advertising revenue. As more businesses close or reduce services, their advertising dollars dry up, too—at a time when news consumption is at an all-time high.
And while the federal government has announced business subsidies that could benefit both our advertisers and our parent company, we're left in a dangerous waiting game and forced to make difficult decisions to keep as many people employed—and you informed—as possible.
We know that we can't fill the Courier's shoes, and we don't want to—we're leaving that for them to come back to when all this is over. However, our new, free weekly paper will hopefully offer you information, entertainment and much-needed flyers while we wait out this pandemic together.
Thanks for reading. Now go wash your hands.
