Local contributors and columnists were given notice earlier this week they would no longer receive work from South Shore newspaper LighthouseNOW.
In an email sent out to contributors on Tuesday, LighthouseNOW editor Charles Mandel said the paper was instructed to drop all freelancers and columnists effective immediately by their head office.
The e-mail did not specify a reason for the decision, nor did it specify if the move was permanent or temporary.
Columnist Evan Dahl announced the decision on his Facebook page, Dahl Dispatch, stating his weekly column had been cancelled, as well as all others featured in the weekly paper.
“This will not only affect me financially but also all the loyal readers who enjoyed staying up to date with what was on the go in their community,” he said in the post.
Another columnist, who asked to remain anonymous, said the announcement was unexpected and without reason, despite carrying a good relationship with the paper previously.
They shared a similar sentiment to Dahl.
“This move will hurt the paper,” they said, “because in a small community like this, people enjoy reading this local content.”
LighthouseNOW is owned by Advocate Media, who maintains six other papers across the province including The Advocate, HubNOW, and The Reporter.
A request for comment on why columnists were let go was made to LighthouseNOW, who forwarded the question to the “appropriate individual”, but no response was given.
Comments made on LighthouseNow’s Facebook page however state the hope is to bring the columnists back in the future, but ultimately says “These are unpredictable times all around.”
Whether or not the call to halt work with columnists has to do with the spread of Covid-19 and the subsequent shut down of many local businesses is unseen.
However other papers have also seen drastic change, with Halifax’s The Coast shutting down physical printing this week and laying off around 20 staff.
