A page from a 127-year-old history turns in Le Soleil in its final print edition

In a mixture of excitement and nostalgia the newspaper staff feels the sun They were preparing to turn a page in history on Friday, as they put the finishing touches on the final print edition of the daily newspaper, which was launched on Saturday after 127 years of its existence.

“We are giving ourselves a real opportunity not only to survive, but to grow.” sunMarc Gendron, adding that the costs of producing and distributing newspapers are becoming more and more “burdensome.”

“If it had continued, for us, it would have hastened the end of our group,” he adds, while all dailies of the Coops de l'information group ended publication of their paper editions in the week of March 2020, keeping only Saturdays.

96 pages

At the newspaper's offices on Rue Charest, staff were busy on Friday reviewing for the last time the 96 pages of this special issue, in which we will find not news, but historical moments from the newspaper, which was first published on December 28. , 1896.

“it's not the sun What dies, on the contrary, is merely a subject, a means of propagation […] “It's the last bastion of paper to fall and we want to celebrate it,” says former editor-in-chief Valérie Goudreau, who will become a municipal columnist from January.

Voluntary departure

For the 25 employees, most of whom are associated with the production of the print edition, this final edition will also mark an end to their careers within the daily newspaper.

“It's difficult, there is a certain emotional tear, which we won't hide, but the people who decided to leave did so voluntarily, it was by mutual agreement,” Mr. Gendron explains.

This is particularly the case for columnist François Bourque and production manager René Dufresne, respectively, working for the company. sun Since 2001 and 1979.

“I have a little pain in my heart. I came into the world with paper,” Mr. Burke says, adding that he worked as a newsboy at the daily newspaper when he was 11. “I've been following the rhythm of the paper for more than 40 years, and for “For me, leaving at the same time as the newspaper ends is also a symbol.”

The day was emotional for Mr. Dufresne, who for his part recalled having gone from producing newspapers by gluing paper forms to computing. “It was a big change at that time for my staff!” He maintains.

Throughout the group of information cooperatives, which also includes Right, Daily, Voice of the East, Exhibition And The Novelist125 employees leave ship.

These daily newspapers also stopped publishing their print versions on Saturday.

Strong trend

According to the president of the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec, Eric-Pierre Champagne, the end of Saturday's print edition of the newspaper the sun It bears witness to a trend that must continue in the Quebec media world.

“It is a continuation of what we have seen in recent years. Unfortunately, paper no longer has a future, and the media is seeking to reduce its costs.”

In total, the sun It now has about thirty journalists in its newsroom.

So, Quebec Magazine And duty It became the only daily newspaper published in print in Quebec.