As in many other countries, Canada’s print media are in the midst of challenging times. A growing concentration in ownership has meant that just a few companies publish the vast majority of the nation’s daily newspapers, while a slew of weekly and monthly newspapers have recently closed. Alternative weeklies, one of the last remaining sources of more independent journalism, aren’t immune to the troubles, with publications in Ottawa, Montreal, Calgary, and Edmonton all closing within the past few years.
One of the few alternative publishers still operating is Saskatchewan’s Hullabaloo Publishing Workers Co-operative, which prints Regina’s prairie dog and Saskatoon’s Planet S Magazine, two papers that come out every other week. Stephen Whitworth, editor of both publications, acknowledges the difficulties these papers are facing, but maintains their coverage of city politics, urban development, and other issues sometimes neglected by the mainstream press is just as relevant today as it was when they first set out to fill the void in these areas.