Employees of The Guardian and Journal-Pioneer were assured that their newspapers would continue to be published as usual under the new ownership.
The Guardian, based in Charlottetown, is currently published Tuesday to Friday, with a weekend edition on Saturday. The Summerside-based Journal-Pioneer is published weekly.
Postmedia announced Monday that it had successfully completed a $1 million deal to acquire Saltwire’s Prince Edward Island newspapers and several other Atlantic newspapers.
Saltwire, which also owned The Halifax Herald Ltd. and The Telegram in St. John’s, had been under court protection since March, when its largest creditor forced the company into bankruptcy.
Last week, Telegram announced that it would print the newspaper only once a week instead of daily, but would provide continuous coverage on its website.
Stu Neatby, a reporter for the Guardian, said Postmedia has signaled its commitment to local news on Prince Edward Island by offering long-term positions to nearly all of its newsroom staff.
However, Neatby expressed concern about the future of employees in other departments such as sales, advertising, customer service, finance and production.
“These people are just as important as the editorial staff in ensuring that a local newspaper or news channel can continue to operate,” Neatby said. “It’s not clear what will happen to their positions in the long term.”
CBC News contacted Postmedia for more information on the company’s acquisition plans but did not receive a response by the time of publication.
