KENORA — People in Kenora “should be excited” about the local newspaper’s change in ownership, the president and CEO of the Klein Group told NWO Newswatch in an interview Tuesday.
The Winnipeg company has bought the Kenora Miner and News, as well as Winnipeg’s daily Sun tabloid and another Manitoba newspaper, from Postmedia Network effective June 1.
“I truly believe there is a real demand for credible news sources,” said Klein, who served as publisher of the Winnipeg Sun for six years ending 2013.
The Miner and News will continue to deliver unbiased news to readers in the Lake of the Woods region, he said.
Klein said he will be “listening to staff” at the three newly acquired papers to learn how the news outlets could serve their readerships better.
He said he hopes to visit Kenora in early June to meet with Miner and News staff.
The purchase was months in the making, said Klein.
“This is something that you don't just jump into,” adding that negotiations with Postmedia started in January.
Klein is a former Manitoba Progressive Conservative legislator and cabinet minister, and the Winnipeg Sun is a conservative newspaper, but he said Tuesday that the Miner and News will not push a political agenda under his direction.
To the contrary, he said, he is a firm believer in “presenting all the facts” and delivering “unbiased news.”
A news release from Postmedia announcing the sale quoted that company’s president as saying they’re “pleased to have reached an agreement with a local group that will continue Postmedia’s long tradition of providing trusted and valuable journalism in these important markets.”
Financial details of the sale were not disclosed.
In a Miner and News article posted online Monday, Klein described the Klein Group as “a group of investors all from Manitoba who are all concerned and fans of local journalism and the importance of it.”
