West Island Chronicle, Westmount Examiner to close

Two English-language newspapers that were founded more than 80 years ago are shutting down for good.

The Westmount Examiner confirmed on its Twitter feed that both it and the West Island Chronicle will be closing.

Three people will be laid off after the papers put out their last issues on Oct. 21.

The Chronicle was launched in 1925, while the Examiner made its debut in 1935.

Brenda O'Farrell, a senior news editor at The Gazette, was the Editor in Chief of the Chronicle until 1998, said it used to be a great paper until management began stripping it down.

"We did some really great stuff and we enjoyed it, and we got incredible feedback form the community," said O'Farrell.

"It was their paper. They always felt it was their paper."

She said the newspaper stopped being a part of the community when it decided to scale back.

"I don't think it happened today or yesterday," she said. "I think it happened a few years ago. The paper changed a while back and I think that sense of community was lost."

Both papers, owned by Transcontinental, have been subject to major cutbacks over the past few years, and saw the size of their publications shrink. The company said there are plans to launch two new publications in Westmount, but they won't be newspapers. Rather, they'll be lifestyle-based, monthly journals.

The original version of this article said 12 people would lose their jobs. CTV Montreal regrets the error