N.W.T. newspaper publisher back in print after COVID-19 hiatus
Papers went online-only a month ago due to COVID-19 concerns
Some local northern newspapers are back in print.
Northern News Services Ltd. stopped producing print editions of its newspapers a month ago due to concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
It distributed a test run of the Friday edition of the Yellowknifer newspaper two weeks ago and another last Friday. On Monday, it will follow them up with a combined edition of News/North and Nunavut News, which will appear on newsstands in both Nunavut and the N.W.T.
"We'll have different front pages and different editorial pages and we're mixing the news up inside, so people will get the full package," said publisher Bruce Valpy.
Valpy said the decision to resume printing newspapers was made after consulting with N.W.T. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Kami Kandola.
"We spoke with Dr. Kandola and she indicated that if we did everything according to protocol that we could easily print the paper and that they would be no threat to the public," Valpy said.
Valpy said digital copies of the newspapers will still be available online. He did not say when the company will resume printing editions of its other papers — Kivalliq News, Hay River Hub and the Inuvik Drum.