Whitehorse Star to close permanently after 124 years

The owners of the Whitehorse Star newspaper announced in the Friday edition of the paper that it will cease publication later this spring. 

The news follows a passionate effort to save the paper. In January, co-owner Michele Pierce and former Star reporter Max Fraser launched a new strategy in an effort to keep the business afloat. 

In a public letter shared Friday, Star owners said the decision to close came after the latest effort to sell the business fell through — and following years of financial difficulties. 

"More and more clients have shifted their advertising to social media sources, and continue to do so," the owners wrote. "This trend has become virtually impossible to compete with." 

Many of the paper's current employees have worked at the Star for decades. 

"We are so grateful for their dedication," the letter continued. "We express our deepest gratitude to our loyal readers, advertisers and community partners who have supported us throughout the generations."

Former reporter and Star editor Massey Padgam remembers his time there in the 1980s, in what he describes as the peak of print media. 

"With it gone, there's that many fewer people covering the legislature, covering city council," he said.

"Even when I worked there, you could count the number of independent newspapers in Canada on one hand. And nowadays, [Whitehorse Star] might have been the only one left."

The Star puts out more than 40 pages of local and international coverage three times a week, along with its digital offerings. It has been in print since 1900. 

Audrey McLaughlin served as Yukon member of parliament from 1987 to 1997, and as leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada from 1989 to 1995. She described news of the paper's closure as "shocking." 

"It's an extremely sad day for the Yukon," she said. "It's a huge loss when we don't have local coverage, local insight into political issues, culture… and coverage of local sports, which is very important to a lot of people here." 

The Star occasionally received criticism for its under-moderated comments section and controversial letters to the editor. 

But on Friday, many of the tributes and memories from across the country that appeared on social media were full of warmth and nostalgia. 

Eva Holland is a freelance writer based in Whitehorse and a former editor at Up Here Magazine. 

She said the news is "demoralizing" for many of those who remain in Yukon media. She said competition amongst outlets and between journalists often means better quality journalism. 

"When you think about it rationally, it's not a surprise, given the industry and the economy and the challenges at the paper itself. But it still feels like a shock. The Whitehorse Star is so iconic," she said.

"To see it pass into history and just live on at the Yukon archives on microfilm ... it's a bit of a gut punch."

The paper's owners ended their letter on Friday with the outlet's mock-Latin motto, Illegitimus non Carborundum, or don't let the bastards grind you down. 

"It's been our honour and our pleasure serving this wonderful community," they wrote.