Sun Media Corporation to Acquire The Beacon Herald

Posted on July 23, 1999

Sun Media Corporation has announced it has reached an agreement to acquire The Beacon Herald in Stratford, the last remaining independent daily newspaper in Ontario. The Beacon Herald, with a daily circulation of approximately 12,500, will become the l6th Canadian daily under the Sun Media umbrella and will be managed through Bowes Publishers Limited, its community newspaper division.

The Dingman family has been in the newspaper business in Stratford for 113 years. ``It was a difficult decision to sell the newspaper, but we are pleased to be joining the Bowes group'', said Charles W. Dingman, Publisher and Editor of The Beacon Herald.

The city of Stratford is situated in the heart of Sun Media's heaviest regional concentration of newspapers in southwestern Ontario. With a population of 28,987, the city is renowned for its annual Stratford Festival.

``This is a key strategic location for Sun Media/Bowes and enhances the Corporation's presence in that area. We are absolutely thrilled to have The Beacon Herald join the Sun Media family. We look forward to continuing the tradition that the Dingman family has built in the city of Stratford,'' said Paul Godfrey, President and CEO of Sun Media Corporation.