TORONTO (JTA) — One of Canada’s two Jewish weekly newspapers announced it was temporarily ceasing publication of its print edition.
The Jewish Tribune, which is published by B’nai Brith Canada, made the announcement Thursday.
The suspension of the paper’s print edition for 13 weeks “will provide an opportunity to re-think and re-focus ways the Tribune can best serve and inform the community in a dynamic and responsive way,” the paper stated. “We will update you as future decisions are made for the print edition.”
The paper’s website, jewishtribune.ca, “will continue to offer relevant and newsworthy content.”
In April, 2013, the Tribune’s main competitor, the Canadian Jewish News, announced that it was ceasing publication after 53 years. But a public outcry and renewed funding rescued The CJN’s print and Web editions.
If permanent, the Tribune’s departure would leave the CJN as Canada’s sole national Jewish newspaper. It has hewed largely to a centrist editorial stance, while the Tribune had leaned unmistakably to the right and was a vocal booster of Canada’s pro-Israel Conservative government.
The Tribune is described by its staff as the country’s “largest independently-operated Jewish newspaper by circulation.”
A B’nai Brith spokesman told JTA the decision to suspend publication was taken “to re-examine the best ways the print edition can service the community” and was made “by the Tribune management, with the best interest of the paper in mind.”
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