Weekly papers worried about Irving influence

The Irvings are about to publish their own weekly newspaper in the Kennebecasis Valley and the competition is worried. David Henley of Henley Printing says that could limit public debate in the province.

His company prints and publishes several weekly newspapers in New Brunswick, but the owner says he is nervous at the thought of competing with the provincial media giant.

"The concerns I have are that the Irving enterprise will dominate the market to such an extent that there will only be one opinion available in New Brunswick."

Weekly newspapers are traditionally community newspapers. Henley says that could end. The problem, he says, is the Competition Act which he believes has no teeth.

Henley says the Irvings have the financial clout to underprice their competitors.

He says it's already happening with an Irving owned advertising flyer in Woodstock.

"But even more insidious, they went to the advertisers that carried inserts with us in our plastic bag business that we distribute door to door to every home. And they offered them three months free inserts if they left us and went with them. This is very hard to compete with."

Mary Stewart, a journalism teacher at Rothesay High School, says printing newspapers is a business first.

"I think that the newspaper business is just like the donut business or just like the grocery store business. It's a business and this is a viable vibrant business community and I think the Irvings are like anyone else. It's a business opportunity and they would like to take advantage of that."

The Irving family already dominates business in the province and it owns all the daily newspapers.

David Henley believes it would be dangerous if the Irvings have even more clout in the media because editorial control and the freedom to express any other viewpoint could be undermined.