Glacier Media

History

Though it is now exclusively focused on media and databases, Glacier was a distributor of bottled water for its first 10 years, from 1988 to 1997, under the name Cambridge Resources Ltd. The company's name changed to Glacier Ventures International Corp. in August 1997, and it exited the water business the next year. Glacier Media adopted its current name in 2008.

Throughout the early 2000s the company invested in several agricultural and business publications, and entered the general-interest newspaper business in early 2004 with the acquisition of Boundary Publishers Group, a chain of weekly newspapers in Saskatchewan, followed in the next 12 months by three more purchases (Pasquia Publishing, Weyburn Review, Pennand Inc.) that made it the largest publisher of weeklies in the province.

Glacier continued expanding its community newspaper holdings in 2005-6, gaining control of Madison Publishing Group, including Business in Vancouver and several suburban Vancouver weeklies, as well as several former properties of Hollinger Inc., including a 50% interest in the Great West chain of weeklies in Alberta, and full ownership of several weeklies in British Columbia, and Glacier's first daily newspapers, in British Columbia and in Quebec. Hollinger's assets also included several industry publications that expanded Glacier's trade information division, including the Western Producer and Daily Oil Bulletin. In all, Glacier paid about $180 million for the former Hollinger assets.

Late in 2006, Glacier entered into a partnership with David Radler, a former Hollinger executive, to sell the chain's lone Quebec holding, The Record of Sherbrooke. Glacier became a 50% (later 59%) shareholder in Radler's privately held company, Alta Newspaper Group.

Subsequent months saw Glacier invest in two other companies with ties to Radler: Continental Newspapers Ltd., publisher of three dailies in British Columbia and Ontario, and RISN Operations, a chain of three dailies and several weeklies in Rhode Island, United States. By mid-2008, Glacier owned 27.6% and 50% shares (respectively) in these companies. Continental is the successor to Horizon Operations Canada, a company owned by Radler; his daughter, Melanie, is president of RISN.

Black Press, the largest publisher of weeklies in British Columbia, purchased 11 Glacier newspapers that competed with its own weeklies in mid-2010, including the Nelson Daily News and Prince Rupert Daily News, both of which Black closed immediately. The sale also included the Trail Daily Times and several weeklies in the Kootenays region of British Columbia. Glacier also sold the Cranbrook Daily Townsman and Kimberley Daily Bulletin to an independent buyer, who sold them on to Black a year later.

Glacier purchased its largest newspaper, the Times Colonist of Victoria, British Columbia, in an $86.5 million deal in 2011. The deal, which included two other daily newspapers and 20 weeklies formerly held by Postmedia Network, solidified Glacier as one of the leading newspaper publishers in British Columbia, although it did not include either of Postmedia's Vancouver dailies.

Daily newspapers

Glacier owns the Times Colonist, the leading daily newspaper of British Columbia's capital city, and two other daily newspapers throughout the province.

Through its joint ventures, Glacier is also part-owner of daily newspapers in Alberta (Lethbridge Herald and Medicine Hat News), Arizona, (Yuma Sun), British Columbia (The Daily Courier and Penticton Herald), California (Porterville Recorder) Ontario (The Chronicle-Journal), Rhode Island (The Call, Kent County Daily Times and The Times) and Quebec (The Record).

Alberta

Glacier is part-owner of more than 30 weekly newspapers in Alberta through its 59% investment in Alta Newspaper Group, which owns seven weeklies in the Lethbridge-Medicine Hat area, and its half-ownership share in Great West Newspapers, which owns two dozen weeklies in the Edmonton and Calgary areas.

British Columbia

Glacier newspapers in British Columbia include several daily newspapers (see above). Weekly newspapers owned by Glacier are:

Manitoba

Glacier newspapers in Manitoba are:

Quebec

Through its 59% interest in Alta Newspaper Group, Glacier owns part of two English-language weekly newspapers associated with The Record in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Rhode Island

Glacier is half-owner of RISN Operations, which publishes several weekly newspapers in the United States state of Rhode Island.

Saskatchewan

Glacier newspapers in Saskatchewan are:

Glacier also owns a 59% interest in Alta Newspaper Group, which owns four weeklies in southwestern Saskatchewan.

Trade publications

Glacier's holdings also include several publications and publishing groups that cater to businesses or consumers, such as: