15-year newspaper career ends; group publisher Miller Ayre retires

ST. JOHN'S - Miller H. Ayre is retiring as Group Publisher of Transcontinental Media's operations in Newfoundland and Labrador. This announcement follows a distinguished 15-year career of dedicated leadership in Newfoundland and Labrador's newspaper industry.

Ayre became publisher of The Telegram in 1993 when the paper was owned by Thomson Newspapers. He assumed the position of Group Publisher for Thomson's Newfoundland and Labrador operations in 1995. He held these positions for a series of new owners that included Southam/Hollinger, Hollinger Limited Partnership, CanWest and the present owners Transcontinental.

During that period, The Telegram won numerous national awards including the Fisher Award for contributions to the Arts, the Freedom of Information Award from the Newspaper Editors of America and most recently the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Award for overall Editorial Excellence. The paper's editorial department has won many regional and national individual awards and it has also been a finalist for the Michener Award for contribution to public service journalism.

"Historically the newspaper industry was very stable but in the last decade it has felt the impact of major change," Ayre said. "Newspaper production moved from traditional cut and paste to computerization and the arrival of the Internet brought a complete transformation in information technology with the introduction of websites and other digitized products.

"Transcontinental, the present owners of the operations, are dedicated to the long run and meeting the future challenges of the industry. The acquisition of Newfoundland Capital's Robinson Blackmore weekly papers and the company's investment in digitization and advanced technology underscore their commitment."

Ayre said he leaves the Telegram and other Transcontinental papers with a strong staff and experienced leadership team familiar with change and dedicated to serving the people of the province as Newfoundland and Labrador moves into a new economic era.

Marc-Noël Ouellette, Senior Vice-President Newspaper Group Transcontinental Media, said "We are proud of the work he has done and the team he has built. The Telegram is in a great position to move ahead and face the challenges of our changing media word."

Ayre is active in the community. His continuing activity includes, National Vice Chair of the Canadian Forces Liaison Committee, a member of the Advisory Council of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment, and a Director of both the Canadian Deafness Research and Training Institute and the Quebec-Labrador Foundation. Ayre was made a member of the Order of Canada and received an honourary degree from Memorial University.

"Miller has made significant contributions to the paper and our community during his tenure as Publisher", said Charlie Stacey, current publisher of The Telegram. "His leadership and the mentoring role he has played in the development and advancement of those who have worked with him can not be overstated."

"While Miller will no longer have an active role in managing our operations, we are not quite ready to let go of him completely just yet", added Stacey. "Miller will continue to work with us on various initiatives as an independent consultant. His industry experience and insights into the changing media landscape are invaluable and we will continue to draw upon these strengths. As well, with his ongoing community involvement, it is a natural fit for us to avail of his services as a Telegram ambassador."

Ouellette also announced that Stacey will assume Ayre's duties as Group Publisher of Transcontinental Media's operations in Newfoundland and Labrador including its two daily newspapers, The Telegram and The Western Star, 14 community newspapers including The Compass, The Advertiser, The Gulf News and The Labradorian as well as Creative Book Publishing. The appointment was effective June 1. Within this role, Stacey will continue in his responsibilities as publisher of The Telegram.

Stacey joined The Telegram in 1993 as Assistant Comptroller to then become Comptroller and Business Manager of the paper in 1997. He was appointed Regional Director of Finance for Transcontinental Media's Newfoundland and Labrador operations with the Optipress acquisition in 2004. In November of 2007, Stacey became the 10th publisher in the history of The Telegram, which was founded by W.J. Herder in 1879.

The fourth-largest print media group in Canada, with more than 3,000 employees and annual revenues of $633M in 2007, Transcontinental Media is the country's leading publisher of consumer magazines and of French-language educational resources as well as being the largest publisher of community newspapers in Eastern Canada. It publishes the weekday daily Métro in Montreal, owns a number of digital business units, and is also, through Publi-Sac, Quebec's leading door-to-door distributor of advertising material.

Transcontinental Media is a subsidiary of Transcontinental Inc., which has more than 15,000 employees in Canada, the United States and Mexico and reported revenues of C$2.3B in 2007.