It’s official.
Your friendly neighborhood student newspaper is now a part of Izzy Asper’s media empire.
“We are proud to welcome the Gauntlet and it’s staff to our growing family of media properties,” said Asper. “I believe that this–acquisition–will benefit both the our Southam publications and University of Calgary.”
Asper made the announcement on Mon. April 1 after five weeks of secret negotiations among the Gauntlet Publication Society, the University of Calgary, the U of C Students’ Union, and CanWest Global Communications Corp. On May 1, the Gauntlet will join such prestigious publications as the National Post, the Vancover Sun, the Calgary Herald and Pictou County this Week.
“I was amused to hear that the three campus organizations had agreed to such a stupid–ow!–wonderful plan,” said Calgary Herald Editor-in-Chief Peter Menzies at the press conference alongside Asper. “I encourage the Gauntlet to use its editorial autonomy while it lasts–ow!”
All parties benefit from the merger of intellectual equals. The University gets exclusive rights to exclusively distribute Southam papers on campus, while the SU will pledge $47,164 per year to support student-related content in the Calgary Herald.
“At the risk of bringing more subjective bias into this discussion, can you explain to me the difference between the Calgary Herald and the Calgary Sun?” asked SU President Barb Wright at the press conference. “I understand they’re both composed of Pringles of some kind.”
An SU Events Commissioner echoed Wright’s question.
“At the risk of bringing more subjective bias into this discussion, can you explain to me the difference between–oooh shiny,” he said. “And I support fully my idea of combining the Gauntlet-Calgary Herald papers. I hope the discussions begin soon, with snow pants.”
The acquisition will not affect editorial content at the Gauntlet, which will continue to bring you the fastest campus news weekly, with insights and perspectives available nowhere else. Readers are encouraged to continue to pick it up today!
“Don’t get your undies in a bunch,” said Gauntlet Editor-in-Chief Michael Leung. “It will be like one big joke.”
And so it begins.