The two primary sources for news in southeast Saskatchewan will be joining together for the next few weeks to continue offering a quality product to the public.
Starting on April 22, the Estevan Mercury and Southeast Lifestyles will be temporarily merged together. They will continue to be published as one until the difficulties associated with COVID-19 start to alleviate.
“We are committed to delivering a quality product on a weekly basis, filled with lots of great local and regional content,” said Deanna Tarnes, the publisher and sales manager for Estevan Mercury Publications.
The Estevan Mercury and Southeast Lifestyles will be delivered to homes in Estevan on Wednesdays and to rural readers on Fridays.
The content that people are used to seeing in the Mercury will remain, while features that people are used to seeing in Lifestyles each Friday, such as Cheers and Jeers, the Flashback and columnists, will also find their way into the Mercury.
Monthly specials such as Car Care, Agri News and Senior Living will also be in the new-look publication.
“We’re not going to be losing any form of content or any form of features, we’re just bringing it to you in one package instead of two,” she said.
Tarnes believes people will understand the steps that the Mercury and Lifestyles are taking.
“We operate 100 per cent on advertising revenue. In light of these times, with businesses having to adjust their hours of operation, what they can offer and with some businesses that are closed, it is very much affecting our ads and affecting our revenue. These are the steps that we have to take to continue to bring you the news for free.”
Additional stories can be found at the Mercury and Lifestyles website, www.estevanmercury.ca, which averages close to 10,000 page views per day.
Tarnes noted that since she became publisher of both papers in September, she has been working to revamp the fleet of products offered through Estevan Mercury Publications. It started earlier this year, when Newsbreak was renamed Hello Estevan, with a fresh new look. The changes were very well received.
Lifestyles was the next one on their list.
“If you live in a rural community where you get Lifestyles, if there’s anything you’d like to see in our new product that we’ll be relaunching, we’re always looking for more regional content and more regional advertisers,” she said. “What can we offer you to help your community more?”
If you have a business and you have questions about marketing during these challenging times, please call Deanna Tarnes at 306-634-2654, or email her at [email protected].
