Torstar Corporation has announced that through one of its subsidiaries, it has signed an agreement to purchase the assets of iPolitics Inc., the Ottawa-based online political news outlet.
Following closure of the deal, which is expected on or around Oct. 1, Torstar daily newspapers and websites across the country will begin publishing articles from iPolitics.
Launched in 2010 by founder and editor James Baxter, iPolitics Inc. is a digital media company that serves its subscribers through a network of digital and social media sites, providing daily political news and industry briefs, a quarterly magazine, policy-oriented podcasts and specialized parliamentary monitoring services.
Among the major policy areas iPolitics covers are the economy, tax reform, trade negotiations, defence spending, the federal public service, veteran’s affairs, energy, agriculture, and cannabis.
“iPolitics was born out of a time of unprecedented upheaval in both the news business and within our democratic institutions,” Baxter said in a press release. “From our modest beginnings to now, we have been fortunate to be a home for some of the best young, digital-native journalists who have cut their teeth on the biggest issues facing our world. By teaming with the Toronto Star and Torstar’s other outlets, the iPolitics team will be able to reach more Canadians and work within an organization that has principles of public-service journalism at its core.”
The Toronto Star and iPolitics will retain separate news bureaus in Ottawa, headed respectively by a separate bureau chief and a separate editor.
“This acquisition will complement our award-winning political coverage by the Toronto Star’s Ottawa bureau, offering our customers across Torstar an exclusive online and print package unmatched by other news outlets,” said John Boynton, president and CEO of Torstar Corp. and publisher of the Toronto Star. “At the same time, Torstar is committed to serving existing iPolitics subscribers and to enhancing current product offerings on iPolitics.ca.”
Torstar already operates QP Briefing, a subscription-based digital and mobile news source covering political and legislative news at the Ontario provincial level.
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