December 2-8, 1999
SEE Magazine Article - Newspaper Chain buys VUE Weekly
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Newspaper Chain buys VUE Weekly
SEE Magazine, Dec. 2-8, 1999
BY SEE STAFF
B.C. newspaper magnate David Black has bought VUE Weekly. It's the second
time in as many years that ownership of the Edmonton publication has
changed. VUE's original owner, Maureen Fleming, is leaving Edmonton for
Detroit.
Fleming sold 50 per cent of VUE to the Vancouver-based Georgia
Straight in June 1998. The Straight has also tendered its shares to Black
in the deal.
The sale comes during difficult times for VUE. Earlier this year,
the publication's circulation figures fell into disrepute. Verified Audit
Circulation, a California-based company that conducts independent audits of
a publication's circulation, was unable to confirm claims the magazine was
making about its circulation. It demanded the publication stop claiming its
circulation was verified for a period of time. VUE was also ordered by
renowned pollster Angus Reid to stop displaying the Angus Reid logo on
figures the weekly had claimed were part of a readership survey.
Black owns some 50 publications, including newspaper chains in
B.C., Alberta and Washington State and has strong ties to Canada's
corporate establishment.
Neither Black nor Georgia Straight publisher Dan McLeod responded
to requests for interviews.