HALDIMAND – January 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the first edition of the Haldimand Press. As part of the anniversary celebration, we wanted to answer some questions our readers have asked over the years about us and the work we do.
Q: What do you mean it’s the 50th anniversary – I thought the paper was over 150 years old?

A: The Haldimand Press’ first edition came out in January 1975. At that time, the paper was a new entity, formed when the Haldimand Advocate (established in 1868) and the Hagersville Press (established in 1932) combined. So, our roots go back over 150 years, but the Press itself is now 50.
Q: Who owns the paper?
A: The Press has always been locally owned and operated. Kaitlyn Clark and Jillian Taylor have been at the helm since 2017. The pair had worked at the paper as journalists under Jill Morison of Cayuga, who had taken over ownership in 2014 after Publisher Emeritus Bob Hall had decided to retire.
Q: Which communities do you serve?
A: We cover all of Haldimand County: Caledonia, Cayuga, Dunnville, Hagersville, Jarvis, Nanticoke, and Selkirk, as well as all of the other communities in between. Sometimes, there are one-off news stories happening just outside of that catchment area (such as in Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, Norfolk County or Six Nations of the Grand River) that are highly relevant Haldimand readers, and we might make an exception.
Q: How do you decide which stories to cover?
A: Each week, our newsroom team creates a list of potential stories to work on – these might be events happening, topics that we feel are important for our readers to know more about, interesting people in the community that we want to highlight, etc. With our focus centred on Haldimand County and using our combined decades of journalism experience, we try to determine what will be the best allocation of our newsroom resources for that week, and assign stories to reporters accordingly.
We do our best to try and have a good variety of news each week, both geographically and topically.
At the same time, our journalists might work on larger stories in the background over the course of several weeks, or even months.
Q: What’s the point of what you do?
A: A community newspaper has several responsibilities.
Part of our purpose is to create the historical record for future generations – capturing the essence of what life is like for everyday people in this part of the world at this specific time.
The other main part of our job is to hold those in power – elected officials, government agencies, etc. – accountable to you. So, we ask the tough questions; we draw attention to the things that some people might want to run under the radar. Sometimes that also means sitting through public meetings and combing through documents in the public record so the information there isn’t ignored or missed.
Another powerful entity that needs to be held accountable to you is us. That’s what makes community news different than corporate media empires – you have easy access to us. If you think we’re inaccurate in our coverage of a story, that we haven’t done our jobs adequately, etc., you can almost immediately and directly connect with us to talk about it. While the outcome might ultimately be to ‘agree to disagree,’ we will still have that conversation with you, because being right here in the community, we’re accountable to you. Our reputation and professionalism are the fuel that keeps us running, and we’re very aware of that.
Q: Why do I have to pay to read the paper online/ buy a print copy?
A: Like any other private business, The Press makes money by selling products and services – specifically, advertising space in the paper, and subscriptions to the paper (both the print and digital versions).
The money The Press makes from these revenue streams pays for things like employing the journalists who do the reporting, the production costs to publish the paper in print and online, community sponsorships that the paper gives to local causes and organizations, etc. If we can’t make money to sustain the business, we won’t continue to exist in the community.
Q: I have an idea for an article/ an event I want you to cover. How do I let you know?
A: You can call us at 905-768-3111, or see us in person during our regular business hours (Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) at 6 Parkview Rd., Hagersville. You can also email us at info@haldimandpress.com. Not every news tip we receive will become an article, but we do review and consider them all.
Q: How do I advertise in The Press?
A: Whether you want to place an announcement, an obituary, advertise your business, etc., contact the paper with one of the methods mentioned earlier (phone, in person, or email), and we’ll have the person best suited to address your needs get in touch.
Q: How do I get a subscription of the paper?
A: You can find more information, and set up a subscription online, by visiting haldimandpress.com/subscribe.
You can also contact us by phone, email or in person. Please do not include your credit card information in an email.