SaskatchewanAfter a decades-long run, Saskatoon’s and Regina’s independent alternatives are closing Sept. 30.Saskatoon, Regina alternative publications to close Sept. 30Katie Swyers · CBC News · Posted: Sep 13, 2025 6:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoAfter decades in the newspaper business, both Planet S in Saskatoon and Prairie Dog in Regina are closing down. (CBC)Three decades ago, Mitch Diamantopoulos and “a troop of co-conspirators” banded together intending to shake up the media landscape in Regina. They loved the city they lived in, with its vibrant club scene, culture, diversity, strong labour unions and progressive politics, but also saw Regina’s “serious social problems” — all things they felt were overlooked by the city’s mainstream media. “We would look in the mirror of the establishment media and we wouldn’t recognize the city that we lived in,” he said.”We saw a kind of bland, out-of-touch conventional journalism which treated the working class with disdain, which ignored the urban Indigenous population,” he said. “It seemed to be pathologically unconcerned with issues like poverty.”Inspired by other independent alternative papers across North America, Prairie Dog and later its sister publication in Saskatoon, Planet S, would tackle those issues for 32 and 23 years, respectively. The outlets helped cement the local culture scenes and were responsible for publishing the coveted “best of” lists for Saskatoon and Regina that showcased local businesses, cultural institutions and other fun and quirky categories. Both publications will officially close on Sept. 30, after long fighting declining advertising revenue.WATCH | Longtime publications Prairie Dog, Planet S shutting down: Longtime publications Prairie Dog, Planet S shutting downThe Prairie Dog in Regina and Planet S in Saskatoon are closing their doors at the end of the month after years of financial hardship for the sister publications. “They fought vigorously and valiantly, but I think that the odds were just stacked against them,” Diamantopoulos said. Many did not expect the publications to last as long as they did. “When we launched, people told us, ‘You will never be able to make this work,'” he said. “But it did last for 30 years, which is quite a success story.” In that time, he points out the larger, local daily, the Regina Leader-Post, changed hands three times — and twice, the paper’s parent company went through court-supervised financial restructuring. Independent alternatives are more difficult to keep afloat than their investor-owned competitors, he said, especially in mid-sized market cities like Regina. A file photo shows a Planet S street box in Saskatoon. After 23 years of publishing in the city, the independent paper is closing down. (Josh Lynn/CBC)’Always been a challenge’Diamantopoulos now teaches journalism at the University of Regina, and said the small papers had “a tough slog” after he left. Stephen Whitworth, owner and editor of both publications, has spent over 25 years working on them. “Prairie Dog and Planet S have been struggling for years, if not decades,” said Whitworth. “It’s always been a challenge because this is a smaller market that you can’t get national ads in.”He said even with all the market forces moving against them and the fact that as independents, the outlets always “lived closer to the line” than others, the closure did not need to happen. “Once the Sask. Party was elected, we were, within a few months, removed from virtually all Crown advertising buys,” Whitworth said. That blow, back in 2008, led to immediate layoffs, he said. The papers were also omitted from city ad buys.”Those things took so much money out of our business,” he said. Stephen Whitworth, editor and owner of Prairie Dog and Planet S, shows off various publication covers. He says the independent outlets tried everything to survive. (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)They’re probably the biggest factor for this being a story about going out of business and not about “us doing something annoying again,” Whitworth said. He said he’s been frustrated that while Prairie Dog and Plant S helped generate buzz for local businesses and events through their listings calendar and “best of” lists, local support from advertisers declined. “I think that was millions of dollars of value to the city’s cultural and event infrastructure, and its civic infrastructure,” he said. Local comic store mourns lossOne local business that consistently advertised with the Prairie Dog is Regina’s Comic Readers. Owner and manager Chad Boudreau said while the business was primarily an advertiser with the outlet, they did also find themselves profiled in news coverage, adding that the publication’s closure is a terrible loss for the community. “It was a great local source for events and local news” that helped build community, Boudreau said. Regina’s Comic Readers owner Chad Boudreau is a longtime reader of the Prairie Dog and advertised with the outlet. (CBC News)Whitworth himself drew the store’s ads. “We always liked to see how he depicted us,” Boudreau said, “That kind of personal touch is really important for an independent business such as ourselves.” Boudreau doubts he’ll find an advertising partner that would work as closely with his business or be as hands-on in the future. Diversity of viewpointsWhitworth said while he’d never have told someone to only read Prairie Dog and Planet S, the outlets brought a critical diversity of viewpoints in a funny and playful way that was important to a balanced media diet. “People talk about civic society. Well, having newspapers that are independent from everything and kind of scrappy and a little bit amateurish, but also really professional and playful, you’ve got to have that,” he said. Diamantopoulos said with the rise of disinformation and with people increasingly finding it difficult to know what information to trust, it’s important to “not leave the news to market forces.” “There’s a certain brand of journalism that independent alternatives like Prairie Dog made their name on, a brash kind of journalism, an audacious kind of journalism, that really brought a distinctive perspective, which I think people will miss now that it’s gone,” he said.People are seldom aware of the historical importance of something in the moment and the full weight of the outlet’s absence will be felt in the future, he said. “It’s a big loss on many levels, culturally, democratically,” he said.ABOUT THE AUTHORKatie Swyers is a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan, based in Regina. She is a 2021 Joan Donaldson Scholar and has previously worked for CBC Podcasts, CBC’s Marketplace, CBC’s network investigative unit, CBC Toronto, CBC Manitoba and as a chase producer for Canada Tonight on CBC News Network. You can reach her at katie.swyers@cbc.ca.with files from The Morning Edition and Ethan Williams
‘It’s a big loss’: Prairie Dog, Planet S supporters react to Sask. papers’ closure
