Despite challenges, Community Contact newspaper keeps Montreal’s Black diaspora connected

You can say the newspaper business runs in Emar Mitchell’s blood.

“I love designing and creating and putting stories about people that have a story to tell,” he said.

Mitchell is the owner of the Montreal Community Contact newspaper. He took over after his father Egbert Gaye, who founded the paper, died suddenly in June 2023.

As Mitchell recalled, it was a very emotional time.

“My son was born four days after my dad’s passing. I really didn’t have time to process everything. I spent the majority of my time with my dad. So it was hard... everything about the newspaper brought back memories,” he said. “To this day, I still get anxiety about trying to put out this paper.”

The Montreal Community Contact has spotlighted stories from Montreal’s English-speaking Black and Caribbean community since 1992.

After seeing the paper’s positive impact, head writer Rosie Awori said she knew it couldn’t end.

“Community Contact is that place that you feel that you’re safe enough to share your wins and share your journey, share your lessons, sometimes even your failures,” she said.

The staff took a pause, then resumed publishing the September after Gaye’s passing.

“We had asked the community to gather — like, you know, send in all your tributes, your pictures and all of that. So we put out a tribute issue in September. And in October we were back,” Awori said.

Still, the team admits newspapers are a dying breed.

According to Statistics Canada, nationwide newspaper revenue dropped by roughly one-fifth from 2022 to 2024. Advertising sales make up the largest revenue source for publishers, but fell more than 25 per cent over the same period.

As more readers consume news through digital platforms, Mitchell says publishing and making ad sales are increasingly tough.

• SHARE YOUR STORY: Have a story you want to share with us? Email [e-mail]

“We do have a website, we do have stories, we do have an electronic newspaper, but I don’t know how to generate that into income. So this is the part that I’m trying to figure out as we go along,” he said.

Despite the challenges of print news, the staff said there’s a demand. And as they deliver each edition, Mitchell thinks of his dad and the community that they’ve proudly given a voice to for decades.