Postmedia (Canada) Went Full Andrews McMeel

The notice (for me) came with a letter to the editor of The Windsor Star:

I recently read letters to the editor regarding disappointment with recent changes to the newspaper.

Some letters voiced disappointment with the puzzle page and one letter with the weather page. My disappointment is in regard to the comics.

Why were the comics changed?

I agree as one reader who reminded us: “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.”

The new comic selections are hardly as funny.

I realize these changes don’t happen at the local level.

And she was right, it wasn’t just a local change.

In mid October, 2022 the entire Canadian Postmedia newspaper chain changed their comics pages from featuring various comics from Andrews McMeel, King Features, and Creators, with each local paper picking the comics they preferred, to a page with only, and all the same, Andrews McMeel strips.

From October 11, 2022 is The Windsor Star comics page (via newspapers.com):

Again, above is The Windsor Star but other Postmedia newspapers: The Vancouver Sun,
The Calgary Herald, The Edmonton Journal, The Regina Leader-Post, The Montreal Gazette,
The Toronto Sun, The Ottawa Sun, and the rest (I didn’t check every paper) all ran different comics.

Beginning October 17, 2022 Postmedia newspapers began running the same funnies page
– all the same comics, all in the same order.

The favored strips and panels getting a Postmedia slot are:

Garfield, Big Nate, Cornered, Half Full, Adam @ Home, Peanuts, Sherman’s Lagoon,
Baby Blues, Dilbert, Pickles, Luann, Crabgrass, Pooch Cafe, For Better or For Worse,
Mike du Jour, Rose is Rose, Pearls Before Swine, Off The Mark, The Argyle Sweater, and Lio.

Below the October 18, 2022 Windsor Star comics page:

Two years ago Postmedia signed with GoComics for their website comics.

Also two years ago the Chatham Asset Mgmt. hedge fund assumed control of Postmedia.