In my latest post for PBS Mediashift, I discuss two recent developments in the Canadian media landscape: the purchase of the Canwest newspapers and the launch of OpenFile:

Two Canadians took a gamble that local news still matters this week. The two represent the hopes of both old and new media.

One was a $1.1 billion buyout (in Canadian dollars) of Canada’s largest newspaper chain, the Canwest newspapers, led by experienced news executive Paul Godfrey.

The other was the launch of a hyper-local, participatory news start-up called OpenFile.ca, backed by venture capital and led by former CBC, CTV and CNN journalist Wilf Dinnick.

Both are betting on the public appetite for local news, approaching it from two sides of the business spectrum, with each of them hoping to revitalize the media ecology in Canada.

I conclude:

The buyout of the Canwest newspapers and the launch of OpenFile share one thing in common: No one can say whether or how either will dramatically change the face of the media industry in Canada.

Both bring a focus on local news and both stress the importance of digital. A mix of the old and the young, the established and the new, is to be welcomed as journalism tries to figure out its future.

Read the full story on Mediashift.