We’re expecting! Tillsonburg Post goes weekly on June 19

Former Tillsonburg News editor and co-owner Bill Pratt, left, was one of the first to see a copy of the Tillsonburg Post as it hit the streets on Sept. 19, 2024. Tillsonburg Post publisher Stewart Grant, right, had an opportunity to meet Pratt and show him the first edition. (Jeff Helsdon Photo).

When we launched the Tillsonburg Post as a bi-weekly newspaper on Sept. 19, 2024, I never could have imagined that just nine months later, we’d be able to graduate to a weekly publication.

However, I’m delighted to announce that we are doing just that. On June 19, 2025, the Tillsonburg Post is going weekly.

In my newspaper career, I’ve had the thrill of launching newspapers on eight separate occasions. While each has been special to me, nothing has compared to the wonderful response we have received in Tillsonburg.

The reasons why our small company starts newspapers as bi-weekly (instead of weekly) is two-fold.

The first reason is financial. It costs a fair bit of money to print the newspapers and to compensate our team of writers, graphic designers and deliverers, and these costs go up quite a bit if there are twice as many editions.  

The second reason for starting as a bi-weekly paper is that I want the community to take an active role in the newspaper and to be instrumental in helping us graduate to a weekly edition. Whereas if you start as a weekly, then there’s nothing to strive towards together.

From day one, Tillsonburg (and surrounding area) residents, business owners, and community organizations have supported our newspaper unlike anything we’ve seen before, and we are so grateful. In a day and age where some people wrongly assume that newspapers are a dying industry, Tillsonburg is proving them wrong. In a community that cares, anything is possible.

One of my best-ever memories in the newspaper business was meeting Bill Pratt at Annandale House on the morning of Sept. 19 and handing him the very first copy of the Tillsonburg Post’s inaugural edition. I extended my arm to shake his hand, but instead of this formality, he gave me a great hug. As we visited throughout the morning, I could see how truly happy he was to see the return of a dedicated community newspaper to Tillsonburg. This is what it’s all about – making a difference to people. As we make this announcement the success of the Tillsonburg Post, it is with a tear in my eye as I think about Bill, whose life we celebrate this week, and whose lifelong efforts of bettering his community can be recognized within these printed pages.