Exeter Examiner relaunching March 12

By Stewart Grant

A lot can change in ten years, especially when it comes to local journalism.

Ten years ago, our upstart newspaper known as the Exeter Examiner was closed after our 29th biweekly issue, as we acknowledged that we weren’t ready to take on Metroland and its well-established Exeter Times Advocate.

Ten years later, Metroland is newspaper brand no longer in print. The Exeter Lakeshore Times Advance is now part of Postmedia and has been caught up in an unfortunate cycle that includes significant staffing cuts, reduced page counts, and a frustrated community.

While the conglomerates have been stepping away from towns and small cities, our company has been going in the opposite direction. During the last five years, Grant Haven Media has purchased the Tavistock Gazette, and started new community papers in Wilmot, Stratford, Woodstock-Ingersoll, Goderich, Tillsonburg, Simcoe, and Paris under our company motto, “restoring local journalism, one community at a time.”

I’m thrilled to bring the Examiner back to Exeter, equipped with ten years of valuable industry experience.

The first issue of the new Exeter Examiner will launch during the second week of March 2026.