Founded in 1978 as a free-distribution paper called the Local News, The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows
Then-publisher Bob Long ran the paper on a 'shoestring' with significant input from local writers.[citation needed][3] In 1983 Gordon Robson took over the assets of the fledgling publication and then in 1985 sold the paper to Hacker Press, which eventually sold to Black Press. The paper then expanded from weekly to twice-weekly with the publication of The Sunday News, extending its reach westward into neighboring communities, laying the groundwork to launch successful sister papers, the Tri-City News and Burnaby/New Westminster News Leader.
^"2023 Black Press Media Kit"(PDF). Black Press Media. April 1, 2023. Archived(PDF) from the original on December 19, 2023. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
^"Black Press". blackpress.ca. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
