Jim Schmidt

Owner & Publisher

Ayr News

 

Jim Schmidt spent his entire life in and around the Ayr News. His father John and uncle Alfred purchased the paper in 1913, which has been in the family ever since. In 1942, Jim left school at 15 and began his full-time apprenticeship in the family business, having previously helped out by bringing water from the river to run the presses and picking up ads from local businesses.

Jim became sole owner of the paper 26 years later and continued to work at the News until well into his 80s. “I don’t know whether I liked it when I started,” he said. “But it gave me the freedom to do the things I really liked doing.” Those things included working to enhance the village’s water, sewer and recreational infrastructure, volunteering as a firefighter for more than 50 years (including 17 as chief) and being a founding member of the Ayr-Paris Band, where he played trumpet. The community’s Schmidt Park is named in his honour.

Jim married Lavina McCombs in 1951, with whom he had eight children, several of whom continue on at the News. He was also a published author, writing local history books about Ayr, the Ayr-Paris Band and Ayr Public School. He received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2002 and was the first, and to date, only recipient of News Media Canada’s Diamond Quill award, which recognizes his 75+ years in the newspaper business. Jim died on May 22, 2023 at the age of 95.

One of the key newspapering lessons Jim learned from his father was the importance of publishing local news that no one else has and having local opinion content. For over 35 years he wrote his Ayring the News column in longhand every Sunday night – a column that, like the paper itself, continues in the care of the Schmidt family.

This is why the Ontario Community Newspapers Association is thrilled to announce Jim Schmidt as an inductee of the OCNA Hall of Fame.

The OCNA Hall of Fame Award recognizes and celebrates individuals who have made exemplary contributions to Ontario’s community newspapers. Inductees are respected community news professionals who have remained passionate about the industry throughout challenges, opportunities, and changes. They are leaders who have helped community newspapers adapt and grow.