Whistler's only independent newspaper has been sold to a media conglomerate, The Pique announced this week.

Glacier Media now owns all of the region's four media outlets -- the Whistler Question, the Squamish Chief and Whistler the Magazine.

On the Pique's website, publisher Bob Barnett said increasing challenges in the media industry have been especially hard on independent publishers.

The Pew Research Centre's 2013 State of the News Media, a report on American news, found that print advertising revenues for news organizations are less than half of what they were only five years ago. Digital advertising revenues are only growing three per cent a year.

Yesterday, Postmedia, which owns major newspapers across Canada, released its third quarter financials. So far this year its print revenues are down 13.5 per cent.

The Pique was founded in 1994 by Bob Barnett and his late wife Kathy Barnett. The paper hires 20 employees, all of whom will remain on staff.

Maryse Zeidler is completing a practicum at The Tyee.