kawarthaNOW has learned that self-described “news diva” Lois Tuffin is leaving Peterborough This Week after 20 years, including the last 15 as editor-in-chief of the twice-weekly community newspaper.
According to a source, Tuffin’s last day at Peterborough This Week is this Friday (June 29) and she will be taking on a fundraising position at Five Counties Children’s Centre.
When kawarthaNOW contacted Tuffin for confirmation, she said that staff at Peterborough This Week would be advised today (June 25) of her departure and that her new employer would be Five Counties Children’s Centre.
Tuffin is well known in the community for both her journalism and her volunteer work.
After graduating from the journalism program at Ottawa’s Carleton University in 1991, Tuffin worked as assistant editor at the Almonte Gazette weekly newspaper in her hometown for eight years, before working as editor at the Ottawa News for more than a year.
In 1998, she moved to Peterborough and began working for Peterborough This Week, where she has been editor-in-chief since 2003. She manages the newsrooms for Metroland/Kawartha Media Group’s community newspapers in Peterborough, the City of Kawartha Lakes (Kawartha Lakes This Week), and Brock Township (Brock Citizen), as well as the online news website mykawartha.com.
Tuffin is also familiar to many as a regular panelist on Cogeco’s YourTV’s Politically Speaking program.
Since moving to Peterborough, Tuffin has been very active in the community. She is currently a board member of The Mount Community Centre and has also volunteered for various community organizations and campaigns, including the YMCA and YWCA, Homegrown Homes, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre, Peterborough Poverty Reduction Network, YES Shelter for Youth and Families, Peterborough Regional Health Centre’s Breaking New Ground campaign, and more.
Tuffin’s departure comes eight months after Metroland Media, the parent company of Peterborough This Week, also purchased The Peterborough Examiner. The purchase has resulted in co-operation between the two newspapers, which previously were competitors in the local media space.
