Hamilton's 900 CHML radio station, one of Canada's oldest, closes

Hamilton's largest radio news station — and one of Canada's oldest — has shut down.

The Global News station, 900 CHML, posted an announcement online about the closure on Wednesday. By early afternoon, the station was no longer on the air. Its parent company is Corus Entertainment.

In a statement sent to CBC Hamilton, Corus said the decision was made as the company faces challenges due to a "significant shift in TV and Digital advertising spending, with the increased and unregulated presence of foreign owned media platforms."

Earlier Wednesday, the station shared a note of thanks online.

"We want to extend our profound gratitude to all of our listeners, valued advertisers and community partners - thank you for your steadfast support throughout the years," read the statement posted to social media site X.

"Your loyalty and this community have been the foundation of our station's legacy and we deeply value the connection we've shared with you."

The station featured shows such as Good Morning Hamilton with Rick Zamperin, Hamilton Today with Scott Thompson and until 2023, the Bill Kelly Show.

According to archives from The Hamilton Spectator, the station opened in September 1927. The Government of Canada's website says there were 77 commercial radio stations on-air between 1922 and 1932, which would make CHML among the first in the country.

Mayor says station's closure is 'devastating' loss

The loss of the station is "devastating," Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said on social media Wednesday.

"For close to 100 years - 97 years next month - CHML's on-air personalities have been a part of our daily lives here in Hamilton and beyond .... this is a tremendous loss to our community," she wrote.

Lisa Polewski, a reporter for CHML, posted on X, saying she was "so grateful" for the chance to cover the city she loved.

"I've grown up through this job and have had a lot of spectacular opportunities because of it, and I'll forever be grateful for everything. I loved reporting for you, #HamOnt," she wrote.

Tom McKay, a technical producer with CHML, posted online too, saying it was his favourite job.

"Being able to work and exercise my creative muscles is a blessing," he wrote.

Clint "Bubba" O'Neil, sports anchor for CHCH, also posted online, saying he was in "complete shock."

"My very best to the amazing friends and professionals past and present that made 900 CHML the legendary staple of Hamilton that is has been. So sad," he wrote on X.

Lisa Hepfner, a former CHCH reporter who is now member of parliament for Hamilton Mountain, said she is "gutted" to hear of the closure and the journalists at the station are "exceptionally skilled and deserve better."

Peggy Chapman, who worked at CHML as a producer in the mid-90s including with the Roy Green Show, told CBC Hamilton on Wednesday generations of families listen to the station.

"Their people are in the community, they're not just behind a microphone," she said, also referencing the work of the station's children's charity.

Chapman, who now works with the Bulldogs Foundations, said many people would listen to the station immediately following Hamilton Tiger-Cats games.

And without its news coverage, she added, it will be harder to keep people informed and hold local institutions to account.

"The fewer people keeping their eye on politicians, the less people know what's going on," she said. "That has an impact on how governance works."

'It's just bad news for communities:' media prof

In London, Ont., Global News's AM980 laid off two full-time and two part-time employees on Wednesday. They were reporter and news reader positions.

During a quarterly earnings fall in July, the radio station's parent company Corus Entertainment said it was "aggressively" cutting costs, continuing layoffs and shutting down parts of its business.

It said by the end of August it expected to reduce its full-time workforce by 25 per cent — or nearly 800 jobs — compared with September 2022.

By the end of May, Corus had cut about 500 employees.

In the email statement from Corus, the company said it had "implemented some difficult but necessary changes to ensure a sustainable future for Corus, specifically within our Audio and News divisions. As a result, certain roles within our Audio and News divisions have been impacted."

Those changes included the closure of the station in Hamilton and "adjusting the format of CFPL in London," it said.

"These decisions were not made lightly and came after long and careful consideration of our business operations."

The company said it remained committed to "serving" its communities, "including the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Corus Hamilton Children's Fund and more," but didn't provide further detail. It also would not confirm the number of jobs being cut. 

April Lindgren, a journalism professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who leads the Local News Research Project, said in past years, community newspapers were hit hard by closures but there's been a recent trend of local radio and television newsrooms shuttering.

For example, Lindgren says 36 radio news stations have closed in Canada since 2008, but nine of those have happened in the past year-and-a-half.

"I think post-pandemic the challenges of finding advertising revenue are really hitting home," she said in an interview with CBC Hamilton.

She said a lack of local news also makes it challenging for politicians who rely on the media to spread news of big decisions and announcements.

"Local journalism is something that you don't know what you've got until it's gone and people are soon going to start noticing the consequences … it's just bad news for communities."