Photo of me hard at work by Adam Oldfield.
We knew more radio stations would get shut down by Corus. But that doesn’t make it any easier to take. Especially when the reasons behind it are hubris, history, and recklessness.
900 CHML in Hamilton no longer exists as of this week. Nearly 100 years of broadcasting history ended with the flick of a switch.
Corus is telling us that shutdowns are necessary because of “years of financial losses” but that’s only cherry-picking from the facts. Less than a decade ago, Corus went into $2.65-bilion in debt to acquire Shaw Media. They still have $1-billion of that debt and it doesn’t look like they’ll be able to pay it back.
If you want to do a deep dive, look back on Corus’s beginnings as Shaw Radio. The relationship between Corus and Shaw is long and complicated.
Bell – another closy closerson – and Corus put zero thought into reviving or revitalizing AM radio outside of Toronto. When things started to wane, they starved the medium of resources and left it to die on the vine.
They Don’t Give a Fig
Every major media company in this country tells you it cares about you. About your family. That it strives to bring you the best content and the latest news and blah blah blah – it’s mostly bullshit. Corus made a bad decision years ago and now journalists and listeners are paying for it.
There’s no “commitment to journalism” or anything of the sort. They’re publicly traded companies that need to look good for their shareholders.
AM radio was probably going to die off eventually, I realize that. But it’s the hypocrisy and deception that sting. I spent more than 30 years in radio, a medium I loved until I realized it no longer loved me back. I won’t lie – it was a bitter breakup for me when I quit. Friends told me I should make a “thing” out of my retirement. Write up a media release like so many others have done. But I was so miserable about my last experience, I just didn’t see the point. I only wanted out.
I’ve mellowed about it and become much more philosophical. Without leaving radio, I wouldn’t have ever known if I could make it as an entrepreneur. With back-up and assistance from my husband – who also left radio and became an entrepreneur! We do our own thing and we’ve made it work. I never imagined having this kind of work satisfaction.
A Heartbeat in Hamilton’s History
CHML was Hamilton’s heritage radio station. It was my Dad’s favourite station. As kids, when we weren’t listening to pop hits on CKOC, we were getting the crap scared out of us by the booming voice of Tom Cherington. When I was hired at CHML, my Dad was so proud. Both of my parents listened to me every day, even when I was having a miserable time on the morning show.
When I was spun off into hosting my own talk show, it was a big, hairy deal in our family.
I wrote many posts here about my time at CHML. They included topics as varied as Princess Diana‘s death, becoming a Big Sister, and the funny side of hosting a show with a family physician. I got to return to those airwaves when I published books or had something else to talk about. Some of those essays got lost in my website migration. (They always promise it won’t happen, but it does – back everything up!) But it was an important part of my life for three years. And some wonderful people were working there up until the lights went out this week.
London’s 980 CFPL, also under Corus, lost four employees but it’s still operating as far as I know.
People are what’s what’s really at the heart of these moves. Their lives and livelihoods. Another all-too-rare source of news and information, shut down. Fewer people to ask questions of politicians. Another bite out of the broadcasting landscape.
Oh, and Corus shares are trading at $0.15.
Sad days for local journalism.
What do you make of how radio stations are being shut down while podcasting as an industry appears to be exploding in popularity?
People want audio storytelling, clearly . . .
They do, but they want it their way and on demand. People SEEM willing to sit through commericials on a podcast they love but not on radio so much anymore. I think it’s simply a case of niche programming ruling the day when mass programming isn’t anymore. Maybe that’s too simplified but I do think it’s part of it. The consumer now has control.
The speed with which print and broadcast media has devolved staggers me. I graduated with a degree in journalism from the university formerly known as Ryerson, and in 1982 we were told that as grads we had the skills to work in any newsroom in the country. Many of my cohort did just that (shout out to Paul Hunter and Joy Malbon) although my path took me elsewhere. Now community newspapers are all but extinct, a.m. radio endangered, the daily papers reduced to shadows of their former selves. And most sadly and importantly, the five “W’s” (who, what, where, when and why) have been replaced with ‘how’ i.e. how did you feel watching your house burn? And truth? We have lost much in our pursuit of instant gratification and validation. And all in the last 40 years or so.
I agree with you, Diane. And in the bigger picture, corporations buying out Mom and Pop stations is what’s killing them. Which ones are surviving? The Mom and Pop stations! People joined Facebook by the millions without fully understanding how it works. They think they’re seeing “news” when it’s actually “curated content” determined by what they’ve viewed in the past. It’s such a mess. Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts here.