RadioActive wrote:

It's a worrisome trend that's not spreading the news - according to a new study, coverage of local headlines is in such decline, there's a fear that misinformation may fill the void left behind. 

Many here will remember when Metroland shut down all its local papers a few year ago and I still miss my copy that came to my door every Thursday - with those grocery flyers as a bonus. 

"The report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that almost 2.5 million Canadians live in a postal code with either one or zero local news outlets, double the proportion from 2008. Put bluntly, “local news is dying,” said David Macdonald, report co-author and CCPA senior economist."

That's pretty scary but it's not surprising. The study also blames certain broadcast outlets for closing stations in smaller communities, depriving residents there of news from their respective towns. 

"...the number of private broadcasting outlets in radio and TV has shrunk by nine per cent since 2008. Last year was the worst year on record, with a net loss of 14.5 outlets driven by closures at CTV and Corus."

The study doesn't see an end or an upside to the trend, and expects the situation to get worse, suggesting CBC may be the only entity that can open more bureaus in small cities to fill the gap.  

Local news coverage in Canada in steep decline, inviting misinformation: report

What 14.5 stations did Global & CTV shut down last year? I must have missed that

torontostan wrote:

RadioActive wrote:

It's a worrisome trend that's not spreading the news - according to a new study, coverage of local headlines is in such decline, there's a fear that misinformation may fill the void left behind. 

Many here will remember when Metroland shut down all its local papers a few year ago and I still miss my copy that came to my door every Thursday - with those grocery flyers as a bonus. 

"The report by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found that almost 2.5 million Canadians live in a postal code with either one or zero local news outlets, double the proportion from 2008. Put bluntly, “local news is dying,” said David Macdonald, report co-author and CCPA senior economist."

That's pretty scary but it's not surprising. The study also blames certain broadcast outlets for closing stations in smaller communities, depriving residents there of news from their respective towns. 

"...the number of private broadcasting outlets in radio and TV has shrunk by nine per cent since 2008. Last year was the worst year on record, with a net loss of 14.5 outlets driven by closures at CTV and Corus."

The study doesn't see an end or an upside to the trend, and expects the situation to get worse, suggesting CBC may be the only entity that can open more bureaus in small cities to fill the gap.  

Local news coverage in Canada in steep decline, inviting misinformation: report

What 14.5 stations did Global & CTV shut down last year? I must have missed that

CHML Hamilton 900, CKGO Vancouver 730, CHQT Edmonton 880 for sure closed by Corus in 2024. CTV had closed a number of radio stations in 2023, including CJBK in London. Can anyone think of others?
 

DX wrote:

CHML Hamilton 900, CKGO Vancouver 730, CHQT Edmonton 880 for sure closed by Corus in 2024. CTV had closed a number of radio stations in 2023, including CJBK in London. Can anyone think of others?
 

Ok so 2 stations that actually mattered and which had news programming, not 14.5. Neither of those two are in smaller communities. What a horrible "report" from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 

torontostan wrote:

DX wrote:

CHML Hamilton 900, CKGO Vancouver 730, CHQT Edmonton 880 for sure closed by Corus in 2024. CTV had closed a number of radio stations in 2023, including CJBK in London. Can anyone think of others?

Ok so 2 stations that actually mattered and which had news programming, not 14.5. Neither of those two are in smaller communities. What a horrible "report" from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. 

I'm not sure which stations matter, because that's a subjective opinion. Certainly comedy stations weren't carrying news. But prior to Bell flipping them to comedy they did carry have news mixed in with their regular formats. I don't know if all-sports stations even do news headlines - I don't listen to them much. But maybe at some point they lost news when they flipped to sports. 1380 Brantford used to have all kinds of local news and talk before flipping to Christian music. CIWW Ottawa was all news.

There's actually a page devoted to radio station closures over at Wikipedia. It might not be updated up to the moment but it's pretty extensive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_defunct_radio_stations_in_Canada

It lists stations from all sizes of communities that have lost radio stations.

Key ones in just 2023/24 include:
730 CKGO Vancouver
900 CHML Hamilton
630 Edmonton (CHED moved to 880 and replaced CHQT)
1060 CKMX Calgary
1260 CFRN  Edmonton
1040 CKST Vancouver
1410 CFTE Vancouver
1290 CFRW Winnipeg
1380 CKPC Brantford
1310 CIWW Ottawa
103.9 CIRR Toronto

The CCPA report isn't just about radio. Metroland's closures represent a massive local news loss to small, underserved communities. We've also lost others, including small-town dailies. The Orillia Packet and Times frequently won awards for its local news coverage. I was there for three years. My first daily reporting job. It's among many that are now closed. The CCPA report is a sad but welcome reminder of what's gone down in recent decades.
 

I'm still mourning the loss of Now and Eye magazines.
Especially Now.
It was truly alternative news reporting with its left-wing bent, but good writers it was entertaining and informative whether you agreed with its politics or not.
Also always appreciated the irony of a newspaper that extolled left wing "politically correct" views, yet was crammed with ads in the back for hookers.


 

newsguy1 wrote:

I'm still mourning the loss of Now and Eye magazines.
Especially Now.
It was truly alternative news reporting with its left-wing bent, but good writers it was entertaining and informative whether you agreed with its politics or not.
Also always appreciated the irony of a newspaper that extolled left wing "politically correct" views, yet was crammed with ads in the back for hookers. 

I think the ads were in part meant to offer a safe avenue for sex workers to solicit business. Better than standing on street corners and/or working through pimps. And probably better for well-intentioned johns, too. I see NOW! occasionally online. It's nothing. About a year ago, I saw another paper one of NOW!'s original founders launched long after selling the magazine to a cannabis company. I haven't seen it since. NOW! worked very well 20+ years ago, but that window is long gone for a standalone paper without a vibrant online presence. I wrote for them occasionally. Nice people to deal with.
 

RadioActive wrote:

Maybe they should rename it "THEN."