I didn’t know it at the time, but this past Monday I did my final guest report for Drive Home host Scott Thompson at Hamilton’s all-news radio station CHML.
They wanted a TV commentator to talk about CBC’s Olympic coverge and ratings. I was moving stuff out of storage that day — a hold over from our move to Orangeville from Brampton — and knew this would be a bit of a time juggle. Fortunately I caught their in-coming call in the nick of time.
Had I known that was it for one of Canada’s oldest radio stations I wouldn’t have wasted time on the Olympics. Instead I would have thanked Scott and many of his collegues for all of the radio fun I was invited to take part in over the past 25 years or so. We were talking pretty much once a month back in 2007 when I started brioux.tv. Here we are in 2008 — another year when media companies were taking a hit — talking about the demise of Canadian Idol.
On Wednesday, right before noon, CHML radio listeners heard a voice tell them the station was going off the air. Then it did, silenced, after 97 years in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area.
Corus Entertainment released a statement suggesting the shuttering was due to years of shrinking ad revenues with those monies instead going to “unregulated foreign platforms.” They also blamed an unfair “regulatory and competitive landscape.”
Corus recently posted a 3rd Quarter loss of 769.9 million. Stations in Edmonton and Vancouver were also recently shut down. There are reports that a quarter of Corus Entertainment workforce will have to be slashed. A big red flag has been Corus’s stock price, down as low as 10 cents a share in recent weeks.
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There is no doubt that these are tough times for traditional Canadian media companies. Hands up if you still listen to a radio station, even in the car. There are so many digital options now, from music downloads and podcasts, and from all around the world.
And yet, doesn’t it still come down to what’s happening on your street and your town? CHML was the home broadcaster for the Hamilton Ti-cats. Sure, there are digital apps, but its not like the CFL needs less support and exposure.
I was always impressed by how well Scott Thompson, Rick Zamperin, Scott Radley and others, including Bill Kelly who departed the station about a year ago, covered their city every single day. Sure, if you want information on-demand you can always check Google or see what is trending on Twitter but you will generally wade through a ton of Trump before getting to Steel town.
Also, as a freelance writer and podcaster, that station and their broadcasters and other employees helped me feel connected to a working community. These folks were well versed on media and always fun to engage in conversation. Some, such as Thompson, even laughed at my jokes, even the ones he’d heard a time or three before.
As I started programming TV on Film Party screenings at Hamilton’s glorious neighbourhood cinema, The Westdale, I saw just how valuable the local radio voice helped in getting the word out for an event. The content producers and behind-the-scenes personel at the station, especially relentlessly cheerful and efficient Liz Russell, William Erskine, Tom McKay, Tom Craig, Alicia Vieira, and many others from the present and the past, cared about their community and did their jobs well.
It was always a pleasure chatting with Scott Thompson. I long ago lost track of how many times we spoke on CHML and even as to when that all started. Scott asks smart questions, rapid fire, and has a great sense of humour. He’ll ditch a topic and follow a tangent and put a bow on it all at the end. Often I’d turn to my laptop after one of our segments and type out a blog post based on the conversation.
We began talking back before HBO came to Canada, way before the streaming era. In recent times, when my phone would light up and it was CHML, my first thought was, “Who died?” I seemed to be the go-to guy for obits whenever Bob Newhart, Shannen Doherty or Joe Flaherty would pass away. I always was grateful for the opportunity to salute top TV personalities on the radio.
Now all of these radio friends are looking for work. I’m hoping most will get snapped up quickly; they are a talented bunch. Talent and drive alone, however, are not everything in a world where old media seems, like newspapers, yesterday’s news.
There will be life beyond CHML and probably beyond even radio. These are just jobs, not arms and legs. This sudden shutdown is, however, a loss for a city and for radio listeners.
If you are connected to any of these folks, let them know if you can how much they not only made your day but also helped you through it. Scott used to sign off our conversations with “be well.” That is my sincere wish for him and everyone at CHML today.
