Hamilton’s largest radio news station says it has shut down.
The Global News station — 900 CHML — posted the announcement online on Wednesday, Aug. 14. By early afternoon, the station was no longer on the air.
“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 part of 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.
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.
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.
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.
More to come.