After going on air for the first time in 1957, CHAT-TV went dark Tuesday after the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group closed the local station "due to the contraction of support for local television, intense economic pressures and continued operational losses."--NEWS PHOTO BRENDAN MILLER
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Medicine Hat’s TV station is shutting down, ending almost 70 years of local production and resulting in 14 to 16 layoffs.
The company that owns CHAT-TV announced the decision to employees at a staff meeting Tuesday morning, then posted a statement on the CHAT website.
Jim Pattison Broadcast Group cited several years of difficult business conditions and operating losses, but said two radio stations that also operate out of the broadcasting building in Redcliff will remain in operation.
“It’s an awful day for us,” said Andrew Parry, a technician in Medicine Hat and local representative with Unifor Local No. 1010, which represents news and production personnel at three Pattison stations. “The staff is heartbroken, our families are feeling it and the City of Medicine Hat is much worse off.
“The station started in 1957 and today we went to black.”
Anchor Dan Reynish told the News the closures came as a surprise after employees put in extra effort to recover from a flood in the studio last month that forced newscasts to be pre-recorded. It was to return live next week.
“We’re all heartbroken and heartbroken for the City of Medicine Hat because it’s a city that deserves to have its stories told,” said Reynish, who felt the general mood in the city is disappointment. “We prided ourselves on being Medicine Hat’s news to Medicine Hat, under difficult circumstances. I can’t help but feel Hatters will feel they’re being robbed of that.”
The noon and dinner hour newscasts were not produced Tuesday while the channel rebroadcast content from City-TV.
“It is with heavy hearts that we announce the closure of CHAT-TV, a trusted local television station that has served the Medicine Hat community for the past 68 years,” reads a statement, attributed to Pattison Media president Rod Schween, which thanked employees, viewers and advertisers.
“However, due to the contraction of support for local television, intense economic pressures and continued operational losses, we have reached the difficult yet necessary conclusion that CHAT-TV can no longer continue its broadcast operations.”
Last month, flooding in the studio forced the relocation of newscasts to the company’s boardroom and other locations, while the News has been told content was also handled in part at other Pattison stations.
CHAT began broadcasting in 1957 under Monarch Broadcasting, and was sold in 2000 to JPBG to give it a TV network, including stations in Kamloops and Prince George, B.C.
Monarch Corp. president Bill Yuill told the News that word of the shutdown came as “a shock.”
He said a “dramatic increase” in audio and video over the years obviously has had an impact on the existing market place.
“I am sure that Medicine Hat residents will miss the programming that covers local news and current events,” Yuill said. “I do miss the wonderful relationship with previous creative and ambitious production staff members.
“On the local economic front, after losing a national bank branch, after having air service reduced and now losing our local television outlet, I do hope we can continue to enjoy residing in the finest city in the province.”
This winter the CBC announced it would expand a local bureau program to Medicine Hat and other Alberta cities, including news reporting and gathering for local and national audiences, but that won’t include a locally focused newscast.
Unifor’s national office said “the shuttering of CHAT-TV is not just the end of a station – it’s the loss of a legacy in Canadian news.”
“It’s about the disappearance of a local voice and the stories that bind our communities,” said Unifor national president Lana Payne.
Medicine Hat News general manager Ryan Dahlman noted that media competition leads to better stories and a bigger benefit for citizens.
“We feel very sorry for those who have lost their employment and sad to see the end of a historic run in southeast Alberta,” said Dahlman. “Times are economically tough these days, and as a media outlet, we at the Medicine Hat News understand these challenges. We wish nothing but the best for those affected.”
JPBG says it will continue to deliver local news through its radio stations, though the future of its “Chat News Today” website, launched a decade ago, was uncertain.
That is part of a broad network of internet news sites coupled with its radio and TV markets, though most local reporting staff were laid off.
“The decision to close CHAT-TV marks a step backward in our longstanding commitment to delivering meaningful and relevant news,” Schween said.
“We take immense pride in the role CHAT-TV has played in shaping local discourse, empowering communities and elevating stories that matter. It is devastating to be in a position where we are forced to take this step … As CHAT-TV’s operations come to an end, we remain steadfast in our belief that strong communities need local journalism. While this closure represents a significant loss, it also serves as a reminder of the vital importance of supporting local media outlets in an increasingly challenging environment.”
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