Rogers Communications announced Thursday the closure of its CityNews Ottawa radio station and the layoff of newsroom staff, citing declining audiences and regulatory challenges.
A spokesperson for Rogers Sports & Media, Charmaine Khan, explained that the closure of the station, formerly known as 1310NEWS, was “attributed to low audiences, declining revenues and restrictive regulatory policies for AM radio.”
In a statement, she said it was a “difficult decision.”
“We deeply appreciate and thank our listeners, as well as all employees and contributors for their dedication over the years,” said Mr.me Khan.
The number of employees affected is less than 10, she added, specifying that the layoffs were in effect as of Thursday.
Mme Khan says the news outlet will maintain an online presence supported by two digital journalists, allowing the public to get updates on news, traffic and weather through the CityNews Ottawa website and its channels. social media.
No other CityNews radio or television stations are affected by the closure.
“The station was struggling to gain audiences and profitability and it was not viable for us to continue operating it,” explained M.me Khan.
The closure is the latest blow to local news this year. BCE announced in June that it would close or sell nine radio stations and cut Bell Media’s workforce by 6%, attributing its decision to unfavorable political and regulatory conditions.
Additionally, Rogers announced further job losses this year. The company began offering voluntary severance packages to some employees in July as it worked on its integration with Shaw Communications following the closing of its $26 billion acquisition.
The company had indicated in an internal memo that employees eligible for the voluntary program included “most employees across the company and lines of business” up to the senior director level at the company.
She also clarified that Rogers Sports & Media staff, including on-air people, producers, directors, writers and media technology operators would not have access to voluntary departure packages.
Most employees in customer-facing jobs, such as IT specialist positions, as well as technicians, customer service and technical support agents, were also not eligible.
Rogers also confirmed that month that “a small percentage” of employees had left the company involuntarily since the merger with Shaw, but did not say how many of them were affected by the voluntary departure program or by other cuts.