Rogers shuts down CityNews Ottawa radio station, lays off newsroom staff

Rogers Communications Inc. is closing its CityNews Ottawa radio station and laying off newsroom staff, citing dwindling audiences and regulatory challenges.

Rogers Sports & Media spokeswoman Charmaine Khan said the closure of the station, formerly known as 1310NEWS, is “due to low audiences, declining revenue and restrictive regulatory policies for AM radio.”

In a statement, she called it a “difficult decision.”

“We deeply appreciate and thank our listeners, and all the employees and contributors for their dedication over the years,” Khan said.

The number of employees cut is less than 10. Khan said the layoffs were effective Thursday.

Khan said the outlet would maintain an online presence supported by two digital reporters, allowing audiences to get news, traffic and weather updates through the CityNews Ottawa website and its social media channels.

No other CityNews radio or television stations are affected by the closure.

“The station had ongoing struggles to gain audience traction and profitability and it wasn’t viable for us to continue to operate,” said Khan.

The move marks the latest hit to local news this year. In June, BCE Inc. announced it would close or sell nine radio stations and slash six per cent of Bell Media’s workforce in response to unfavourable policy and regulatory conditions.

Rogers has seen other job losses this year. The company began offering voluntary departure packages to some employees in July as it worked to integrate with Shaw Communications Inc. after the closure of its $26-billion purchase of the carrier.

The company said in an internal memo that eligible employees who could apply to receive a voluntary package through the program included “most corporate and line of business employees” up to the senior director level of the company.

It clarified at the time that Rogers Sports & Media staff, including on-air talent, producers, directors, writers and media technology operators, could not apply.

Most employees in customer-facing jobs, such as specialized roles in IT, along with technicians, customer service and technical support agents, were also ineligible for a package.

Rogers also confirmed that month “a small percentage” of employees had left the company involuntarily since the Shaw merger but did not say how many were affected by either the voluntary departure program or other cuts.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2023.

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Sammy Hudes, The Canadian Press