If you aren’t up on the grassroots plan to “Save CHCH News”, the Toronto Star has a piece on a bold plan to reinvent the Hamilton station as a community television outlet again before it can be shut down.
There’s definite public support with Facebook groups and petitions to keep the station local, but the big question is whether ratings will drive enough local advertising to offset the costs of keeping such a station running. Local news, even when it’s popular, is almost always a loss leader, costing more in expenses than advertising surrounding it brings in. Making a station’s entire programming grid local content might be a recipe for quick bankruptcy.
Or it might be the most brilliant idea ever conceived.
CHCH has had its day of fame. Hamilton has too. The pride the two have will not be able to withstand the inevitable takeover from the other side of the curtain the area has been hiding behind all these years from the ultra modern society called the GTA. I grew up in Hamilton, left it for 10 years and not a thing has evolved there, nor had I seen any evidence of change for the short time I came back thinking it was better than Toronto; Mistake.
The arrogance of thinking a cople of steel mills and smaller manufacturers are going to be the saving grace when everyone else in the world is dumping them should be a wake up call, dont you think? How about the waste of money called city hall, lister block, the entire north end, and the clear lacking of consistency to clean things up in all of the above? Another topic to mind; transit – the HSR? This is another poor attempt to commute people at what they consider to be a pace of speed, but remaining to slow the course of traffic; rapid transit is supposed to be the more environmentally friendly means for hamilton, instead, lets buy more polluting buses (of course, hybrids – hmm, did they look at the problem with that – its called WINTER – here these same models had consistent problems with the batteries in these vehicles, hence, their susage has slowed until warmer weather comes, ie now. Does the council ever look into issues such as this before wasting vast amounts or is this just a make work project for the mob?
Ask yourself this as well, when has CHCH ever even broadcast 1 CFL Hamilton Tiger cat game? When was the last time they have ever covered in its entirity; anything local to support events such as that. The only programming I ever see consistently every year is the mass service on Christmas from the large cathedral on King West. Its time a few down there wake up, retire, and get some new creative thinking happening that matches the year 2010 and not 1910.
If the media nor the council in Hamilton cannot see the forest through the trees, maybe its time the populous needs to
start shaking those over paid and under worked few that “run” the city and throw the bunch out, not to mention quit
accepting the bribes that obviously stall any sort of advancement for Hamilton. Thats my rant.
P: the reason that CHCH has never broadcast any Ti-Cat games is that English-language CFL rights are sold nationally. In the past, they were split completely between the CBC and TSN, and now every single game is sold in one, giant block, to TSN. Local stations like CHCH simply aren’t given the opportunity to buy the rights to the games.
The city of Hamilton has the same number of corrupt and lazy politicians as could be found in any city.
Continually choosing NDP types as the their politicals is the biggest problem in Hamilton – as the city evolves into the 21 Century this will either get stronger or disipate; with a declining manufacturing sector this will be difficult.
The attempt to purchase the station by employees is laudable, though the idea of being an all news station will do a real job at killing the station.
This approach would be like the ill conceived Toronto Star attempt to get a TV licence.
Run the thing like the original CITY idea and it would be a profitable station.
In time Rogers will homoginize CITY and this is the time to get a bit edgy.