Loss of local television station will have long-lasting impact on community

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by Medicine Hat News

June 7, 2025

A file photo of the anchor desk in the CHAT-TV newsroom. The long-time local television station went dark earlier this week after staying on air for 68-years. — NEWS FILE PHOTO

The loss of noon and supper hour newscasts, as well as up to 14 jobs, due to the closure of CHAT-TV, will continue to reverberate in the community for years to come, according to Medicine Hat’s mayor and other observers in the city.

The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group announced Tuesday television production in the city would cease that day after 58 years, while radio stations would continue to operate.

Mayor Linnsie Clark said in a statement that the station “gave residents information they needed to participate in civic life.”

“Local journalism is democracy’s most immediate watchdog (keeping policy decisions in the open,” it read in part.

Beyond politics, CHAT-TV was a narrator of our story: the Tigers’ playoff runs, Mavericks league championship bids, the weather…, flood and drought responses, ribbon cuttings, and the thousands of everyday acts of neighborliness that make Southeast Alberta home.”

She extended council’s wishes to recent and former employees.

Read More HERE

 

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