I don't know if you were a fan of the TV show "Succession". I was. And what made it utterly unique in my viewing experience was that I disliked every one of the main characters!

Slimy, sleazy, nasty, vindictive, treacherous, mean, back-stabbing—well, let the good times roll.

I have a similar growing feeling about the various players in the unfolding Canadian drama concerning the future of local news in this country.

The last two weeks have unveiled a litany of corporate shenanigans, government interference and fumbling, international intrigue, and a cast of characters that many will find hard to admire.

The big loser is local news. And local communities.

And that has direct impacts on city halls and local democracy. It will impact how municipal governments are covered, how critical and sometimes urgent information is disseminated to local taxpayers, and how local elections are fought.

The layoffs by Bell Media of 1,300 employees and the closing or sale of nine radio stations were tragic. It is, in my view, just the first step. If they consolidate news gathering, then local news will be further diminished.

If Bell gets its requests for significantly reduced Canadian news requirements and other local programming, one must believe that other major broadcasters won't be far behind.

Couple that blow with the announcement of a pending merger between Canada's two largest newspaper chains, Postmedia and the Toronto Star group, and local angst deepens.

Newsrooms across Canada have already been decimated. The future is bleak.

Next, Rogers has been laying off some staff after its merger with Shaw was approved. These are two big companies, and some attrition was inevitable. Rogers says it is also doing some hiring. Local communities are nervous about the potential impact.

Finally in the two most tumultuous weeks in Canadian media history, Google and Facebook announced they would remove Canadian news links over Bill C-18, the federal government's attempt to force payments to Canadian publishers for the linkage of news content.

Everybody is a loser in this. Several Canadian publishers already have signed deals; those are now canceled. Links to the big tech platforms create 'eyeballs' on news stories and features, which is highly coveted by publishers; those are now going to be closed. There will be no new revenue coming to Canadian media. Canadian consumers of information will have sites blocked. Lose-lose-lose-lose.

Now. There is no question that Canadian news outlets have been terribly hurt by the shift of advertising dollars from traditional media to on-line. Robust newsrooms are now an embarrassing, tiny fraction of their once mighty clout. But publishers and broadcast execs have also made some fundamental errors by deserting local consumers; going into debt over dubious acquisitions and then facing crippling interest payments; and more recently, bumping subscription rates for newspapers by significant increases. And, the big techs may be simply posturing for negotiating purposes. Who knows?

But the very likely bottom line for city halls is a loss of local service and news coverage.

Some jurisdictions are legally required to have civic notices be published in a 'local newspaper'; what happens if there are no more local newspapers? How will local governments inform citizens of emergency situations if local radio is all corporate? How will community messages get distributed if local media are so diminished? Who will shine a bright light on goings-on at city council if there are no more local TV newscasts?

Local news is disappearing, and people don't seem to understand—or care much. They don't know what they are going to miss until it is too late.