STV announced in September that it was considering plans to close down the long-running 6 PM broadcast and axe 30 jobs from its newsroom in a bid to save £2.5m next year.
The decision has been criticised by politicians, business leaders, and fellow journalists.
STV bosses appeared at Holyrood to defend the proposals. (Image: Scottish Parliament)
Speaking at the Scottish Parliament last month, National Union of Journalists (NUJ) organiser Nick McGowan-Lowe said that ending the evening programme "would be an act of cultural vandalism for journalism in Scotland".
He added: "A combined programme would be bad for viewers in North East Scotland and Angus; bad for viewers in the Central belt, bad for business, and bad for local democracy."
A Change.org petition opposed to the closure has received 9,805 signatures since it was launched in mid-October.
The petition, organised by the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, reads: "Plans to cut or centralise STV North will destroy local journalism, cost vital jobs, and strip away our ability to make decisions about how our stories are told.
"Local news isn't just about headlines, it's about community, democracy, and identity. Without a strong regional newsroom, people across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, the Highlands and Islands, Dundee, Tayside and Perthshire will lose representation, visibility, and trust in the media that serves them."
However, STV chief executive Rufus Radcliffe has defended the proposed cuts, telling MSPs: "The cost-saving plan is very difficult for colleagues and we are determined to give people clarity as soon as we can.
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"But we believe it is the right response to the market conditions that we are in now and also the long-term trends in terms of viewing behaviour."
Divisional managing director Bobby Hain added: "We are focused on what we think is the best outcome, retaining reporting and specialist knowledge in the north for online distribution and for inclusion in a new programme."