Golden West Broadcasting’s CJRB Radio 1220 Boissevain, MB celebrated 50 years on-air on Oct. 19. Alongside CFAM Radio 950 Altona (1957) and AM1250 Radio (CHSM) Steinbach (1964), the addition of CJRB in 1973 formed the trio of stations known as “Radio Southern Manitoba,” serving local audiences with news, weather, sports and farm information. Long-serving news announcer Barry Lamb and longtime sales person and hockey host Ivan Strain are two of the names synonymous with the station. Lamb retired from CJRB this past June after 43 years with Golden West.
Stingray’s Real Country 95.5 (CKGY-FM) Red Deer celebrated 50 years with a party at Bo’s Bar and Stage on Oct. 20 with performances from Aaron Goodvin, Hailey Benedict and Lemon Cash. Originally launched in 1973 at 1170 on the AM band, CKGY switched to FM in 2001. The station rebranded in 2016 from KG Country to the Real Country brand, in line with other Newcap-owned country stations in Alberta at the time.
UCB Canada board members, staff and listeners gathered on Oct. 20 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the broadcast ministry with a gala event. From its first station, CKJJ-FM, in Belleville, ON in 2003, UCB Canada now has 12 FM frequencies, establishing it as the largest Christian radio ministry in Canada. It’s now soft-launched a nationwide streaming channel with several new FM signals due to sign on in 2024.
The CRTC has approved an application by Skigin Radio for a broadcast licence to operate a low-power, Indigenous (Type B Native) FM radio station in Woodstock First Nation, NB. Serving the Maliseet People of the Wolastoqiyik territory, the station would operate at 107.7 MHz with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50 watts. Skigin proposes to broadcast 112 hours of local programming and 14 hours of wrap-around programming per broadcast week. Of that programming, 104 hours would be devoted to musical content (20% from Indigenous creators) and the remaining 22 hours devoted to spoken word programming targeted at children and youth as well as educational, religious, news and public affairs programming. During each broadcast week, Skigin proposes to devote 100 hours to English-language programming, 20 hours to programming in various Indigenous languages (Wolastoqey, Mi’kmaq and Ojibway) and six hours to French-language programs.
Stingray’s Ocean 100 (CHTN-FM) Charlottetown, PEI premiered two new songs Wednesday morning co-written by the late Jimmy Buffett and PEI singer-songwriter Lennie Gallant. “Johnny’s Rhum” and “Portugal or PEI” were recorded last April in Buffett’s Shrimp Boat Studios in Key West, Florida. Both appear on the late “tropical rock” icon’s forthcoming album Equal Strain On All Parts, set to be released Nov. 3. Buffett had hoped to come to PEI in person this past summer, prior to his health deteriorating. He entered hospice care in late August, just days before passing away from a rare form of skin cancer on Sept. 1. Read more here.
OP-ED: The National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA/ANREC) says it’s deeply disheartened by the recent development surrounding University of Ottawa campus and community station CHUO-FM, in which 7.7% of the undergraduate student body decided to withdraw their support for the country’s first bilingual, licensed, independent radio station. NCRA writes that “the incident underscores the fragile state of our current media and news landscape. Campus radio stations have always been pivotal in delivering news, information, and programming tailored specifically for on-campus and off-campus audiences.” Read the NCRA’s full statement here.
Carleton University campus and community station CKCU 93.1 FM Ottawa is holding its annual funding drive, Oct. 27 to Nov. 12. This year’s goal is $165,000. CKCU programming is made possible by almost 200 volunteers. Apart from its English-language content, CKCU also offers programs in French and at least eight other languages, connecting diaspora communities in the region. CKCU-FM is the oldest campus community radio station in Canada, broadcasting since 1975. Donations can be made online at CKCUFM.com where charitable receipts are provided instantly or call in a pledge at 613-520-3920 during your favourite program.
The 22nd annual CKNX Healthcare Heroes Radiothon brought in $488,221 in donations this year, supporting eight Wingham area hospital foundations, including the Clinton Hospital Foundation, Hanover and District Hospital Foundation, Listowel Memorial Hospital Foundation, Mount Forest Louise Marshall Hospital Foundation, Palmerston and District Hospital Foundation, Seaforth Community Hospital Foundation, Walkerton and District Hospital Foundation, and the Wingham and District Hospital Foundation. Anchored by morning show hosts Buzz Reynolds and Julie B., the Radiothon has now raised $14,309,862 over its 22 years.
Sarah Nick has advanced to the Top 5 in On-Air Coach’s annual Radio Star competition. Nick, the morning show co-host on Pattison Media’s 104.7 The Lizard (CKLZ-FM) Kelowna, is up against talent from Nigeria, Scotland and Birmingham, UK as the international competition moves forward toward the final.
SiriusXM is proving NBA fans with comprehensive audio coverage of the 2023-24 NBA season, with live broadcasts of every game through the postseason and The Finals, including all 67 games from the NBA’s new In-Season Tournament. The SiriusXM NBA Radio channel (channel 86) will feature a daily lineup of talk shows that includes The Starting Lineup, hosted by Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine, Give and Go with Rick Kamla and Antonio Daniels and NBA Today, hosted by Justine Termine and Eddie Johnson. Listeners will also hear analysis from former NBA players, coaches and front office execs including Amin Elhassan, Tim Legler, Rick Mahorn, Sam Mitchell, Will Perdue and Reggie Theus.
LISTEN: Jennifer-Lee Gunson, owner of Vancouver-based branded content business, J-Pod Creations, is on the latest Sound Off Podcast. An actor, prior to enrolling at BCIT, Gunson landed in afternoon drive at The Bear (CKNL-FM) Fort St. John, middays at 101.3 The River (CKKN-FM) Prince George, and eventually the Canadian Traffic Network in Vancouver. Currently the host of the “Measure Twice, Cut Once” podcast for the Homebuilders Association of Vancouver, in this episode she talks about surviving the pandemic and starting her company, including how what she learned in radio applies to making great on-demand audio.
