UNESCO is calling on radio stations to uphold diversity, both in their newsrooms and on the airwaves, in keeping with the theme of this year’s World Radio Day on Thursday. At the global level, radio remains the most widely consumed medium. UNESCO says that unique ability to reach a wide audience means radio can shape a society’s experience of diversity, and stand as an arena for all voices to speak out, be represented and heard. Read our feature story on diversity challenges in Canadian radio, here.
CBC Calgary has launched new political podcast West of Centre, hosted by Kathleen Petty, the bureau’s Executive Producer of News. The weekly podcast will explore “the voices, experiences and misunderstandings” of the western part of the country, with an emphasis on Alberta. CBC says the podcast seeks not to polarize, but rather to amplify the voices of Western Canadians who feel marginalized socially, economically and politically, within a broader Canadian conversation. Guests include energy authors Andrew Nikiforuk and David Yager; Brian Jean, former leader of Alberta’s official opposition; and Jim Boucher, businessman and former Fort McKay Chief.
CKUA Edmonton host Holger Petersen has been inducted into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame. Petersen, who celebrated 50 years on the community station this past fall, was inducted at a ceremony in New Orleans, hosted by Folk Alliance International. Petersen is the host of Natch’l Blues on CKUA every Saturday from 3-5 p.m. MT.
Canadian Music Week (CMW) has announced that Debra Rathwell, Executive VP, Global Touring & Talent at AEG Presents, will be inducted into the Canadian Music & Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame. Rathwell began her career in Montreal, working for Donald K. Donald as VP of concerts, handling tours for Tina Turner, Genesis, Celine Dion, Bryan Adams, and Leonard Cohen, among others. She joined Metropolitan Entertainment in New York City in 1994 and moved to AEG as senior vice-president in 2002, opening its New York office. Rathwell will be honoured at the annual Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards Gala in Toronto on May 21. She’ll also give a keynote interview prior to the awards as part of the CMW Music Summit. Rathwell’s current focus is on orchestrating the “Elton John: Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour“, and launching arena and stadium dates with Justin Bieber, among other “too soon to talk about” projects.
The Allan Waters Young Broadcaster of the Year Award in Honour of Steve Young will be awarded for the 12th year during Canadian Music Week. Anyone working in the industry can nominate a worthy broadcaster, under the age of 30 as of Apr. 20, 2020. Nominees must work in the programming department: On-Air, Programming, Promotion, Production or Creative, and must have made a significant contribution to the community they serve, the radio industry or their craft. The deadline for entries is Mar. 16. Click here to access the submission form.
The CRTC has approved Stingray’s purchase of CIXL-FM and CKYY-FM Welland from R.B. Communications and Wellport Broadcasting. The purchase price of the stations was $6.5 million.
The CRTC has called a hearing for Apr. 14 where it will hear a licence application from Aujourd’hui l’Espoir for a broadcasting licence to operate a French-language commercial specialty (Christian music) FM radio station in Brownsburg-Chatham in the Laurentides region of Quebec. The station would operate at 102.7 MHz with an effective radiated power of 250 watts. The applicant proposes to broadcast a minimum of 98.5 hours of local programming per broadcast week. The commission will also hear an application from the Utilities Consumers’ Group Society for a broadcasting licence to operate an English-language community FM station in Whitehorse. The station would operate at 92.5 MHz with an average effective radiated power (ERP) of 590 watts (maximum ERP of 1,300 watts with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of 438.5 metres). The applicant proposes to broadcast 126 hours of programming per broadcast week, of which 108 hours would be devoted to local programming. Vernon Community Radio Society’s application for a broadcast licence to operate an English-language community FM radio station in Vernon, BC will also be heard. The station would operate at 97.9 MHz with an average effective radiated power (ERP) of 602 watts (maximum ERP of 1,000 watts with an effective height of antenna above average terrain of -148 metres). The applicant proposes to broadcast 126 hours of programming per broadcast week, of which 121 hours would be devoted to local programming.
The 17th annual Country 105 Caring For Kids Radiothon, heard on Corus Entertainment’s CKRY-FM Calgary, raised over $3.7 million for the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation thanks to the Crist Family Foundation which matched $1.86 million in listener support, dollar for dollar. That brings the overall Radiothon total to more than $35 million since 2003.
The Corus Radiothon for Children’s, heard on 980 CFPL, FM96 (CFPL-FM), Country 104 (CKDK-FM) and 103.1 Fresh Radio (CFHK-FM), raised a record-breaking $206,787 for London Children’s Hospital on Feb. 7. Broadcast live from the atrium of the London Health Sciences Centre, the event raised $30,000 more than last year’s total.
99.3 County FM (CJPE-FM) Prince Edward County, ON is working on improvements related to emergency preparedness and is looking for a back-up transmitter to its Nautel VS 2.5 FM. The not-for-profit community station has put the call out for an Industry Canada certified 120-300 watt back-up transmitter in good working order. For more info, contact General Manager Craig Mills at [email protected].
SiriusXM announced Tuesday it’s invested $75 million in audio platform SoundCloud, giving the satellite radio service a minority stake in the Berlin-based company and two seats on its board of directors. The move expands Soundcloud’s relationship with SiriusXM, as the creator audio platform had already been handling U.S. advertising sales for streaming subsidiary Pandora. SoundCloud was previously saved from bankruptcy in 2017 thanks to $169.5 million in funding from Raine Group and Singapore-based Temasek.
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