Community radio in Canada

Last updated
A community radio station on the air live Lehigh Carbon Community College's Radio WXLV The-X.jpg
A community radio station on the air live

Community radio in Canada is a legally defined broadcasting category governed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). [1] It is distinct from the other two (often better known) categories, commercial broadcasting, and public broadcasting. Community radio can be considered a subcategory of alternative media. Community radio exists worldwide and is often broadly similar around the world, however, it can have variations in the government regulations that they are required to follow, the national or regional contexts in which its developed and the specific culture, goals or methods they adhere to.

Contents

Community stations broadcast content that is popular and relevant to a local, specific audience but is often overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters. Community radio stations are operated, owned, and influenced by the communities they serve. They are generally nonprofit and provide a mechanism for enabling individuals, groups, and communities to tell their own stories, to share experiences and, in a media-rich world, to become creators and contributors of media.

History

Community radio began in Canada in 1974/1975 with four stations: CFRO-FM Vancouver, CINQ-FM Montreal, CKCU Ottawa, and CKWR-FM Kitchener. [2] [3] In 1975, the Quebec provincial government began a financial aid program [4] that helped to grow the presence of community radio in the province, and as a result, there are now 22 community radio stations in Quebec. These stations started a provincial organization in 1979 called l'Association des Radiodiffuseurs Communitaire du Quebec (ARCQ). [5] [3]

Community radio has had a significant presence in Native communities in the Canadian north, with over 60 community radio stations in Native communities in the Canadian north by 2016. [3] A large part of the impetus for community radio in these communities was the challenge of keeping Native languages and cultures thriving. In 1973, the CBC began broadcasting southern Canadian and American television and radio into small northern communities, which many saw as a threat to the survival of their language and culture. Subsequently, many northern Native communities began their own community radio stations. [6] This later accelerated with the implementation of the Northern Native Broadcast Access Program in 1983. [3] [7]

Throughout the 1980s community radio stations continued to grow, particularly on university campuses across Canada. [3]

Mandate

Community stations are subject to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's (CRTC) Campus and Community Radio Policy. [1] Though the policy itself recognizes campus radio and community radio to be distinct, they are similar enough to be governed by a single document. Most campus stations in Canada hold both a campus and a community radio license.

This policy states about community radio that it "distinguishes itself by virtue of its place in the communities served, a reflection of its needs and values, and the requirement for volunteers in programming and station operations. This helps ensure that programming is different from that of commercial and public radio, in both style and substance, and is rich in local information and reflection. The programming provided by campus and community radio should meet the needs and interests of the communities served by these stations in ways that are not met by commercial radio stations and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)." [1]

In this policy, the CRTC requires community stations to

It also requires stations to offer diverse programming that reflects the needs and interests of the community, including:

Content Restrictions

General Canadian Content Restrictions

All broadcasters in Canada, including community radio, must follow strict regulations regarding the minimum amount of Canadian content they must broadcast. [8] All music radio stations must play a minimum of 35% Canadian content between the hours of 6 am and 6 PM. Whether a piece of music is 'Canadian' is determined by the MAPL System (see below). Due to the nature of community radio, in which much of the content played is made by local artists, it is common for them to significantly exceed the minimum Canadian content requirements.

The MAPL System

To qualify as Canadian content a musical selection must generally fulfill at least two of the following conditions:

  • M (music) — the music is composed entirely by a Canadian
  • A (artist) — the music is, or the lyrics are, performed principally by a Canadian
  • P (performance) — the musical selection consists of a performance that is:
    • Recorded wholly in Canada, or
    • Performed wholly in Canada and broadcast live in Canada.
  • L (lyrics) — the lyrics are written entirely by a Canadian [9]

Community Radio Restrictions

Aside from the Canadian content requirements that apply to most radio stations across Canada, community radio has additional requirements and restrictions instituted by the CRTC. This includes:

  • 15% of content must be spoken word programming produced locally,
  • 5% of all music played consists of lesser known and/or emerging/experimental genres, and of this, 12% must be Canadian [1]

Funding

As per CRTC regulations, community radio stations must be owned and operated as a non-profit organization. This organization must primarily consist of, and be run by the members of the community that it is meant to serve. [1] As such, the majority of the operating revenues of community radio organizations are also contributed by members of the community, often through annual memberships. [10] [11]

Campus-community radio stations typically receive the majority of their funding through a student levy that the students at that institution have voted on via campus-wide referendum, to support the station. [12] [13] [14] As the stations on university campuses are also meant to serve the community, non-students may also become members of the organization by paying membership fees. [14]

Community radio stations also often utilize other methods of raising funds, such as pledge drives [15] [16] [17] and applying for grants. [18] [19]

National Campus Radio Association

Most of the community radio stations in Canada are part of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA). [3] The NCRA is a non-profit organization of campus radio and community radio stations in Canada.

The NCRA/ANREC is a not-for-profit national association of organizations and individuals committed to volunteer-based, community-oriented radio broadcasting. It is dedicated to advancing the role and increasing the effectiveness of campus and community radio in Canada. It works closely with other regional, national, and international radio organizations to: provide developmental materials and networking services to its members, represent the interests of the sector to government (particularly the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)) and other agencies, and promote public awareness and appreciation for community-oriented radio in Canada. Since 1981, it has affected changes to national radio policy, helped lower tariffs affecting radio stations, and has helped stations open doors while preventing others from closing. Core initiatives include GroundWire, Dig Your Roots , !earshot , Women's Hands and Voices, the Community Radio Fund of Canada, sector-wide listservs, and an annual radio conference. The NCRA recognizes the cultural and social diversity of the Canadian population and is committed to facilitating the expression of this diversity and vitality within the campus and community radio broadcasting sector. [3]

The head office of the NCRA/ANREC is located in Ottawa. A majority of English-language campus and community radio stations in Canada are members of the NCRA. [3]

Related Research Articles

Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications regulator

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission is a public organization in Canada with mandate as a regulatory agency for broadcasting and telecommunications. It was created in 1976 when it took over responsibility for regulating telecommunication carriers. Prior to 1976, it was known as the Canadian Radio and Television Commission, which was established in 1968 by the Parliament of Canada to replace the Board of Broadcast Governors. Its headquarters is located in the Central Building of Les Terrasses de la Chaudière in Gatineau, Quebec.

Canada has a well-developed media sector, but its cultural output – particularly in English films, television shows, and magazines – is often overshadowed by imports from the United States. Television, magazines, and newspapers are primarily for-profit corporations based on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. Nevertheless, both the television broadcasting and publications sectors require a number of government interventions to remain profitable, ranging from regulation that bars foreign companies in the broadcasting industry to tax laws that limit foreign competition in magazine advertising.

Canadian content refers to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) requirements, derived from the Broadcasting Act of Canada, that radio and television broadcasters must air a certain percentage of content that was at least partly written, produced, presented, or otherwise contributed to by persons from Canada. It also refers to that content itself, and, more generally, to cultural and creative content that is Canadian in nature.

CJCB-TV is the CTV owned-and-operated television station in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. It broadcasts an NTSC analogue signal on VHF channel 4 from a transmitter located in the Cameron Estates neighborhood on Mira Road in Sydney. On August 1, 2012, it became the only terrestrial broadcaster in the market, as the CBC-TV repeater station, CBIT-TV, was closed the previous evening.

Aboriginal Voices Radio Network was a Canadian radio network, which primarily broadcast music programming and other content of interest to aboriginal people. As of June 2015, the network operated stations in Toronto, Ontario, Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta, and Vancouver, British Columbia. All of its stations were licensed as rebroadcasters of its flagship station, CKAV-FM in Toronto. The network's administrative office was located in Ohsweken, Ontario, on the Six Nations Indian reserve near Brantford. The stations' music programming consisted mainly of adult contemporary music, along with specialty programs focusing on aboriginal-oriented content.

CITR-FM Radio station at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver

CiTR-FM, is a Canadian FM radio station based out of the University of British Columbia's Student Union Building in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia. Its transmitter is also located on campus.

CJSR-FM Radio station in Edmonton, Alberta

CJSR-FM is a Canadian campus-based community radio station, broadcasting at 88.5 FM in Edmonton, Alberta. The CJSR studios are located in the Students' Union Building of the University of Alberta, while its transmitter is located atop the building.

The National Campus and Community Radio Association/L'Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires (NCRA/ANREC) is a non-profit organization of campus radio and community radio stations in Canada.

CFYN was a Canadian AM radio station, which broadcast at 1050 kHz in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario from 1977 to 1992. From 1934 to 1977, the station broadcast with the call sign CJIC.

CBEF is a non-commercial AM radio station, broadcasting at 1550 kHz in Windsor, Ontario. It airs the programming of Radio-Canada's Première network.

CFBU-FM

CFBU-FM is a radio station serving St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Branded on-air as Brock Radio, it is the community-based campus radio station of Brock University. The station broadcasts at 103.7 FM, with an effective radiated power of 250 watts, from a transmitter located atop the Arthur Schmon Tower on the Brock campus.

CKXU-FM Radio station at the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta

CKXU-FM is a Canadian Not-for-profit radio station, broadcasting at 88.3 FM, from the University of Lethbridge, in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada.

CFCR-FM Radio station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

CFCR-FM, is the community radio station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan which broadcasts at 90.5 FM. The station also streams live from their web site and airs on SaskTel Max, channel 820. CFCR-FM is a member of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA).

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network Canadian television network

The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network is a Canadian specialty channel. Established in 1992 with government support to broadcast in Canada's northern territories, since 1999 APTN has had a national broadcast licence. It airs and produces programs made by, for and about Indigenous peoples in Canada and the United States. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, it is the first network by and for North American indigenous peoples.

CFWE First Nations radio network in Alberta, Canada

CFWE is a radio network based in Edmonton, Alberta. Owned by the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society, it broadcasts programming targeting northern Alberta's First Nations communities, including mainstream country music, and specialty shows featuring Indigenous music or presented in native languages such as Cree and Dene.

CKPM-FM Former radio station in Port Moody, British Columbia

CKPM-FM was a Canadian radio station. Licensed to Port Moody, British Columbia and operating at 98.7 FM, the station served the Tri-Cities area. The station broadcast an adult album alternative format.

Media ownership in Canada is governed by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), with respect to audiovisual media and telecom networks, and other agencies with more specific jurisdiction, in the case of non-broadcast media -- like the Competition Bureau, with respect to competition matters, and Department of Canadian Heritage regarding foreign investment in the cultural sector. The CRTC implements the policies of the Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act within Canada but, because its jurisdiction is limited to these, does not regulate the ownership of newspapers or of non-audiovisual Internet activity. However, it has taken press and non-audiovisual Internet activity taken into consideration in deciding on broadcasting matters. Thus far, the CRTC has undertaken very little regulation of Internet-based audiovisual programming.

CKFG-FM Radio station in Toronto

CKFG-FM is a Canadian radio station which broadcasts an urban adult contemporary format at 98.7 FM in Toronto, Ontario. CKFG's studios are located on Kern Road in the Don Mills neighbourhood of North York, while its transmitter is located at the top of First Canadian Place in Downtown Toronto.

CFLZ-FM Radio station in Fort Erie, Ontario

CFLZ-FM is a Canadian radio station that serves the Buffalo-Niagara Falls border area, broadcasting at 101.1 FM in Fort Erie, Ontario. CFLZ's studios are located on Ontario Avenue in Niagara Falls, Ontario, while its transmitter is located near Fort Erie. It is also the highest rated Canadian station in the Buffalo-Niagara Falls region, according to Nielsen Audio.

CJRU, branded as CJRU.ca and originally branded as The Scope at Ryerson, is a low-powered AM campus and community radio station, owned and operated by Radio Ryerson Incorporated at Ryerson University in Toronto, which was granted a broadcast license by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on December 11, 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 (CRTC), Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. "Campus and community radio policy - CRTC's 2010 revised policy for campus and community radio stations". www.crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  2. ↑ Salter, Liora. "Community Broadcasting". The Canadian Encyclopedia . Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Our Story | NCRA". www.ncra.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  4. ↑ Communications, Ministère de la Culture et des (2017-04-06). "Médias communautaires". www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  5. ↑ "ARCQ". arcq.qc.ca (in French). Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  6. ↑ "The Development of Aboriginal Broadcasting in Canada | MediaSmarts". mediasmarts.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  7. ↑ Services, Government of Canada, Public Works and Government Services Canada, Integrated Services Branch, Government Information Services, Publishing and Depository. "Northern Native Broadcast Access Program (NNBAP) & Northern Distribution Program (NDF) evaluation :: CH44-90-2003E-PDF - Government of Canada Publications". publications.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  8. ↑ (CRTC), Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. "Canadian content requirements for music on Canadian radio". www.crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  9. ↑ (CRTC), Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission; (CRTC), Government of Canada, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. "The MAPL system - defining a Canadian song". www.crtc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
  10. ↑ "Vancouver Coop Radio Membership". Archived from the original on 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  11. ↑ "Membership at Co-op Radio: CJLY Kootenay Coop Radio Nelson British Columbia". www.kootenaycoopradio.com. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  12. ↑ "Activity Fee Break Down 2016-17 | SFSS". sfss.ca. Archived from the original on 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  13. ↑ CreativeChampagne.com. "CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria". CFUV 101.9 FM in Victoria. Archived from the original on 2017-04-16. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  14. 1 2 "FAQ | CIVL Radio". civl.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  15. ↑ "Donate to the 2017 Fundrive! | CiTR". www.citr.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  16. ↑ "Vancouver Cooperative Radio Pledge Drive" . Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  17. ↑ "Fund Drive 2017 Mix CDs!". www.luradio.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  18. ↑ "About the Fund". www.crfc-fcrc.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
  19. ↑ "RAC Scholarship and Grant Program". wp.rac.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.