Losing Frequencies #3: Radio Ryerson Applicants Face Defeat in Vying for 88.1FM

88.1FM CRTC Turns the Dial on CKLN: An interview with Radio Ryerson's Jacky Tuinstra Harrison on their rejected application and the significance of campus community station

by CKUT News Collective

This is Losing Frequencies: the CRTC Turns the Dial on CKLN 88.1FM. A special broadcast in honour of CKLN. Last week the Toronto frequency of 88.1FM was awarded to a commercial, rock station. This frequency has a lot of history. It was the former home of CKLN, Ryerson campus and Toronto community station. CKLN was known for giving air space to underrepresented communities, music and culture. It packed the airwaves with top-notch social justice programming and good beats, different from the top 40 played on most other stations. In January of 2011 CKLN lost their license. 

 

Jacky Tuinstra-Harrison was briefly a station manager at CKLN before the station had its broadcasting license revoked by the CRTC, which is responsible for regulating all broadcasting in Canada. Most recently, she managed Radio Ryerson’s application for CKLN’s former frequency, 88.1 FM in Toronto, which would have re-established the frequency as a community radio station. On September 11th, the CRTC published its decision to award broadcasting rights for 88.1 FM to Rock 95, a commercial rock music station.

-----

CKUT 90.3FM hosted a special broadcast series: Losing Frequencies: the CRTC Turns the Dial on CKLN 88.1FM.

In early September, the Toronto frequency of 88.1FM was awarded to a commercial, rock station, Rock 95. This frequency has a lot of history. It was the former home of CKLN, Ryerson campus and Toronto community station. CKLN was known for giving air space to underrepresented communities, music and culture. It packed the airwaves with top-notch social justice programming and good beats, different from the top 40 played on most other stations. In January of 2011 CKLN lost their license. 

There was one dissenting opinion amongst the CRTC Commissioners who made the decision. Louise Poirier's dissent to this decision stating it was "premature, disproportionate and inequitable". Poirier also states that as far as she can tell "the Commission has never revoked a license without first issuing a mandatory order or reducing the license term."

More than 850 people from Toronto and across Canada wrote letters of support for Radio Ryerson to preserve a place for community-access programming on the dial. Last year the NCRA also ran a national campaign called “Reclaim your Radio” in support of Radio Ryerson and reserving frequencies for community radio.

A week ago the CRTC licenced a commercial radio station for the last viable frequency in Toronto and denied the application of Radio Ryerson, making one less space available for community access to public airwaves.

Competing with dozens of prospective commercial radio stations, a group of Ryerson University students, faculty and community supporters proposed a station where the city and its many communities could speak for themselves and to their neighbours, sharing stories and music under-represented in other media.

Aired on: Tuesday's Off the Hour, September 19th, 17-18h.

bar baz