CJRT-FM

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CJRT-FM
File:CJRT-FM.png
Broadcast areaGreater Toronto Area
Frequency91.1 MHz
BrandingJAZZ.FM91
Programming
FormatJazz - Public Radio
Ownership
OwnerCJRT-FM Inc.
History
First air date
1949; 75 years ago (1949)
Former frequencies
88.3 MHz (1949-1950)
Call sign meaning
Canada Journalism Radio Technology
Technical information
Licensing authority
CRTC
ClassC1
ERP40,000 watts
HAAT420.5 meters (1,380 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
43°38′33″N 79°23′14″W / 43.64250°N 79.38722°W / 43.64250; -79.38722Coordinates: 43°38′33″N 79°23′14″W / 43.64250°N 79.38722°W / 43.64250; -79.38722
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitejazz.fm

CJRT-FM (91.1 MHz) is a Canadian public radio station and charitable arts organization in Toronto, Ontario, known as JAZZ.FM91. The studios are on Pardee Avenue in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of Toronto. The station describes itself as Canada's only 24-hour all-jazz radio station, with evening and weekend specialty shows devoted to jazz-influenced R&B, blues, big band and Latin jazz.[1] It has a professional staff of on-air hosts, with more than 90 volunteers assisting. It is listener-supported and holds periodic on-air fundraisers, seeking donations to support the station.

CJRT-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 40,000 watts. Its transmitter is atop the CN Tower.[2]

The station is simulcast on Bell Satellite TV channel 960, Rogers NextBox channel 933, and Shaw Direct channel 869.[3][4]

JAZZ.FM91 is a registered charity[5][6] that provides youth programs, workshops, internships and scholarships in partnership with educational institutions and other arts organizations.

History

Origins

In 1949 Ryerson Institute of Technology (Ontario Department of Education) received CBC approval to operate an educational FM station in Toronto (88.3 MHz - 3,000 watts).

CJRT was expected to begin operations in the fall. It would be the first educational FM station in Canada, and would be operated by the Broadcasting and Electronic Department at Ryerson, formerly the Rehab School, now operated by the Province of Ontario. CJRT would be manned by students under professional radio instructors. John Barnes, ex-CBC producer, had charge of the institute's courses in broadcasting, under Eric Palin, who supervised all electronic studies. Principal of the institute was H.H. Kerr, director of Technological Institutes for the province.

CJRT signed on officially on the evening of November 22 when Premier Leslie Frost clicked a switch that lit up miniature towers. He declared, "education's own station" was on the air. Also on hand for the opening were Education Minister Dana Porter; Rev. Cooke Davies, Speaker of the Ontario House; and Ernest L. Bushnell, director general of programs at the CBC. The opening ceremonies were broadcast simultaneously over CJRT and the CBC's CJBC. Ryerson principal H.H. Kerr presided over the dinner. Following the speeches, a brief documentary, "CJRT Testing" was presented by a group of students from the broadcasting course at Ryerson. CJRT was on the air daily from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the early going.

Andy Kufluk and H. Jackson were on the technical staff and CJRT used a 3,000 watt General Electric FM transmitter. The "JRT" in the call letters stood for Journalism, Radio and Television, three of Ryerson's many educational mandates. CJRT-FM originally broadcast on 88.3 MHz until it moved to its current 91.1 MHz frequency in 1950.

On April 6 1964, the licensee name was changed to The Board of Governors of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, and CJRT-FM became a professionally staffed radio service, with the broadcast schedule increased from 7 am to midnight seven days a week.[7] There was still some student training but that ended a few years later. Future Station Manager Cam Finley joined the station in December.[7] It played classical, jazz, and folk music, with educational and public affairs programming, children's shows, and comedy from the BBC.[7]

In 1965 with a modest budget for some promotion and a program guide, the audience slowly increased and on July 30, CJRT was authorized to increase power to 27,000 watts ERP with an antenna height of 172 feet. Ted O'Reilly began hosting The Jazz Scene. Over the years he became known as one of Canada's leading authorities on classical jazz and earned the respect of listeners, musicians and broadcasters alike for his passion for and dedication to the promotion of jazz. He was to stay with the station for 37 years. In 1966 Joe Lewis began hosting Folk Music and Folkways. It ran for over 30 years.

Open College

By 1969 Radio study began and a number of non-credit informal educational series were presented for two years, which led to the development of Open College credit courses. At this time CJRT was offering some automated programming. Broadcast News was the main source of news for radio stations in Canada but only a handful at this time were subscribing to BN's voice (audio) service. CJRT was one of those stations.

CJRT had a full-time news staff of three. There were also three part-timers, usually journalism students. In the summer, the station hired Allan Small from CFRB to move the station more prominently into the news media. Ted O'Reilly was news director. Don C. Stone was manager. Alan J. Small was appointed senior producer. He would be involved in the production of musical and educational programs and the training of broadcasting students.

In 1971, with the support of Eric Wright, then Dean of Arts at Ryerson, sociology professor Marg Norquay and producer Cam Finley created and broadcast Introduction to Sociology, the first Open College university-level credit course for radio... and the first of its kind in Canada. Open College, CJRT's Education Service, eventually offered 28 university courses (all produced in-house) accredited by Atkinson College, York University and Ryerson Polytechnical University. Open College was the only radio-based university-credit distance education provider in North America. More than 15,000 students have enrolled in Open College courses.

Total CJRT audience stood at about 50,000 listeners.

Adriane Markow and Peter Keigh began hosting classical music programs.

Independence

In 1973, Ryerson, announced its intention to surrender the broadcast licence of CJRT-FM due to financial restraints. By now the station had achieved somewhat of a profile and the story reached the press. After a large public outcry, a year later in 1974, Ontario Premier Bill Davis announced that the provincial legislature would pass legislation to create an independent corporation to run the station and buy the license.[7] On November 29, CJRT-FM INC. was incorporated by Ontario Letters Patent and CJRT-FM was transferred from Ryerson Polytechnical Institute to the new non-profit corporation. The station received money from the Ontario government and from companies and listeners through fundraising.[7] Cam Finley was appointed Acting Manager in 1973, General Manager in 1974 and President and GM in 1979. John Valentyn launched a weekly blues program. Bud Riley joined CJRT as news and public affairs director.

In co-operation with Ryerson and York University's Atkinson College, CJRT offered several on-air Open College courses from 1971 to 2003. In 2003, the service was transferred to Ryerson's G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, which offers distance education through the internet, print, and recorded media rather than on radio. In its last years, Open College broadcasts aired Sunday mornings from 6 am to 8 am.[8]

Following Ryerson's loss of ownership of CJRT in 1974, CKLN-FM was licensed as Ryerson's campus radio station from 1983 to 2011[9] followed by CJRU since 2016.[10]

In 1975, Glen Woodcock began hosting The Big Band Show, which is still running more than 45 years later.[7][1] CJRT moved its antenna and transmitter from 50 Gould Street to the CBC tower at 354 Jarvis Street and the power was increased to 50,000 watts. Antenna height was 389 feet or 118.6 metres (EHAAT). Tom Fulton took over On The Arts, becoming its highly respected host for nearly 25 years, during which time he conducted over 20,000 interviews with Canadian and international authors, artists, performers, etc. Stories and Music for Children launched, the longest-running weekday children's program in Canada (and at the time, one of the only ones).

1981 saw the transmitter and antenna moved to the CN Tower, 301 Front Street West. Because of the antenna height (1,380 feet or 420.5 metres), power had to be reduced to 40,000 watts, but ERP was the equivalent of 100,000 watts. The signal became omnidirectional. To mark the move to the new site, the station celebrated with a party in the CN Tower's "Sparkles" disco.

The promotion of Canadian music was a priority for CJRT. On December 1,1984 the 55-piece CJRT Orchestra joined with the 22-member Boss Brass in a concert of music by six Canadian composers.

1n 1985 CJRT marked the 20th anniversary of Ted O'Reilly's "Jazz Scene" with Jazz Jam at Harbourfront. The free show featured over 25 of the country's top jazz musicians.

New format

In March 1998 Cam Finley retired after 34 years at CJRT-FM, of which 25 were as President. In April, new Station Manager Chuck Camroux arrived and 24-hour-a-day broadcasting was introduced with syndicated jazz and classical music from the US overnight. In August, The Jazz Scene moved to a live broadcast weekday afternoons replacing classical music. Mary Lou McCreechan and jazz musician Doug Watson began hosting jazz programs (Jazz with a Twist and Portraits in Jazz).

In October, the CRTC approved CJRT-FM Toronto's application to remove the restriction on selling only 20 minutes of restricted advertising per broadcast week. CJRT-FM could now air up to 504 minutes weekly; a maximum of four minutes in any hour. Of those 504 minutes, only 126 could be devoted to conventional ads. The rest could only be simple statements of sponsorship.

In January 2001, the station quietly switched to an all-jazz format and rebranded as JAZZ.FM91.[7] The transition began with a weekend free of any hosts or advertising and saw the addition of several long-time hosts, including Brad Barker and John Devenish. This marked the end of classical music; veteran hosts Peter Keigh and Adriane Markow were terminated. The long-running Stories and Music for Children was also cancelled. In May, more jazz programs were added: Brad Barker's Dinner Jazz and Café Jazz with Ted Hasiuk, who was reputed to have the largest smooth jazz library in Canada.

By the summer of 2001, the station was reaching 250,000 people with apparent considerable additional coverage in the U. S. judging by the financial support received from south of the border in the station's funding drives.

In September, sponsorship of the long-running concert jazz series at the Ontario Science Centre was taken over by President's Choice, after Rothmans, Benson & Hedges' sponsorship was limited by federal legislation curbing advertising by tobacco companies. Blues entertainer Danny Marks began hosting a four-hour blues program Saturday nights. Unhappy with many aspects of the station's operation, Ted O'Reilly resigned after 37 years at the station, doing his final live broadcast on March 27th. He was replaced by Larry Green on the daily drive-home show. Mary Lou Creechan was let go by the station at around the same time.

In 2004 Ross Porter, whose weeknight jazz programs on CBC radio had made him a national name, and who later helped CanWest launch COOL-TV and Cool.FM radio, was hired to replace Chuck Camroux in July, as President and CEO

Two years later, after nearly 14 years occupying Ryerson University property at 150 Mutual Street, CJRT moved to its current street-front facilities at 4 Pardee Ave. in the Liberty Village neighbourhood of Toronto.[7] By this point, the station had added several more on-air personalities including Terry McElligott, Ralph Benmergui, Heather Bambrick, Bill King, Jaymz Bee, Walter Venafro, Reiner Schwarz, Amanda Martinez, many remain with the station to this day.[1]

Tenor Ben Heppner hosted his own radio show on JAZZ.FM91 on August 1, 2010. He was one of more than 100 station supporters who donated to CJRT since the Fall of 2009 for the opportunity to host their own show on the station. Heppner recorded his show with JAZZ.FM91 president and CEO Ross Porter. JAZZ.FM91 announced that Brad Barker would be the new host of "Afternoon Drive", starting November 29, and heard weekdays from 2PM to 6PM. Barker had hosted the popular "Dinner Jazz" program on JAZZ.FM91 for nine years and catapulted the program to be one of the most popular shows on the station. He had been a strong presence on the station for over 10 years as operations manager, music director and on-air host.

JAZZ.FM91 also announced the launch of its new morning show, "Good Morning...with John Donabie", beginning November 29, 2010, from 6:00AM to 10:00AM. Donabie had been with CFRB 1010 until earlier in the year. Donabie succeeded Ralph Benmergui who moved to become Director of Communications for Ontario Minister for Research and Innovation Glen Murray. On July 29, 2011 Donabie ended his term. Heather Bambrick, who had been doing daytime weekend shows, moved over to the morning program, initially on a temporary basis. On September 19th, Heather became the permanent host of what would shortly be renamed Wake Up with Heather Bambrick. Jaymz Bee joined her each morning with local entertainment reports, as well as doing his own Jazz in the City show on Saturdays, 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Bambrick's background included being a music educator, teaching at the University of Toronto and Humber College, a jazz vocalist, and various broadcast pursuits.

Leadership change

Then-president and CEO Ross Porter stepped down as CEO in June of 2018, following an investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct and creating a toxic work environment. Charles Cutts, former president and CEO of the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, was appointed interim CEO. [11][12][13][14][15][16]

A short time later, the station cut four hosts - Jaymz Bee, Mark Wigmore, Walter Venafro and David Basskin. David Wall, director of community outreach and education, and two other employees were also affected. There was also a shake up at the boardroom level. Chair Renah Persofsky was replaced by David McGown.In December of 2018 long time Midday host Terry McElligott resigned his position at the station.

The turmoil resulted in the departure of a number of on-air staff and a decline in donations to the station. At the end of 2018 a group of JAZZ.FM91 donors formed a group called “Save JAZZFM” and launched a campaign to hold an extraordinary meeting of the charity’s membership. Following a Ontario Court ruling granting access to the membership contact information to the Save JAZZFM under the leadership of Brian Hemming. A sufficient proportion of the membership signed a petition requiring the Board of Directors to call the extraordinary meeting to overturn the station's board of directors. A general meeting of the membership held on February 15, 2019, succeeded in removing the board by a vote of 446 to 435, electing a new board composed of the dissident group.[17] Following a successful fundraising campaign in March long-time senior Toronto radio exec Lorie Russell was appointed Vice-President and Managing Director, with former Fundraising and current Community Director Michael Booth taking over as Operations Director. In April Jaymz Bee, Walter Venafro and Heather Bambrick returned to the programming line-up. Former host Bill King returned to Host Soul Nation on Tuesday nights. Cafe Latino with Laura Fernandez expanded to three hours on Saturdays and Bluz.FM with Danny Marks increased to five hours on Saturday nights. New host Ronnie Littlejohn moved to a three-hour Friday night show Gumbo Kitchen.

In June former JAZZ.FM91 Promotions Director Sarah Stewart returned to the station as Director of New Business development.[18]

Lorie Russell, Vice President and Managing Director of JAZZ.FM91 announced in September 2020 that she would be leaving the station in mid-December. Former JAZZ.FM Director of Sales and Marketing Dana Wigle returned to the station as General Manager.,[19][20] [7][21] Under new management, JAZZ.FM91 won several broadcasting awards[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] and expanded its digital presence with the addition of podcasts,[33] specialty channels[34][4][35] and virtual concerts.[36]

Awards and honors

  • Silver award, The Sound of Jazz, New York Festivals Radio Awards, 2018[23]
  • Silver award, Music to Listen to Jazz By with Ross Porter, New York Festivals Radio Awards, 2018[23]
  • Gold award, The Journey to Jazz and Human Rights, New York Festivals Radio Awards, 2020[24][22]
  • Winner, Campus or Community Station of the Year, Canadian Radio Awards, 2021[25][26]
  • Winner, Sound of Success Award, Canadian Radio Awards, 2021[25][26]
  • Finalist, Music Director of the Year, Canadian Radio Awards, 2021[25][26]
  • Finalist, Black History Month Vignettes, New York Festivals Radio Awards, 2021[27][28]
  • Finalist, The View From L.A., New York Festivals Radio Awards, 2021[27][28]
  • Winner, Best Radio Station, NOW Readers' Choice Poll, 2021[29][30]
  • Finalist, Best Radio Personality, NOW Readers' Choice Poll, 2021[31][30]
  • Gold award, Best Jazz Format, New York Festivals Radio Awards, 2022[32]
  • Finalist, Black History Month Vignettes, New York Festivals Radio Awards, 2022[32]
  • Finalist, Caribbean Christmas Mixtape, New York Festivals Radio Awards, 2022[32]
  • Finalist, In the Land of the Misty Giant, New York Festivals Radio Awards, 2022[32]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Weekly Program Schedule". JAZZ.FM91. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  2. ^ FCCdata.org/CJRT-FM
  3. ^ "List of Bell Satellite TV channels – TVCL – TV Channel Lists".
  4. ^ a b "Streaming". JAZZ.FM91. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  5. ^ "About JAZZ.FM91". JAZZ.FM91. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  6. ^ "JAZZ.FM91". CanadaHelps - Donate to any charity in Canada. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "CJRT-FM | History of Canadian Broadcasting". www.broadcasting-history.ca. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
  8. ^ "Radio Station History - CJRT (JAZZ)-FM, Toronto, CJRT-FM Inc." Archived 2005-04-26 at the Wayback Machine, Canadian Communications Foundation
  9. ^ "A timeline of Ryerson's radio history, 1949-2014". Ryersonian. October 7, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  10. ^ "CJRU-AM | History of Canadian Broadcasting".
  11. ^ Van Paassen, Kevin. "Toronto's JAZZ.FM91 CEO steps down in wake of probe into sexual-harassment allegations". Globe and Mail.
  12. ^ "JAZZ.FM91 members call on board to resign as station defends its decision to keep former president and CEO Ross Porter on air".
  13. ^ "Former morning host of Toronto's JAZZ.FM91 sues station, alleging years of bullying by former CEO".
  14. ^ "Major donor accuses JAZZ.FM91 of mishandling sexual-harassment allegations against former CEO".
  15. ^ Comments, Posted: 06/8/2018 6:32 PM (June 8, 2018). "Ross Porter steps down as CEO of Toronto jazz station in wake of sexual-harassment allegations". Winnipeg Free Press.
  16. ^ Vincent, Donovan (August 30, 2018). "Former JAZZ.FM host Garvia Bailey sues for wrongful dismissal". TheSpec.com.
  17. ^ Houpt, Simon (February 15, 2019). "JAZZ.FM91 board overthrown by dissident member group". Globe and Mail. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  18. ^ Crawford, Trish (June 13, 2019). "Jazz.FM91 gets its voice back after the upheaval of 2018". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 28, 2019.
  19. ^ Thiessen, Connie (September 23, 2020). "JAZZ.FM91 searching for next GM as Lorie Russell exits". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  20. ^ Ink, Radio (September 23, 2020). "Russell Leaving JAZZ-FM Toronto". Radio Ink. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  21. ^ "JAZZ.FM91 appoints Dana Wigle as new General Manager". JAZZ.FM91. November 16, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  22. ^ a b "JAZZ.FM91 documentary wins gold at NYF Radio Awards". JAZZ.FM91. April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  23. ^ a b c "JAZZ.FM91 Wins two silver trophies at the New York Festival Awards". JAZZ.FM91. June 19, 2018.
  24. ^ a b "Winners Gallery - New York Festivals". radio.newyorkfestivals.com. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  25. ^ a b c d Radio, H. D. (November 16, 2021). "Announcing the winners of the 2021 Canadian Radio Awards, presented by HD Radio". Broadcast Dialogue. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  26. ^ a b c d "JAZZ.FM91 wins two 2021 Canadian Radio Awards". JAZZ.FM91. November 16, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  27. ^ a b c "Winners Gallery - New York Festivals". radio.newyorkfestivals.com. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  28. ^ a b c "JAZZ.FM91 named a finalist for two NYF Radio Awards". JAZZ.FM91. October 12, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  29. ^ a b Trapunski, Richard; Ritchie, Kevin (November 11, 2021). "Readers' Choice 2021: Toronto's best music". NOW Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  30. ^ a b c "JAZZ.FM91 named Toronto's best radio station in NOW Readers' Choice". JAZZ.FM91. November 11, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  31. ^ a b DiMatteo, Enzo; Trapunski, Richard; Ritchie, Kevin (November 11, 2021). "Readers' Choice 2021: Toronto's best activists, politicians and public spaces". NOW Magazine. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  32. ^ a b c d e "Winners Gallery - New York Festivals". radio.newyorkfestivals.com. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  33. ^ "Category: Podcasts". JAZZ.FM91. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  34. ^ "JAZZ.FM91 adds specialty streams dedicated to Oscar Peterson, vocal jazz". JAZZ.FM91. August 31, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  35. ^ "Thank you for supporting JAZZ.FM91 during our on-air fundraising appeal". JAZZ.FM91. October 27, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  36. ^ Society, Toronto Downtown Jazz. "TD Toronto Jazz Festival Summer Concert Series - A Weekly Live-To-Air Series on JAZZ.FM91". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved April 22, 2022.

External links

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