CJRT-FM

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CJRT-FM is a Canadian public radio station, which broadcasts at 91.1 on the FM dial in Toronto, Ontario. CJRT currently operates as JAZZ.FM91.

The station transmits at a strength of 40 kilowatts; as its transmitter facilities are at the CN Tower, however, its effective radiated power is actually 100,000 watts.

The station was founded in 1949 as an experimental FM broadcaster, only the second in Canada, by the Ryerson Institute of Technology (later Ryerson University). The JRT in the station's call sign stand for "Journalism, Radio, Technology", which were three of Ryerson's educational mandates. The station's principal purpose was to train radio engineering and radio and (later television) broadcast students and initially only broadcast from 3pm to 9pm on weekdays during the school year. In 1964 the station became professionally staffed and extended its programming to 7am to midnight, seven days a week. Content became an eclectic mix of classical music, jazz, folk music and other genres, educational and public affairs broadcasts, children's programming and dramas, news, documentaries and quiz shows and comedies imported from the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Ryerson owned the station until 1974 when, due to financial restraints, Ryerson announced it would surrender its broadcast licence. Due to a public outcry in support of the station the Ontario government of Premier Bill Davis announced that it would fund the station through an independent corporation and ownership was transferred to CJRT-FM INC, a non-profit corporation which received over 60% of its funding from the provincial government and the rest from donations by listeners and corporate and foundation support.

In 1996 CJRT-FM's government support (under Premier Mike Harris) ended, forcing the station to restructure to a self-sustaining public broadcaster. Regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), CJRT's license is categorized under "other special FM", a third sector of Canadian radio broadcasting that provides to Canadians a style of radio that is an alternative to that available from the CBC or private commercial stations. The radio station has since had to support itself entirely by corporate and private donations and by limited commercial revenue. Its licence from the CRTC prohibits it from running more than four minutes an hour of commercials.

In 2001 the station switched to a 24-hour jazz format under the name JAZZ.FM91, although it also continues its commitment to educational programming and community outreach initiatives. Today, JAZZ.FM91 is an alternative radio voice that covers 95% of Ontario (and the adjacent parts of the United States) through a combination of on-air coverage from the CN Tower, through most cable systems in the province, via satellite, and the Internet.

In 2004, Ross Porter, former jazz broadcaster with CBC radio, was named president and CEO of JAZZ.FM91. This was made necessary because an audit of the station finances from previous years led to the dismissal of the former president and CEO.

The station's studios remained on Ryerson property until May 2006, when it relocated to a new facility in LibertyVillage. Ryerson has established its own campus radio station, CKLN.

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v • d • e
FM radio stations in the Greater Toronto Area
By frequency:
Toronto: 88.1 | 88.9 | 89.5 | 89.9 | 90.3 | 91.1 | 92.5 | 93.5 | 94.1 | 96.3 | 96.9 | 97.3 | 98.1 | 99.1 | 99.9 | 100.7 | 101.3 | 104.5 | 105.1 | 105.5 | 106.5 | 107.1
Toronto: CBL | CBLA | CFMX | CFXJ | CHFI | CHIN | CHOQ | CHRY | CHUM | CILQ | CIRV | CIUT | CJAQ | CJBC | CJEZ | CJRT | CJSA | CKAV | CKFM | CKHC | CKLN | CKRG
Brampton: CFNY | Burlington: CJXY | Hamilton: CFMU | CING | CIOI | CIWV | CKLH | Newmarket: CKDX | Orangeville: CIDC | Oshawa/Ajax: CKGE | CJKX | Vaughan: CFU758

See also: Toronto (FM) (AM)
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