CJSR-FM

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CJSR
Broadcast area Edmonton, Alberta
First air date January 7, 1984
Frequency 88.5 MHz (FM)
Format campus radio
Owner University of Alberta (campus based)
Website CJSR

CJSR 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.

CJSR is a volunteer-run campus and community radio station with a weekly audience of 20,000 listeners.[citation needed] CJSR’s stated mission is “to enlighten and entertain our audience through high quality and diverse programming that constantly challenges the status quo."

In 2005 CJSR was granted official charity status.

Contents

[edit] Programming

CJSR plays a wide variety of Canadian and independent music, everything from bluegrass, country, alternative rock, classical, world music, to heavy metal and independent rock. All weekday programming between 7am – 5pm on CJSR is eclectic, with an emphasis on eclectic roots music from 9am – 11am. CJSR broadcasts in English, but also has shows in Amharic, French, Spanish, Tigrinya, Polish and Ukrainian.

CJSR offers a wide range of programming including an eclectic mix of music shows, alternative and international news shows, spoken word shows, and foreign language programming.

Some of CJSR’s news programs are The Terrordome, a news program about Africa, Adamant Eve, a feminist news show, Gaywire, a gay and lesbian news show, RiseUp, an alternative look at news, and Youth Menace, an internationally acclaimed news program featuring youth speaking on youth justice issues. CJSR was the first radio station in Alberta to broadcast BBC World Service News.

CJSR runs on 900 watts, broadcasting throughout Edmonton, Alberta and the surrounding area. Guests at the station (in person or via phone interviews) have included famous anti-war, anti-corporate, and anti-globalization figures such as Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Michael Moore, Amy Goodman, and Chuck D.

[edit] FACRA

The First Alberta Campus Radio Association (FACRA) is the society that holds CJSR’s broadcast license. At the most recent Annual General Meeting (June 21, 2006), FACRA elected a new board of directors.

As part of its role, the FACRA board and its committees are responsible for approving the station's annual budget, setting human resources policy and approving staff contracts, overseeing the annual FunDrive, and determining long-term priorities for CJSR.

[edit] History

CKUA, CJSR’s earlier incarnation, was the first campus radio broadcast in Western Canada.[citation needed] CJSR has its roots in the Alberta Student Radio Directorate (later known as the Radio Society) which started in 1946 when the previous U of A radio station, CKUA, left the campus. CJSR launched as an FM broadcast station on January 7, 1984.

For more than 20 years, CJSR has been Edmonton's independent and alternative radio station, bringing style and substance to a medium that has become increasingly commodified and controlled by big business.

CJSR celebrated 20 years as an FM station in 2004. The station's history goes far beyond that. CJSR can trace its roots back to more than 60 years ago. When CKUA left the University of Alberta campus in 1944, students in a club called the Radio Society kept on producing shows for the station until the early 1960s.

By 1967, closed circuit Radio Society broadcasts were heard at various buildings on the U of A campus. In 1970, CKSR was born: a "seat of the pants" radio station that broadcast a weak FM signal to the U of A and anyone else who could pick it up. CKSR eventually became CJSR in 1978 and made the leap to being a full broadcast station in 1984.

The CJSR website started to feature streaming audio in 2000, and has since gained a worldwide audience. It is not uncommon for CJSR DJs to get phone calls and e-mails from listeners in Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Australia and Bath, England who are enjoying their shows via the internet.

[edit] External links

FM radio stations in Edmonton

Station/Frequency: CJSR 88.5 | CJJE 89.3 | CBCX-FM-1 90.1 | CBX 90.9 | CHBN 91.7 | CKNG 92.5 | CKUA 94.9 | CKRA 96.3 | CIRK 97.3 | CHMC 99.3 | CFBR 100.3 | CKER 101.7 | CHDI 102.9 | CISN 103.9 | CFMG 104.9 | CJRY 105.9

See also: Edmonton (FM) (AM)