A community radio station is owned by a non-profit organization with a structure which provides for membership, management, operation and programming by members of the community the station serves. Programming at community radio stations is based upon community access and generally reflects the interests and special needs of the listeners it serves.
There are currently two community stations in English Canada and twenty-three in Quebec, as well as numerious native stations across Canada.
Campus radio has been defined by the CRTC, the body which regulates radio in Canada, as radio which is owned and operated primarily by students. There are forty-nine such stations in Canada, broadcasting over the air or by means of cable radio. Since the first campus station was licenced in 1975, campus radio has grown to become a different kind of community radio, serving not only students by members of the community.
Campus radio is just one of many types of broadcasting which we put under the heading of community-oriented radio. We also consider community radio inside and outside of Quebec, along with native broadcasting, to be community-oriented radio. Understandably, there are a number of differences among these various types, as community-oriented radio is so locally based. But the one thing they all have in common is a strong committment to the communities they serve.
No. Both the old and new Broadcast Act, as they now stand, state that Canadian broadcasting system shall comprise "public and private elements" - there's no mention of a "community element", even though two recent federal studies (Applebaum-Hebert and Caplan-Sauvageau) recommended the community-oriented radio be recognized as distinct from private and public radio. As well, there are nearly 150 community-oriented radio stations in Canada.
Not to any great extent, and not in any consistant way. We estimate that among English-language community-oriented radio stations approximatly 4% of all revenue comes from some level of government. That's not very much. As it is, this amount comes to the station in the form of federal employment grants, and can't be used to replace broken equipment or pay core station staff. The Quebec government has an efficient and well-respected program for funding community radio, but is the only such province in Canada.
The NCRA/ANREC is the National Campus and Community Radio Association. It is an umbrella organization which represents the interests of campus and community radio on a national level. We represent our members' interests to outside agencies, as well as provide them with support and services. Just like our members, we receive very little government funding. The NCRA/ANREC was founded in 1981 to foster communication among Canadian campus radio stations.
Just about everything - there's a great deal of variety on Canadian community-oriented radio. The programming at a typical community-oriented campus station includes a lot of music, including traditional (folk, blues), serious (jazz, classical, avant garde) and popular (modern rock, R 'n' B, punk, metal, rap, reggae, World Beat), local and international news (often from shortwave services), programming from multicultural communities, and other special interest programming. If that sounds like a lot, that is. Year-round, community-oriented radio provides the greatest variety of programming on Canadian radio.
By contacting the NCRA/ANREC, either within your own region or the national office.
For further information, contact:
Montreal 514 393 9047
John Stevenson President
Martha-Marie Kleinhans
National Office Coordinator
Chris Magone Music Coordinator
Lisa Vinebohm Newsletter
Editor
Doug Bearisto Fredericton 506 453 4573
David
Barnard Toronto 416 595 1477
Nadine Gelineau Ottawa 819 595 1028
Monique Lanoix
NCRA Secretary Guelph 519 824 4120, ext 8341
John Matthews NCRA Treasurer Toronto
416 595 1477
Tim
Chan Victoria 604 721 8607
Coreen Douglas NCRA Vice President Vancouver 604
684 8494