Transmissions: The monthly newsletter of the NCRA/ANREC The 28 + 1/12th years old edition

Saying goodbye…at least for now

The time has come to say a reluctant goodbye to our Membership Coordinator, Kari Benninghaus and Resonating Reconciliation Outreach Coordinator Gunargie O’Sullivan.

With Gunargie’s and Kari’s support, stations across the country recruited and trained local Indigenous programmers who produced more than 70 documentaries on the lasting legacy of residential schools in . They also helped coordinate five Red Jam Slam events over the life of the project and the first Red Jam Slam Radio-thon in Vancouver.

Gunargie is a tireless (and long-time) advocate for the way community radio amplifies the voices, and languages, of Indigenous people. And the Resonating Reconciliation project was her idea in the first place! We are excited to continue working with her on these important issues, however we can.

And as our Membership Coordinator, Kari has been a consistently bright and friendly liaison for members and a truly wonderful person to have around the office.

Both their contracts are up August 22 but we’re still waiting/hoping to hear if we get funding for a project about the revitalization of Aboriginal languages that would keep them with us and bring even more amazing work to NCRA members! Whatever happens, it’s been an amazing eighteen months. Thanks to them both for all their work.

CFRC-FM Celebrates Trillium Foundation Grant for station Revitalization Plan!

CFRC-FM in Kingston recently received a $34,500 grant from the Trillium Foundation.

Combined with other increases in funding, from their student levy to individual donations to in-kind support from the university, they are undertaking a “CFRC Revitalization Plan” to upgrade their studios, make their station more accessible to people with disabilities, increase the content they offer to listeners online and increase their staff capacity!

Congrats to CFRC-FM, their 250 volunteers and 48,000 listeners!

Voices of Community Radio Starting last month, our Friends of Community Radio Program Coordinator, Penny Clark, has been recording and sharing audio stories about the value of community radio (and the NCRA, in its work to support it) called “Voices of Community Radio”. Next week’s segment on Voices of Community Radio will feature Kari and Gunargie’s stories and it is one you won’t want to miss.

Some highlights from previous segments include: former NCRA Executive Director Kevin Matthews (that’s him in the hat) talking about how he came up with the idea for the Friends’ program in the first place and CKUT-FM’s Stephane Bertrand talking about how he developed the NCRA’s disAbilities Handbook.

We also heard about: sleeping on station couches; recording shows off the radio and mailing them to your friends; Mudhoney; the NCRA is a magician’s assistant; getting mail from Zakary Slax; and NCRC survival stories. Featuring music from great bands like The White Wires, Renny Wilson, Bob Wiseman, Supermoon, Gal Gracen, Okpk, Windom Earle, Blank Banshee, Korean Gut, and feel alright. Check it all out on the Voices page cause we’ve got links. Lots of links.

Pirate no more! CJQC-FM granted their licence

Queens County Community Radio on the dial at 99.3FM in Liverpool, NS has had a hectic few years. A keen group of volunteers took over the community radio station from its founders in 2012 and began broadcasting, only to find out there had been a huge mix-up and: the station was never actually licenced!

While working on putting together a solid application to the CRTC, the station also worked to provide solid community broadcasting, including two popular country music shows; “Fish for Supper”, a mix of Atlantic Canadian music hosted by “Newfie Bob”; local news; and special events, like their coverage of the East Coast Music Awards when there were in town. Station volunteers also attended an NCRA regional conference in Cheticamp, NS and sent a delegate to Winnipeg.

Then on July 29th, the CRTC approved their licence! Congrats to the whole team at CJQC-FM for all their perseverance and hard work!

In Person Board Meeting and…VOTE NOW!

Due to the resignation of Sarah Edwards from CJSR-FM in Edmonton (thanks for all your work Sarah!) the NCRA Board is running a by-election to fill her seat. The three candidates are: Erin Bond from CHSR-FM in Fredericton, NB; Zoe Ludski from CJMP-FM in Powell River, BC; and Carly Schweitzer from CJAM-FM in Windsor, ON.

Board Secretary Kristiana Clemens has sent out the election details but if you missed them, you can email her at: [email protected] Deadline for stations to vote is tomorrow (!) FRIDAY, AUGUST 15th by midnight, PT.

In a remarkably smooth narrative transition, we’re hoping that the newly-elected Board member will be able to join the rest of the NCRA board…as they descend on August 21-23 for their annual strategic planning confab! (The folks in the picture are from a Board from a few years back, we need to get everyone to pose together for an updated pic…)

And the Board wants to know what you think to help guide their planning. Shelley and Kari are contacting member stations with surveys: on HR, GroundWire, general member services, and NCRC, as well as the two questions below:

1) What do you think the NCRA's top three priorities should be for the next eighteen months? Why? 2) Is there any work you think the NCRA should *stop* doing? What and why?

Send your answers to [email protected] and [email protected] by this coming Monday, August 18th. Thursdays = ideas?

Last month, CJSW-FM in starting sending around an idea each Thursday (by different staff members) about cool things they’re doing that might work at other stations. We already profiled the way they’re involving listeners in the testing of their new increased wattage. Here are the others:

● “CJSW Presents” — an hour-long timeslot for meticulously pre-produced spoken word programming that rotates through different programs each month and are also available as individual podcasts. It gave programmers more time to produce their show, and listeners loved the content. It was so popular, the station added a second slot “CJSW Talks”. Shows include “Spooning and Forking” about local food, “Energy Voices”, and “Truth and Reconciliation Radio Alberta”.

● "The Throwback" is an hour-long Sunday afternoon slot that has a rotating cast of retired programmers that hop on for eight episodes of concentrated radio glory. They host under their old show name and spin the best of the best. In addition to making fantastic radio, it provides the station with a chance to keep the old vanguard active and invested at the station. Also, we've arranged it so that all of the hosts come in during our funding drive, allowing us to draw support from their large social circles and fan-base.

● To save themselves a bunch of administration time, the station now uses the program Contractually (http://www.contractual.ly) Whether its renewing their agreements with business on their Friends’ card, working out partnerships with local festivals or getting bands to sign on for their annual Funding Drive CD, we always used to send off contracts (usually via fax, like it’s 1982) and then spend weeks hunting people down to get them to sign the contracts we need to make shit happen. They say it’s not perfect, but much much better.

This month, he passed the torch to Brenda Grunau at CiTR-FM in Vancouver, whose idea to share was:

● CiTR has live, in-studio performances at least every week. Right now, they happen in the station’s lounge, which has one regular sized doorway, with friends and guests hanging around, crouched on couches and plastered against the wall. In their new location, the station’s exterior lounge wall will fold open, so bands can play out into the building. While this design may not be possible for everyone, other stations could consider how to move their live in-studios out into the public space or venues to draw attention to the station and the bands. (For instance, CICK-FM in Smithers, BC built an outdoor deck/stage outside the station for live performances and CIDI-FM in Knowlton, QC and CKHA-FM in Haliburton, ON both have performance spaces as part of their stations!)

Will the Thursday Ideas continue?! Who will be next?! We’re be happy to continue featuring the ideas in the newsletter and on the website so they live on beyond your email inbox…. MONEY! What are you doing with it?

This is part of a new series that will feature stations’ successful CRFC grants. Don’t forget, the latest round of applications for the Radiometres is due August 31st www.communityradiofund.org

CIVL-FM in Abbotsford, BC used its 2014 CRFC Radiometres funding to establish the Campus RADIO (Resource and Academic Development and Integration Officer) Project, and hired Jay Mitchell (who many of you met at the Victoria NCRC) to run it.

The Project develops academically meaningful opportunities for students to get involved with the station. So far, they plan to offer a "Mass Communications in Canada" class the station’s orientation (which includes the nature of c/c radio, the NCRA, CRTC regulations) and technical production training to help them become regular volunteers. The second project works with the university’s Kinesiology and Physical Education department on their "Concepts in Health Promotion and Health Education" course. Pairs of students will produce health and wellness PSAs. If all good well, they will continue and expand the project. Good luck with it!

Friends Program Official Launch Party!

If you are in Ottawa, you’ve got plans on September 19 — for the official Ottawa launch of the Friends of Community Radio program!

We’re going to be delivering the surprises, the snacks, the good times. There will be bands. There will be DJs. There will be alcoholic beverages. There will be fliers detailing the program. There will be Shelley’s birthday party.

AND we’re going to announce an NCRA project supported by our founding Friends of Community Radio!

NCRC 2015 planning is well underway! The team at Local 107.3FM (CFMH-FM in Saint John, NB) are hard at work to bring you the best NCRC possible for next year.

The dates have been set for June 3-10, 2015, and they already have the University of New Brunswick Saint John campus signed on as a Gold Sponsor and the UNB Associated Alumni signed on as a Silver Sponsor.

They have also been building partnerships with arts organizations including Third Space Gallery, Hard Times in the Maritimes ‘zine, Music/Musique NB, Exclaim!, and more! Check out the schedule as it develops and more at: http://localfm.ca/ncrc2015/

Summer students rock! This summer, thanks to funding from the Young Canada Works program, we have had the pleasure of working with Rachel Swatek, as the GroundWire Production Coordinator, and Veronique Hynes as the Editor of the Updated Regulatory Survival Guide.

In her time at the NCRA, Rachel has: helped produce five editions of GW and also covered stories including the People’s Social Forum, a First Nations’ Copper Breaking ceremony on Parliament Hill, and most of this summer’s Community Radio Reports; reached out to stations that have never previously participated in |GW and confirmed that 22 NCRA members are currently broadcasting the bi-weekly show; and laid plans for the upcoming Fall production schedule! We have also just posted a volunteer position to take over from Rachel, check it out on the job board here: http://www.ncra.ca/projects-and-services/cc-radio-job-board

We featured Veronique’s work on the updated Regulatory Survival Guide in the last newsletter. They are both done by the end of August: we hope you’ve got as much out of working with us this summer as we did from working with you!

Read this too! September often means more job postings than usual. Don’t forget the NCRA c/c radio job board: it’s how lots of folks in the sector first heard about their job! Send us your job postings and we’ll post it for you. Or give you your website login and you can post it yourself!

If something cool is happening at your station: let us know! We’d love to feature it on the website (www.ncra.ca) in future editions of this newsletter and/or in GroundWire’s community radio report. ***END OF SUBMISSION***