CFRU-FM
Encyclopedia
CFRU-FM, airing at 93.3 on the FM dial, is a campus radio
station based at the University of Guelph
in Guelph
, Ontario
, Canada
(transmitter located at ). CFRU is a volunteer-run campus and community radio station. CFRU is a member of the National Campus and Community Radio Association
http://www.ncra.ca/business/stations.cfm. The station hosted the 2005 national conference of that organization.
has a long history dating back to 1939 when there was credit course in radio broadcasting offered by the Ontario Agricultural College
. Radio curriculum was taught at the University of Guelph until the Late 1950s.
Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s various colleges at the University of Guelph
produced a half hour radio program for CJOY-AM in a sound booth in the Massey Hall drama practice theatre.
In 1965, broadcast executive Frank Ryan, a former member of the university's Board of Governors, bequeathed the university $25,000 in his will to launch its own radio station.
In 1969 Room 102 of the Physical Sciences Building becomes a radio studio. Radio Gryphon begins regular programming to cafeterias and student lounges through a closed circuit system. CJOY programming discontinued.
In September 1970 Radio Gryphon experiments with on-campus AM
Broadcasting and Radio Gryphon is added to Guelph cable FM system (105.7 FM). In November 1970 the Department of Communications shuts down Radio Gryphon for operating a radio broadcasting station without a licence.
In 1973 CFRU is awarded an AM licence to broadcast on campus.
In 1974 CFRU moves into new studios in the University Centre. CFRU was the first group to move into the new University Centre.
It moved to its current FM frequency in 1980, broadcasting a 50 watt
signal until 1991. In that year, the station expanded its signal to 250 watts, enabling it to reach the Kitchener-Waterloo
region. In 2005 CFRU celebrated 25 years as an FM broadcaster in Canada
with a series of concerts and community events.
On April 24, 2008 CFRU began broadcasting in a newly revamped on-air studio, updating the technological operations of the station to provide better and smoother programming.
CFRU broadcasts in English
, Spanish
, Mandarin
, Cantonese
, Turkish
, Polish
, Persian
, and Dari
. CFRU's music programs feature a variety of musical genres including hip-hop
, punk
, metal
, salsa
, drum and bass
and reggae
. Overall it plays a wide variety of Canadian and independent music.
CFRU holds its annual membership drive Raise Your Voice in October.
Campus radio
Campus radio is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively by students, or may include programmers from the wider community in which the radio station is based...
station based at the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
in Guelph
Guelph
Guelph is a city in Ontario, Canada.Guelph may also refer to:* Guelph , consisting of the City of Guelph, Ontario* Guelph , as the above* University of Guelph, in the same city...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(transmitter located at ). CFRU is a volunteer-run campus and community radio station. CFRU is a member of the National Campus and Community Radio Association
National Campus and Community Radio Association
The National Campus and Community Radio Association/L'Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires is a non-profit organization of campus radio and community radio stations in Canada....
http://www.ncra.ca/business/stations.cfm. The station hosted the 2005 national conference of that organization.
History
Radio at the University of GuelphUniversity of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
has a long history dating back to 1939 when there was credit course in radio broadcasting offered by the Ontario Agricultural College
Ontario Agricultural College
The Ontario Agricultural College originated at the agricultural laboratories of the Toronto Normal School, and was officially founded in 1874 as an associate agricultural college of the University of Toronto...
. Radio curriculum was taught at the University of Guelph until the Late 1950s.
Throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s various colleges at the University of Guelph
University of Guelph
The University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
produced a half hour radio program for CJOY-AM in a sound booth in the Massey Hall drama practice theatre.
In 1965, broadcast executive Frank Ryan, a former member of the university's Board of Governors, bequeathed the university $25,000 in his will to launch its own radio station.
In 1969 Room 102 of the Physical Sciences Building becomes a radio studio. Radio Gryphon begins regular programming to cafeterias and student lounges through a closed circuit system. CJOY programming discontinued.
In September 1970 Radio Gryphon experiments with on-campus AM
Broadcasting and Radio Gryphon is added to Guelph cable FM system (105.7 FM). In November 1970 the Department of Communications shuts down Radio Gryphon for operating a radio broadcasting station without a licence.
In 1973 CFRU is awarded an AM licence to broadcast on campus.
In 1974 CFRU moves into new studios in the University Centre. CFRU was the first group to move into the new University Centre.
It moved to its current FM frequency in 1980, broadcasting a 50 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
signal until 1991. In that year, the station expanded its signal to 250 watts, enabling it to reach the Kitchener-Waterloo
Regional Municipality of Waterloo
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo is a regional municipality located in Southern Ontario, Canada. It consists of the cities of Kitchener, Cambridge, and Waterloo, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries. It is often referred to as the Region of Waterloo or just...
region. In 2005 CFRU celebrated 25 years as an FM broadcaster in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
with a series of concerts and community events.
On April 24, 2008 CFRU began broadcasting in a newly revamped on-air studio, updating the technological operations of the station to provide better and smoother programming.
Programming
CFRU 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.CFRU broadcasts in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Mandarin
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
, Cantonese
Standard Cantonese
Cantonese, or Standard Cantonese, is a language that originated in the vicinity of Canton in southern China, and is often regarded as the prestige dialect of Yue Chinese....
, Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
, Persian
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
, and Dari
Dari (Afghanistan)
Dari or Fārsī-ye Darī in historical terms refers to the Persian court language of the Sassanids. In contemporary usage, the term refers to the dialects of modern Persian language spoken in Afghanistan, and hence known as Afghan Persian in some Western sources. It is the term officially recognized...
. CFRU's music programs feature a variety of musical genres including hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...
, drum and bass
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
. Overall it plays a wide variety of Canadian and independent music.
CFRU holds its annual membership drive Raise Your Voice in October.
External links
- CFRU Home Page
- CFRU-FM history at Canadian Communications FoundationCanadian Communications FoundationThe Canadian Communications Foundation is a history of Canadian broadcasting for radio and television chronicles and documents. It also provides a history of radio and television stations, including networks, programs, broadcasters and many others....