Reclaim your Radio!

On Monday, November 14, campus and community radio stations across Canada helped Reclaim your Radio, with a special day-long broadcast celebrating the 25th anniversary of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), the launch of an NCRA-led campaign to reserve frequencies for campus and community radio stations and the 11th annual Media Democracy Day.

It aired live from 12-8pm ET on participating stations nationwide. The archive of all eight hours of RYR programming can be accessed here. Or check out some of the downloadable MP3s at www.ncra.ca/listen

Tune in, turn on, and stand up for community radio!

What are we reclaiming?

The airwaves are public. But because of limited spectrum, sometimes communities that want to start their own local non-profit stations find there's no room for their voices. Over the coming year we will be asking the government and individual MPS to help reserve at least one frequency for campus and community radio stations in every community across Canada.

Listen to some of the background here.

On January 28, 2011, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) -- the federal body responsible for issuing and administering broadcast licences -- revoked the licence of CKLN 88.1 FM in Toronto, a campus-community radio station based at Ryerson University since 1983. The station had had problems with regulatory compliance, but also had a long and strong history of community involvement and amazing programming.

Now that CKLN has stopped broadcasting, it is the only frequency available in greater Toronto. Though there are other campus and community stations in Toronto, there are none that are based in or explicitly serve downtown.

The CRTC has since released a public call for applications for new licensees that would like to broadcast using that frequency, click here for more information. The CRTC is not responsible for reserving frequencies, that is up to the government, but people can write letters of support to the Commission for non-profit c/c applicants that come forward in Toronto. We will send out more information about this opportunity when we know more.

Who are we?

The NCRA/ANREC is an organization committed to volunteer-driven, non-profit, community-oriented radio across Canada. We currently represent more than 75 stations across the country. 2011 is our 25th anniversary as we were incorporated on July 14, 1986.

This year also marks the 11th annual Media Democracy Day, a global movement celebrating action and education about corporate media consolidation. This year, Media Democracy Days in Vancouver take place from November 11-13.

So Reclaim your Radio launches a campaign to promote community-driven, non-profit radio in Canada; celebrates the longevity and diversity of Canada's campus-community radio sector; and connects with other movements promoting grassroots participation in and ownership of the airwaves.

For more information go to www.ncra.ca/reclaim