Nick Curran & Some recent Rock and Roll pioneer deaths

Nick Curran was not a Rock and Roll pioneer, in fact he was only 35 when he dies of cancer on October 6. But he did play with the original spirit and style. Besides his solo work he managed to also do some scorching guitar work with Ronnie Dawson, Kim Lenz and the Fabulous Thunderbirds.

NICK CURRAN ~ "TRAIN KEPT A ROLLIN";


KIM LENZ ~ "ZOMBIE FOR YOUR LOVE":


Another great guitarist, Mikey Baker, 1950's & 60' Rock & Roll and R&B guitarist and singer, both solo for the Savoy, King, Atlantic, Vik, MGM and RCA-Victor Record labels and with Sylvia Robinson as Mikey & Sylvia. He also played with The Drifters, Ray Charles, Ivory Joe Hunter, Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner, Louis Jordan, Champion Jack Dupree and Coleman Hawkins. He also played in touring band for Alan Freed's "Rock n' Roll Dance Party" with Big Al Sears, Freddie Mitchell and Sam "The Man" Taylor. Baker was hugely influential on blues and rockabilly guitarists in the 1960's in Britain and Europe where he toured extensively, later moving to France. ~ 87

MICKEY BAKER ~ "SPINNIN' ROCK BOOGIE";


MICKEY BAKER ~ "WHISTLE STOP";


MICKEY BAKER & COLEMAN HAWKINS;


Jon Lord ~ Keyboardist for 1960's and 1970's Hard Rock heavy weights Deep Purple ("Smoke on the Water", "Space Truckin'", "Hush") ~ 71
DEEP PURPLE ~ "SMOKE ON THE WATER";


Larry Reinhardt ~ American rock guitarist with 1960's Proto Heavy Metal Band Iron Butterfly ~ 63 ~ also Lee Dorman Iron Butterfly bassist ~ 70


Johnny Perez ~ Drummer for 1960's Texas garage band The Sir Douglas Quintet ("She's about a mover" ~ 69
THE SIR DOUGLAS QUINTET ~ "SHE'S ABOUT A MOVER";


BB Cunningham ~ Singer/Keyboardist with 1960's Garage Band The Hombres ("Let it out (Let it all hang out))" and Jerry Lee Lewis ~ 70

Eddie Bertrand ~ Guitarist w/ 1960's Surf band The Bel Airs ("Mr Moto")
THE BEL AIRS ~ "MR. MOTO";


Big Jim Sullivan ~ British session guitarist from the 1960's on. Played with; Dave Berry's 1964 hit "The Crying Game", Alexis Korner's and Blues Incorporated's, P.J. Proby's 1964 hit "Hold Me", Billy Fury, Frank Ifield, Adam Faith, Frankie Vaughan, Helen Shapiro, Freddie and the Dreamers, Cilla Black, Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Dusty Springfield, Georgie Fame, Bobby Darin, Little Richard, Dell Shannon, The Walker Brothers, Donovan, David Bowie, Engelbert Humperdinck, Benny Hill, The New Seekers, Thunderclap Newman, Long John Baldry, Marmalade, Small Faces, The Tremeloes. He was also the resident guitarist at TV shows "Top of the Pops" and "Ready Steady Go!" ~ 71
DAVE BERRY ~ "THE CRYING GAME";


BILLY FURY ~ "NOTHING SHAKING BUT THE LEAVES ON THE TREES";


THE WALKER BROS ~ "BABY YOU DON'T HAVE TO TELL ME" & "THE SUN AIN'T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE";


Bill Dees ~ Guitarist and songwriter with Rot Orbison in their original band "The Five Bops", co-wrote "Pretty Woman" and "It's Over", worked on the Orbison movie "The Fastest Gun Alive". Also worked with Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Skeeter Davis, Glen Campbell, Billy Joe Royal, Frank Ifield, Mark Dinning and Gene Pitney ~ 73

ROY ORBISON ~ "OH, PRETTY WOMAN";


ROY ORBISON ~ "IT'S OVER";


Eddie "Guitar" Burns ~ Detroit blues musician from the 1950's on who recorded with Chess, Checker, Red Bird and Delmark Records ~ 84

JIMMY McCRACKLIN; 1950's California R&B pianist/singer with hits like "The Walk" on Chess Records ~ 91
JIMMY MCCRACKLIN & RY COODER ~ "THE WALK";


Maurice Davis ~ 71 ~ American trumpeter (The Funk Brothers)
Bob Babbitt ~ 74 ~ American bass guitarist (The Funk Brothers)

~ The Funk Brothers were of course the house band for Motown Records. Babbitt was not the main bassist for Motown though, that was the legendary James Jamerson.

SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES ~ "GOING TO A GO-GO";


Bill Tillman, 65, American saxophonist (Blood, Sweat & Tears),
BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS ~ "AND WHEN I DIE";


James "Sugar Boy" Crawford ~ New Orleans R&B songwriter. Wrote "Iko Iko" hit by The Dixie Cups ~ 77
THE DIXIE CUPS ~ "IKO IKO";


Cleve Duncan ~ Singer with 1950's Doo-Wop group the Penguins ("Earth Angel" & "Pledge of Love") and The Viceroys and The Radiants as well as backup singer w/ Frank Zappa ~ 77
THE PENGUINS ~ "EARTH ANGEL";


Vincent Carrella ~ Singer with Doo Wop group Randy & The Radiants did the original version of "Denise" later covered by Blondie as "Denis"

Inez Andrews ~ Singer with 1950's Gospel Group The Caravans ~ 83

THE CARAVANS WITH REV JAMES CLEVELAND;


Fontella Bass ~ Gospel, R&B and Jazz singer from the 1960's & 1970's with hits on Chess like "Rescue Me", "You'll Never Know", "I Can't Rest", later recorded with The Art Ensemble of Chicago" ~ 72

FONTELLA BASS ~ "RESCUE ME";


Marva Whitney; Singer with James Brown's band, as well as solo, known as "Soul Sister"

MARVA WHITNEY ~ "IT'S MY THING";


Major Harris ~ Singer w/R&B Vocal Group The Delfonics ("Didn't I blow you mind this time" & "La La La Means I Love You") ~ 65
THE DELFONICS ~ "DIDN'T I BLOW YOUR MIND THIS TIME";


Dave Brubeck ~ Jazz Pianist who introduced new poly-rhythms to jazz from the Mid-East and was one of the leaders of the West Coast Cool Jazz sound of the late 1950's and early 1960's with sax players Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan and trumpet player Chet Baker. ~ 91

DAVE BRUBECK ~ "TAKE 5";


DAVE BRUBECK ~ "TAKE THE A-TRAIN";


Ted Curson ~ American Jazz trumpet player w/Charles Mingus ~ 77
CHARLES MINGUS SEXTET ~ "TAKE THE A TRAIN";


John Tchicai ~ Black Danish born Jazz Sax Free Jazz Sax Player, w/Albert Ayler, John Coltrane and Archie Shepp ~ 72
ALBERT AYLER ~ "ANGELS";


Frode Thingnæs ~ Norwegian Jazz Trombonist, composer and Jazz Pioneer who recorded the first jazz album in Norway ~ 72

Pete La Roca ~ American Jazz drummer w/ John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Marian McPartland, Art Farmer, Freddie Hubbard, Mose Allison and Chic Corea as well as with his own bands. Retired and became a lawyer, later suing after one of his solo albums was released under Corea's name instead of his own. ~ 74

David S. Ware ~ Free Jazz sax player w/Cecil Taylor and later with his own Quartet ~ 62
DAVID WARE ~ "CRYSTAL PALACE";


Jose Curbelo ~ Cuban-born American Big Band Jazz musician and manager from 1939 to the 1970's, played with Xavier Cugat and Titi Puente ~ 95

Terry Callier ~ Jazz/Folk singer guitarist from the 1960's on. Also songwriter for 1960's psyche band H.P. Lovecraft and R&R band The Dells ~ 67

HP LOVECRAFT ~ "THE WHITE SHIP";


Scott McKenzie ~ American singer ("San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)") and songwriter ("Kokomo" covered by The Beach Boys) ~ 73
SCOTT MCKENZIE ~ "SAN FRANSISCO";


Mike Auldridge ~ Dobro player with Bluegrass The Seldom Scene from the 1960's on. Previously played with Cliff Waldron's Band, later played with Emmy Lou Harris and Lyle Lovett ~ 73

THE SELDOM SCENE ~ "LAY DOWN SALLY";


Doc Watson. A blind Folk & Old Time Country singer & guitarist from the 1950's on. Father of guitarist Merle Watson;

Doc Watson ~ "Deep River blues";


Martin Fay ~ Fiddler & Bones player with Irish Folk Band The Chieftains ~ 76
THE CHIEFTAINS & VAN MORRISON ~ "STAR OF THE COUNTRY";




Rollin Sullivan ~ Country singer with 1940's & 50's Country duo Lonzo & Oscar ~ 93

LONZO & OSCAR ~ "MOVIN' ON";


Kitty Wells ~ Country singer from the 1940's to the 1960's (It wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", "I can't stop loving you") ~ 92
KITTY WELLS ~ "IT WASN'T GOD WHO MADE HONKY TONK ANGELS";


Louis Nunely ~ Singer with 1950's & 60' vocal group The Anita Kerr Singers (who sang backups for Brenda Lee, Perry Como, Pat Boone, Rosemary Clooney, Bobby Vinton, Roy Orbison, Willie Nelson, Floyd Cramer, Al Hirt, Ann-Margret, Red Foley, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Faron Young, Chet Atkins, Rod McKuen, and Webb Pierce. In 1999 he joined the current gospel version of The Jordanaires ~ 81

RED FOLEY & THE ANITA KERR SINGERS w/ SPEEDY HAWORTH ~ "HEARTS OF STONE";


THE ANITA KERR SINGERS (W/MARTY ROBBINS INTRO) ~ "SOMEBODY STOLE MY GAL";

Moses Znaimer is a HUGE crybaby. And other reactions to the CRTC's ruling on 88.1fm in Toronto.

I have already written extensively about how the CRTC awarded the 88.1fm frequency lost by CKLN when they had their license revoked to a small group calling themselves "INDIE 88". They caught many by surprise when they beat out 21 other applicants most of which had bigger names and more money. Among those other applicants shocked by the results were PROUD FM, a gay themed radio station owned by the giant Evanov group who were the first to apply and Ryerson University who were expecting to get the license back and former City TV and Much Music Head Honcho Moses Znaimer.

First PROUD FM; Their application was to move from their current frequency at 103.9fm where they are limited to 60 watts and get a power upgrade which which they could reach the entire city. Evanov has insisted that without that increase PROUD FM can not stay in business. In the weeks before the decision was announced Evanov announced they were closing their Downtown offices and consolidating in their Mississauga office (Evanov owns a station in 905 country already; Z103fm, along with dozens more across Canada) and they were also laying off most of their staff. Some staff were willing to stay on as volunteers.

As one report in "XTRA" put it;

"In February, management decided to move administrative staff out of its Wellesley St location because of the neighbourhood’s increasingly high rents. The business side of Proud FM is now located across town, at Evanov’s headquarters at 5312 Dundas St W.

In 2010, Proud FM let go of four popular on-air hosts — Deb Pearce, Patrick Marano, Shaun Proulx and Mark Wigmore. Earlier, in November 2007, the station fired popular talent Maggie Cassella, Richard Ryder and a number of staffers. Ryder was eventually rehired."

"Willette says so much depends on the application for university radio station CKLN at 88.1 FM, which was owned by Ryerson University for almost three decades.

CKLN is bidding to get the licence back, but it has stiff competition: 27 groups applied for it last year, and 22 made the first cut in March, including Proud FM.

Since Evanov first won the licence for Proud FM in 2006, the station has been plagued by a weak frequency at 103.9 FM, says Evanov VP Carmela Laurignano.

The problem is Proud FM sits too close to Z103.5 on the dial, so they risk interfering with each other. As a result, Proud FM’s downtown transmission has been limited to 50 watts — too weak to penetrate downtown buildings. That means listeners can’t get a good signal, even in Toronto’s gay village.

“They can’t sell any ads now because of the signal strength,” Bellini says.

A move to 88.1 FM would entirely eliminate the problem, Willette says, noting that 88.1 FM is 128 watts, with a tower at First Canadian Place. “If we get 88.1 FM, then all of a sudden people who couldn’t hear us before can hear us. That means more listeners, so hopefully that equals more money.”

A lot has changed since 2006, she says. Although Evanov was well aware that Z103.5 bumped into 103.9 FM, they didn’t anticipate Toronto’s condo boom.

“We need that stronger signal to bring in more advertisers and grow,” she says.

Laurignano says the CRTC may also look favourably on the Proud FM bid because the station has fulfilled all of its application expectations, which Evanov agreed to when it bid for the licence. “We have fulfilled every single one,” she says.

But Proud FM falls short on programming — seven hours per week of newscasts and 21 hours of talk — which is a result of the staff cuts, she says. The station maintains its commitment to play 40 percent Canadian music.

Meanwhile, Toronto’s Proud FM is still alive, Willette assures, but the station is on life support and the future is uncertain. “Proud FM will always be around in one capacity or another. To what extent we can maintain live shows and a presence on the street? That is a valid question. I don’t know.”

Note; One important item left out of the report (and others) was the fact that PROUD FM recently got a power upgrade that they have yet to implement. At the hearings the CRTC took some exception to this and it alone was probably enough to deny them this upgrade. There has been little post rejection reaction as of yet from PROUD FM although I did notice some new ads in Now Magazine so I guess they aren't ready to give up the ghost yet.



Meanwhile back at Ryerson we can safely say that they are not pleased. And the NCRA are REALLY not happy;

(From a Trent University Paper);

The NCRA and Rodney Diverlus, President of the Ryerson Student Union, used the application process to emphasis the importance of community radio in general:

“We sent a clear message to the CRTC that we, as the future leaders and community members, see value in a radio station that is for our community and the broader Toronto community. Unfortunately this means less young voices and community voices will be heard on the airwaves.”

The diversity of voices requirement is based on a CRTC mandate and was interpreted by the NCRA’s Executive director Shelley Robinson as a diversity of voices participating in radio, not just represented by a radio station’s demographic or listenership:

“There is already so much commercial radio available,” she said. “This was a chance for something different. Radio Ryerson was a place where people would get to be citizens and creators, not just passive consumers of a set format.”

Trent Alumni and BCIT radio broadcasting student Philip Benmore noted a larger trend at the CRTC “away from grassroots, not-for-profit media, towards corporate controlled and heavily formatted commercial radio.”


Wait! Then there's my personal favorite part;

"Local NCRA member Trent Radio weighed in on the consultation process to lend support to campus/community radio in general. At an April 1st, 2012 meeting of the board, Trent Radio decided to support Radio Ryerson’s application, not with “cogent and winning arguments,” (since the application was deemed to be sufficient in such endeavours) but with a short statement of approval that included the quip: “Toronto needs all the community it can get.”



Umm...Yeah, Right. Good Call. Who needs "cogent and winning arguments" anyway when you have endorsements like that? And speaking of useless know-it-alls; what does the NCRA have to say about this?

From Vanmusic;

Radio Ryerson did not get their license back

15 September 2012 Despite public access option, CRTC decides to licence yet another commercial radio station.

Toronto is less indie now as they lost a campus-community radio. The CRTC has decided not to award 88.1FM to a campus-community radio licensee. The slot was given to commercial radio station Rock 95 . Its a great loss not only to Toronto but to the indie radio community.

“We sent a clear message to the CRTC that we, as the future leaders and community members, see value in a radio station that is for our community and the broader Toronto community. Unfortunately this means less young voices and community voices will be heard on the airwaves.” said Ryerson Student Union President Rodney Diverlus who also praised student efforts to win 88.1. “Students voted overwhelmingly in favour of funding a campus-community radio station through a referendum. We sent a clear message to the CRTC that we, as the future leaders and community members, see value in a radio station that is for our community and the broader Toronto community.”

"The National Campus and Community Radio Association also appeared in support of a campus-community radio license for 88.1FM over a commercial license. “I am very disappointed in this decision,” said NCRA’s Executive Director Shelley Robinson. “There is already so much commercial radio available and now there is one less opportunity for people in Toronto to directly access their local airwaves and represent their communities. Radio Ryerson was a place where people would get to be citizens and creators, not just consumers.”

"Press release from NCRA;

Today the CRTC licenced a commercial radio station for the last viable frequency in Toronto and denied the application of Radio Ryerson, making one less space available for community access to public airwaves.

Competing with dozens of prospective commercial radio stations, a group of Ryerson University students, faculty and community supporters proposed a station where the city and its many communities could speak for themselves and to their neighbours, sharing stories and music under-represented in other media.

Rodney Diverlus, President of the Ryerson Student Union, says the loss stretches beyond the campus.

“We sent a clear message to the CRTC that we, as the future leaders and community members, see value in a radio station that is for our community and the broader Toronto community. Unfortunately this means less young voices and community voices will be heard on the airwaves.” Shelley Robinson, Executive Director of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA) agrees.

“There is already so much commercial radio available,” she said. “This was a chance for something different. Radio Ryerson was a place where people would get to be citizens and creators, not just passive consumers of a set format.”

Jacky Tuinstra-Harrison was acting Station Manager and led Ryerson Radio’s application. She says she’s not sure next for the station, given the loss.

“There was such momentum. I had new students, up-and-coming musicians, senior citizens and my own neighbours asking how they could be involved,” she said, noting that the Broadcasting Act recognizes three pillars of Canadian broadcasting: commercial radio, public radio and community radio. “88.1FM ought to have been the place where we could live up to that ideal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ah yes; all this misty eyed eulogizing of the Golden Age of CKLN when it was an open and accessible place rather than a hothouse of extremist politics and vicious turf wars is almost enough to make you forget the last several years of scorched earth warfare. Not to mention the roles that the Ryerson Student Union and the NRCA played in encouraging that strife in the furtherance of their own power hungry agendas that eventually led to the RSU's forcible seizure of the station. But not quite.



The various rejected other applicants which included the likes of The CBC, CHOQ, CARN CHIN and various heavyweights have been pretty quiet. Although one applicant; LIFE 100.3, a Christian Radio station based in Barrie who applied for a religious station, did send out a more gracious concession on their website;

September 11, 2012 The CRTC has denied our application for Christian radio at 88.1FM. The commission approved the application by Rock 95 Broadcasting Ltd.
Thank you to all who prayed and supported Trust Communications Ministry through this process."

But then again Trust Communications were always more realistic about their long shot status.

An applicant from Larche Communications inc. for an Easy Listening station to be called "Metro 88" has completely pulled their website without explanation although oddly their Twitter page is still up for now. Albeit there hasn't been a posting since spring.

And then there Moses Znaimer. He also put in an application to add 88.1 to their existing AM station. He is not a happy camper;

From Cartt.ca

Znaimer calls CRTC Toronto radio licence decision "appalling"
September 13, 2012
By Greg O’Brien

MONTREAL – Zoomer Media president and CEO Moses Znaimer was in Montreal Wednesday to watch the CRTC in action as it considers the proposed purchase of Astral Media by Bell Canada, but he was still shaken by Tuesday’s Commission decision on the 88.1 FM frequency in Toronto.
To say he’s not happy is an understatement. Znaimer told Cartt.ca in an interview the decision to grant the license to Rock 95 so it can launch a station with an independent music format was “appalling. It was stunningly insensitive and entirely inappropriate – and it’s galling to hear them talk about diversity in there (during the ongoing hearing here) as if they are protectors of it in the light of that decision.”
Znaimer says the rock genre – even if this one is aimed at indie acts and emerging Canadian artists – is very well represented in and around Toronto and another station hitting the same demographic is a mistake. “There are a handful or rock radio stations in Toronto today and if you add the ones on the periphery, there must be well over a dozen,” he added.
Zoomer media was one of 22 applicants to appear at the CRTC hearing in May hoping to gain the licence to operate at 88.1 FM, the license the CRTC revoked from Ryerson University in 2010 due to various infractions over a number of years. Some applicants wanted to launch new stations while others, like Znaimer, wanted to take an existing AM station to FM.
Znaimer wanted to move The New AM740 Zoomer Radio, his station aimed at the 45 and older demographic that suffers from, well, being an AM station and all the sound quality and interference challenges of that brings, to FM. Zoomer also owns another Toronto FM station, The New Classical 96.3 FM as well as Vision TV, JoyTV, One: Body Mind and Spirit, Zoomer Magazine and other assets.
The long-time broadcasting executive whose whole business is aimed at the 45-and-up set is very angry that with this new station a demographic which he and many others say just don’t listen to radio any more will still get another station.
“We brought forward evidence that was overwhelming to demonstrate that the largest percentage of the population throughout Canada today is what we identify as Zoomer – 45-plus – and we brought forward overwhelming evidence that all the radio stations currently are piled up in the demos that lie just younger than that,” said Znaimer.
“Even though there are one or two other stations that acquire an older audience, they don’t do that with a view of serving the older audience with information to make their life better, to give them advice on health and wellness, financial security and so on,” he added.
But why can’t that be done on the AM dial? “Every other station over the last 20 years has made the transition because AM is a medium in decline and in downtown Toronto it’s impossible to get (740) with any clarity because of the wiring and the high-rise buildings,” he noted. It was a main point the company made during the hearing in May in Toronto.
“It is galling to hear the Commission posture as some kind of defender of diversity in the face of a decision which is doubly stunning, doubly insensible because it was discussed at the hearing that the younger generation, the 18-34 demo referenced in the decision, no longer listens to radio,” he added. “This Commission went out of its way to deny a life raft to a station that is the sole provider to a considerable audience.”
Znaimer insists it’s not sour grapes that is driving his ire because he would have accepted a decision which didn’t go his way if the license hadn’t gone to a rock station. “If they had brought forward a decision that favored an ethnic station, or if they had gone with the business news one, I would have been disappointed but I would have understood. But to hand it to another rock station, to a demo that’s already wildly over-served, just seems to be preposterous. The economy is not great and every story you read in the business press says it’s not going to get better any time soon so we came along and we said this is the goldilocks solution. We’re not really bringing in any new financial pressure on the market, we’re simply securing distribution to a large audience that’s got nowhere else to go,” said Znaimer.
“I can only conclude that it is a stunning case of age discrimination. There is no other word for it because they had the evidence… They turned their backs on themselves,” he added, alluding to the ages of the CRTC commission panel members. “They are all in the demo, every one of them.”
The CEO added his executive team will be meeting within the next week to decide whether or not to appeal the decision to federal cabinet."


WOW! And I thought the NCRA were crybabies. He even manged to pull the "ageist' card. And I didn't even know there was one in this deck. Remember when Znaimer brought you "MUCH MUSIC" and "The New Music"? Well now he wants you all to; "GET OFF MY LAWN YOU DAMN KIDS!"
Oh and by the way that threat to appeal to the Federal Cabinet? It's total bullshit. The Federal Cabinet is barred by law from interfering in the licensing process. Even CKLN had their lawyers explain that to them (probably very slowly) when they made the same empty threat. Given his years of experience you would have though he would have known about that already but never having people so no to you must get a little addictive. It's never a good sign when you are dumber than CKLN.

There is no joy in Mudville tonight as INDIE 88 wins the old CKLN spot

As many may remember after CKLN got bounced off the air in 2010 the then vacant 88.1 fm frequency became open for anyone who wanted to make a play for it. Last year PROUD FM, an existing gay themed radio station which is currently at 103.9 fm made an application to move to 88.1 fm, which would have given them a more powerful signal than the 60 watts they then held. That application opened the floodgates for all other comers and a deluge of over 20 applicants followed. These included;

* A couple more requests to move frequencies (besides PROUD FM) from ZOOMER Radio, CARN FM and CHOQ, a small French language station.

* A number of various ethnic station applications including one from CHIN.

* A number of all news and talk formats including an all business station called BIZ 88

* A number of various easy listening stations with names like TOWER 88 and METRO 88

* Two French language applications including one from the CBC

There were also a few specific formats including an application for a Blues station, a Christian station and and application for a station focused on Independent Music called INDIE 88.

INDIE 88 PROMO


(Note that I have already written about these applications on this page)

Oh right; Then there was Ryerson's attempt to take back the license they lost when the CRTC deservedly shut down CKLN back in 2010. The Ryerson application (which I read along with each of the other applications) was a study in disingenuous evasion and denial of all of the basic requirements of a Community Station. Instead Ryerson offered up a sense that they were naturally entitled to a license. They were backed in this delusion by the National Campus Radio Association who should have known better, but where so desperate to get a Toronto station and to redo the "injustice" of the 2010 shutdown of CKLN.

I attended the CRTC hearings back in April and was frequently amazed by how clueless and unprepared the Ryerson group was, as well as their smug attitude. This perception was shared by some of the other participants and spectators I spoke to. The questions for the Ryerson applicants from the CRTC Commissioners at times seemed to catch Ryerson Radio's Station Manager Jacky Harrison completely off guard and as the days went on her attitude began to change from smug to confused.

I must say that besides enjoying watching the various Ryerson/Ex CKLN cronies getting clubbed like baby seals once again I also got directly involved in these hearings by filing an intervention of my own.

My brief was not primarily about Ryerson's application but rather a positive intervention in support of another applicant, namely INDIE 88.

INDIE 88's application was from a small group who own two other small town stations and was for an Independent music focused station which would seem to be roughly equivalent to the original CFNY back in the 1980's, you know before they started sucking. In my brief a explained in some detail the history of such a station and the role it played in supporting the local and national music scene as well as pointing out the benefits to the larger community. I also referenced an earlier set of CRTC hearings back in 1989 (when CFNY changed ownership) in which there was some debate over whether a Campus/Community station, like Ryerson's, could do as effective a job in supporting local and Canadian independent talent. I argued that it could not.

As part of the application process Rye-High was allowed a chance to respond to points in writing to their heart's content. Instead they decided to dismiss me with a couple of snide insults. To put things in perspective most public interventions are usually only a paragraph or two. By contrast mine was a twelve page analysis with sourced quotes from previous CRTC hearings as well as various media reports dating back to the early 1980's. At the risk of bragging my brief was much more detailed and heavily researched than is normally the case. And Rye-High's only response was a couple of throwaway cheap shots? Classy as always.

And it's not just me either, three other members of the public sent in submissions that were specifically opposed to Ryerson's application (mine was actually in support of INDIE 88 but since it impacted Rye-High's application they were entitled to a response). These submissions were also lengthy and detailed critiques of Rye-High's application. They pointed out, among other things;

* That Rye-High's application did not have sufficient community involvement as required by the CRTC

* That Ryerson wildly exaggerated the extent of student support when the actual student referendum got only a ten percent turnout. And that was after extending voting hours and having Ryerson profs using class time to promote the cause.

* That the surveys submitted as part of the application, which were used to argue that there was an audience demand for such a radio station, were in fact sloppy, full of of blatant errors and not true audience polls.

* That the Rye-High application was in effect little more than a Trojan Horse to allow the disgraced CKLN die-hards back on the air.

As might be expected Rye-High's responses to these detailed critiques were evasive and disingenuous and relied on a dismissive attitude which they seemed to assume the CRTC would simply share. The replies often took refuge in simply saying that Rye-High's radio staff were "confused" and "mystified" and "at a loss to understand" what the problem was. Besides, they argued, the complainants were obviously biased so why should Rye-High even have to waste time on this petty nitpicking right? Wrong again. And keep in mind this was after witnessing the brutal ass-whipping handed out to CKLN last time, not to mention the beatdown recently handed out to KICK FM in Winnipeg which the NCRA at least should have been fully aware of.

Besides supporting the INDIE 88 application on it's own merits I think this was the best way to finally lance to the nagging CKLN sore that has been festering for so long. The fact that the CRTC granted the license to a small independent group rather than any of the various major corporate players who applied (including the CBC) pretty much destroys the narrative that the old leftist CKLN old guard have been spinning for years that they were the victims of a vast corporate conspiracy to seize control of the airways. Not that they won't keep spinning that whopper but to an ever smaller audience. In fact the online response has been so far quite positive.

Another thought; If the CRTC had granted the license to PROUD FM (or CARN) then they would have vacated their current signals thus allowing Rye-High/CKLN another chance at what would then be the last open signal left in Toronto. Now that door is finally closed for good. So at long last it's over. Stick a fork in 'em, they 're done. The mighty Rye-High has struck out again.

Well now we know what Ryerson's promises are worth

In their current license application to regain the old CKLN signal at 88.1 FM in Toronto Ryerson swore up and down that the "New Ryerson Radio" would have a deep commitment to Toronto's music and cultural scene. That they would have significant community involvement as per the CRTC's regulations. Never mind that their application has Byzantine rules clearly designed to prevent that from actually happening. Never mind that Ryerson President Sheldon Levy specifically promised, in an interview with the Ryerson press, that they would never "give up control of the station again".
Not to worry though, it's not like Ryerson doesn't have a track record of respecting Toronto's music and cultural community right? Take Sam The Record Man for example. Back in 2007 when Sam's went bankrupt and Ryerson bought the buildings Levy promised that Ryerson would preserve the iconic store front signs with their spinning neon records, a Toronto landmark since the 1960's. He assured every one within camera range that of course Ryerson had nothing but respect for Toronto's cultural and musical heritage.


This wasn't just an idle boast to the media either. It was a promise made to Toronto City Council in order to get permission to buy and raze the actual buildings.
Well you can probably guess what would happen next;
(From "The Torontoist" June 14 2007);
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SOS—Save Our Sam’s
By David Topping
In less than two weeks, all of Sam the Record Man’s contents are going up for sale at auction. Yesterday, we confirmed with Benaco Sales Ltd., the auctioneers for the property, that the most coveted and contentious part of the building—its entire front façade, including the iconic “THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT” records and “SAM” logos (minus the red backdrop, which is unmovable)—would indeed be part of the sale. But that’s not the end of the story.
The Save the Sam’s Sign!!! Facebook group, which is fast approaching 20,000 members, is, understandably, freaking out (as is the other Facebook group devoted to the same end, with about 10,000 members). Posted to the Save the Sam’s Sign group’s page is an e-mail from Heritage Toronto, written by Rod Kelly. It reads, in part, as follows:
Upon hearing that there was an interest in having the [neon signs on the front of the Sam the Record Man store] designated as being of heritage significance, Heritage Toronto immediately contacted Heritage Preservation Services, the City of Toronto department responsible for the Inventory of Heritage Properties, requesting that the issue be reviewed and what future steps could be taken to have the signs designated.
Within hours Heritage Toronto was told that the City of Toronto would be going forward to designate the sign. The designation will describe the sign, location and require that should the site be redeveloped the sign will be reinstalled, same location and be lighted at night. Heritage Toronto has committed to continue to work with Heritage Preservation Services to advance the plan and congratulates them for their swift and positive response.
The process for designation under the Ontario Heritage Act is essential to be sure that all aspects of the subject matter are assessed thoroughly and detailed in any recommendation to designate the site or structure.
Heritage Toronto’s website confirms the information, and today we spoke on the phone with Rod Kelly from Heritage Toronto, who also reiterated the information provided so far.
While the city (specifically, Heritage Preservation Services) intends to designate the signs as historical under the Ontario Heritage Act, and thus keep them intact, illuminated lights and all, it’s not so simple—especially in light of the fast-approaching auction. Kelly told us today that there is a possibility that the family could still sell the façade if they wanted to, in spite of historical designation. It’s not a sure thing: if the city designates the signs as historical soon enough, it is possible for the government to overrule the family—possible, not definite. But time is running out.
Here on Torontoist, if the signs do end up at auction, we’ve been tossing around the idea of mobilizing our readership and Torontonians as a whole to donate money and place a substantial bid on the sign on their behalf, but we’d rather it not have to come to that—instead, the best thing would be for the city to preserve the signs, intact, as-is, as they are now in the process of trying to do. What will happen next and how quickly it will happen is anyone’s guess, but we’ll try to keep you in the loop, especially if we get involved ourselves. At this point, it seems that the family’s word will be the final one. We’re hoping that they make the right decision.
UPDATE (June 16, 1:45 p.m.): The Star reports that Ryerson is interested in the property but is (like all of us) waiting on word from the family.
UPDATE (June 19, 5:30 p.m.): Eye‘s Dale Duncan writes that “Kyle Rae said this morning that his preservation panel will be bringing forward a motion [at this week's City Council] regarding the Sam the Record Man sign. The panel was late writing it up, so it’s uncertain what it will entail just yet, but Rae told the council: “it’s important that this get heard this session.”
UPDATE (June 20, 1:30 p.m.): Today’s sitting of Council is hearing the motion to historically designate the Sam’s sign (the last item on the agenda), which was moved by Councillor Rae and seconded by Councillor McConnell.
UPDATE (June 22, 1:30 p.m.): Still waiting on the Council to discuss the motion (it was being held by Councillor Mike Del Grande, for some reason), but in the interim here’s a copy of the motion to be put forward [PDF], which states, in part, as follows:
The intention of this Motion is to designate the property at 347 and 349 Yonge Street to protect Sam the Record Man sign, in recognition of its cultural heritage value. The sign is threatened due to the imminent closure of the store and subsequent auctioning of the sign on June 27, 2007. Heritage Preservation Services staff feel this is a significant landmark in the downtown and should be protected through designation.
The entire sign on the front (west) façade and above the entryway at both 347 and 349 Yonge are identified for designation. This includes the iconic large spinning disc neon signs with their red backgrounds, the “SAM” signs atop it and the backlit sign beneath. The smaller spinning disc neon signs on the adjacent façade at 341 Yonge are not identified for designation.
In addition to the opinion of professional staff, there is a great deal of public and media interest in the protection of the sign. The sign will be sent to auction before the next City Council meeting if this matter is not addressed in an urgent fashion.
UPDATE (June 23, 11:00 a.m.): Yay! Both CTV and The Star are reporting that the signs have been saved by the City, with The Star (whose article was written most recently) reporting that the entire building has been designated a heritage building. According to Kyle Rae, “[the City will] sit down with the owner or future owners as the property is being sold, and we hope to be able to maintain the two discs and `Sam’ signs on the rooftop as part of the ongoing history of Yonge Street.”
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Yes that was inspiring wasn't it? Everyone coming together to save a Toronto landmark and a huge institute showing respect for our cultural sector. The system works!
Well you can probably guess what would happen next;
(from "The Eyeopener" July 2012);
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rye plans to shun historic Sam sign 2 Comments 09 November 2011 SamSam the Record Man in 2008. FILE PHOTO Ryerson has vowed to pay homage to the Sam the Record Man site by incorporating its iconic signage into the new Student Learning Centre, but documents revealed they would rather not. Associate News Editor Carolyn Turgeon investigates Sam the Record Man was once an integral part of Yonge Street, but Ryerson is not a fan of the iconic sign. “I would rather not use the sign,” said Ryerson President Sheldon Levy. This would come as a surprise for community members who campaigned extensively to save the sign in 2007-08. The piece of Toronto’s heritage was designated as such by Kyle Rae and the Heritage Recommendation Board during his term as Ward 27 councillor. Rae, who has since established urban consultant company PQR Solutions, said that when Sam’s went bankrupt there were many people who contacted his office and made Facebook groups about maintaining the sign. “There were probably two generations of Torontonians who grew up and saw it as their rite of passage as teenagers,” said Rae. “I agreed at that time that there was probably a significant impact from that sign.” He now views the sign’s significance in a different light. “There is still a cadre of Torontonians that can identify with this sign, but many current ones don’t know [about it],” he said. He understands the university’s hesitation to place the sign on one of their buildings. “It’s difficult to expect Ryerson to stick the sign on their property when the association will be lost,” said Rae. The stipulations were that if they were to build on the property, Sam’s sign would have to be restored from its broken down state and then incorporated. The original plan was that the sign could either be used in the design of the Student Learning Centre (SLC) or put on the South side of the library building, facing Gould Street. “In order for the university to be able to move on [the property]they had to negotiate with the city where the sign would be reconstructed,” said Levy. “I’m not sure, to be honest, if that’s something we should be asking property owners to do,” said current Ward 27 councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam. Levy also revealed that restoring and mounting the sign to the building will cost approximately $250,000, which he believes could be better spent by the university. Concillor Wong-Tam said there are other complications as well. “It may not be physically possible given the size of the sign as well as technology having changed,” she said. The sign also doesn’t fit into the city’s new sustainable design for Yonge Street, and its outdated technology would be power consuming and hard to accommodate. There are now discussions for a more appropriate use of the sign or a different tribute that would better fulfill the needs of the school. “We are trying to discuss with [city council] a better place to memorialize the Sam’s location,” said Levy. The Eyeopener obtained a status report on the SLC which proposed a sidewalk tribute instead of the original plan. Levy acknowledged that a sidewalk tribute was being considered, while Wong-Tam said Ryerson had taken steps in developing an interpretive commemorative plaque for the property. Levy does not think Sam Sniderman’s sons, Bobby and Jason, would object. “It wasn’t family that made the issue, it was certain members of the Toronto community that saw it as an important thing and the city council respected their wishes and put it as a condition on the university,” said Levy. He said Ryerson will make their case, and the citizens may argue against it, but it will ultimately be up to the council. “Should they make no other decision we are obliged to follow what they have already decided and we will,” said Levy. According to Rae, the sign was never properly maintained and the city had to get Sam a grant before he would fix it in the late ‘90s. “We were trying to get it to look like the people who owned property on Yonge Street cared,” said Rae. “Frankly, Sam didn’t care.”
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So we went from "Of course we will protect the sign! We are totally committed to Toronto's cultural heritage" to "Uhh; how about a plaque and a website that we can get some student to slap together? Now go away; I'm busy buying up Massey Hall for our new computer center".
Now there's the rapacious Ryerson we all know. Absorbing the surrounding neighbourhood like they're the Borg, if not the Blob.
This by the way is not the first time they have done this. When they bought Sam's (where I used to work BTW) they also bought the Sam's warehouse a few blocks away on Church st. You may recall it. It had a giant mural painted on the outside wall which included Stompin Tom Collins and The Tragically Hip. You may have noticed it's long gone. Yes that blank wall with generic Ryerson logo is much better. Thanks Sheldon.



At any rate there something The CRTC may want to mull over while pondering Ryerson's promises to make "The New Ryerson Radio" a Voice for the Community". Especially since their proposed bylaws specifically block that involvement. That's one promise I actually believe they intend to keep.

Allegations of corruption and cronism at 88.1fm? The Hell you say!

An article from The Globe and Mail;

COMPETING BIDDERS FOR RADIO SPOT DONATED MONEY TO TORY MP
by BILL CURRY
OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail
Published Wednesday, Jul. 25 2012, 4:00 AM
A Conservative MP who serves as parliamentary secretary to the Canadian Heritage Minister raised thousands of dollars in political contributions from people involved in a high-stakes campaign to win a new Toronto radio licence.
Paul Calandra, the MP for Oak Ridges-Markham, attended and received money at two private fundraising parties that included people connected to two of the bids under consideration by the CRTC, which reports to Canadian Heritage.
When a Globe and Mail reporter brought up the fundraising activities recently, Mr. Calandra said he did nothing wrong. He also said he will give back some of the money.
The fundraising episode shows that five years after the Conservatives banned corporate donations to political parties, a link remains between political fundraising and business interests. The Conservative Party recently warned riding associations that fundraisers should be “no-lobbying zones” and reminded ministers and parliamentary secretaries to avoid real or perceived conflicts.
More than 20 companies are competing to win a rare and highly coveted new spot on Toronto’s FM dial at 88.1 FM.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission held hearings this year but has not yet announced a winner.
In late March, one of the applicants, WorldBand Media Inc., owned by CEO Prabha Selvadurai, hired Hill and Knowlton to lobby Canadian Heritage, the CRTC and members of Parliament on its proposal for a new talk-radio station.
The Globe has learned that just over two weeks later, on April 10, a private fundraiser took place in the basement of a suburban Markham, Ont., home owned by Mr. Selvadurai’s sister, Kirupalini Kirupakaran. Dr. Kirupakaran has pledged to the CRTC that she will invest up to $2-million in WorldBand Media should it win the competition. About $22,000 was raised at the event. Mr. Calandra also received a contribution at another basement fundraiser from the head of a second company competing for the prized spot on Toronto’s radio dial.
The April 10 fundraiser was attended by Mr. Selvadurai, along with several members of his immediate family. Former Ontario Tory cabinet minister David Tsubouchi, who sits on WorldBand’s board of advisers, attended, as did five others who have pledged to invest in the proposed radio station, which would be called Touch FM.
Some who attended the evening cocktail event estimate there were about 30 to 40 people in the room, including members of Mr. Calandra’s constituency office and riding association team.
In an interview, Mr. Calandra said neither Mr. Selvadurai nor members of his immediate family made donations. That means most of those who did give likely made contributions at or near the $1,100 maximum allowable annual figure.
The contributions have not been disclosed publicly as they have not yet been filed with Elections Canada.
Mr. Calandra initially declined to say who hosted the fundraiser and claimed he had never received donations from anyone associated with Mr. Selvadurai’s companies.
However, after going though the donations over several days to answer questions from The Globe, Mr. Calandra said that in fact five people listed with the CRTC as proposed WorldBand investors made donations worth a total of about $5,000 – and that those donations will be returned. He said the riding association will ask its auditor whether the host of the event has made an in-kind donation by offering her basement rent free.
“One person who had spread the word about the fundraiser did not understand the conflict that he might have been putting us or himself in by inviting these people,” Mr. Calandra said. “It was one person who was responsible for these five potential conflicts, but it wasn’t Prabha in any shape or form. He knew the rules and he was bang on.”
The MP said it’s routine for a riding association to initially accept donations and later reject them as they are reviewed prior to filing with Elections Canada. His campaign returned eight donations from the 2011 election campaign worth a total of $1,100. After the 2008 campaign, Mr. Calandra’s association returned two donations worth a total of $350.
Heritage Minister James Moore was in Markham the day after the fundraiser to announce art funding projects with Mr. Calandra. The minister did not attend the fundraiser and both the minister and the MP say they’ve never discussed the fundraiser or the CRTC application.
The minister’s office did not comment when asked whether the fundraiser raised any concerns.
In an interview, the CEO of WorldBand Media, Mr. Selvadurai, said he did not invite the investors to the fundraiser. He also said he was not aware they had made donations. He said the event was not related to his CRTC application, but he also said it’s important to make MPs aware of his business.
“As a Toronto businessman, it is important for me to ensure these MPs know about my business and intention to grow my business in Toronto,” he said in a prepared statement sent by e-mail after several phone conversations with The Globe.
Mr. Calandra said his riding association is also reviewing a contribution from Stan Antony from another fundraiser this year that was held in the basement of a home in Richmond Hill, Ont., on Feb. 22. Mr. Antony is leading a competing bid for 88.1 with the CRTC that would be called Stan FM.
The Conservative Party is clearly aware that parliamentary secretaries are at risk of running into political trouble through fundraising. The party’s national council sent an e-mail to riding associations in June specifically warning against real or apparent conflicts.
“Since Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries are in charge of specific portfolios in the government, they have special duties to be and appear to be free from any conflict of interest,” states the note. “For this reason, people who make financial contributions to politicians and political parties must not receive or even appear to receive preferential access to politicians. In short, all fundraising events need to be no-lobbying zones.”
The CRTC is an independent federal regulator that reports to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage, James Moore. However the limits to that independence were made clear last year when then-Industry minister Tony Clement called a CRTC ruling on Internet fees “simply wrong” and ordered the regulator to reconsider its ruling, which it did.
In June, the federal Conservatives appointed a new CRTC chair, Jean-Pierre Blais, replacing previous chairman Konrad von Finckenstein.
A WorldBand Media website says Touch FM “will drive high-quality, locally-sourced content to audiences underserved by current mainstream News/Information/Talk radio programming.” The website says the station has “proposed partnerships” with Toronto Life, Sun Media and iPolitics.ca.
Because of the large number of voters in the riding, candidates running in Oak Ridges-Markham had the highest spending limit in the country during the 2011 federal election, at $134,351."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Corruption? In this government? I am shocked! Shocked I say!
Outrageous as this is it's worth pointing out that MP's will not be making the decision, the CRTC will. And they are not answerable to MP's. In fact MP's (and this includes members of Parliament) are barred by law from lobbying the CRTC about licence applications which explains the speed with which the Tories backed off on this one.
BTW that is something to keep in mind whenever Fitzroy Gordon, the owner of CARN fm, the new Caribbean radio station, brags about how Stephen Harper and Jason Kenny personally guaranteed him a broadcast licence. He's been publicly boasting of that for the past year in several interviews this year. Either he is lying to suck up to Harper or Harper and Kenny fed Gordon an line of bullshit and he bought it.

KICK fm goes off the air for real this time

Back in January I wrote about KICK fm, a campus radio station in Winnipeg which was reportedly in danger of losing it's broadcast license. At the time I wrote;

"January 23 Winnipeg radio station CKIC, also known as KICKS FM, posted an announcement on their website and Facebook page stating that they were about to be shut down by the CRTC. (Note the reference to CKLN who you will recall lost their license last year);

First here's the initial Facebook posting;

"Dear friends, today the CRTC informed KICK-FM that, under the new campus radio policy, we will no longer be allowed to train students for a career in radio. As you may know, our raison d'etre is training students from Red River College's Creative Communications program.

So, what does this mean? It is doubtful that RRC will want to continue funding a radio station that does not work within its educational department. Therefore, it seems unlikely at this point in time that KICK-FM will remain on-air.

There is a possibility of moving the educational radio station to an internet-only feed. We will keep you posted.

It must be stressed here how disappointing this news is to us. I'm sure those students who are keen on pursuing a radio career with our assistance, and those in the local music community who we've steadfastly supported for the past 8 years, will share in our disappointment.

Stay tuned.92.9 KICK-FM"

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Then the official posting from the KICKS FM website the next day;

"What’s the deal with KICK?

Hello,
Yesterday we posted a story on our Facebook fan page regarding a directive the station received from the CRTC. Allow me to outline what has transpired.
In 2002, CKIC-FM was awarded a license to operate an Instructional Campus radio station, based at Red River College, whose primary objective was to train Creative Communications students for careers in commercial radio. We signed-on in December, 2003.
In 2010, the CRTC reviewed its Campus Radio Policy and made some substantial changes from the previous policy. Among the changes, the new policy removed the distinction between Instructional Campus stations (like KICK) and Campus stations (like UM-FM and CKUW). All campus-based stations will henceforth fall under one type of license: the Campus/Community license. Existing Instructional Campus stations (like KICK) were encouraged in the policy to continue training students, while at the same time broadening their base of community participation.From the new policy:
29. The Commission notes the specific role that stations currently licensed as campus instructional play in training broadcasters who will work for commercial radio stations. The Commission encourages these stations to pursue this goal within the new campus station framework, or through alternative means of broadcasting.
KICK-FM was happy with the new policy, which would come into effect with the renewal of our original license. We applied for a license renewal with the CRTC in 2011, and systematically promised to uphold the terms of the new policy.
Instead of a renewal, we were given an extension on our original license, while the Commission considered our renewal. We still operate, and will continue to operate under that license, at least until it expires at Midnight, December 31, 2012. No programs or training will be affected during the term of the existing license.
Prior to Christmas, 2011, myself and several members of the CreComm Radio Inc. Board of Directors (owner/operator of the CKIC-FM license) were called into an “off-the-record” meeting with a local CRTC Commissioner, to discuss the ramifications of the new policy on KICK-FM. The Commissioner told us that we were to focus on community involvement rather than student training, despite what the new policy document says, as quoted above. We asked for clarification: How much student training versus community volunteers would we allowed to broadcast under the new policy? The Commissioner agreed to seek clarification on this matter from Ottawa.
On January 23, the Commissioner called me with the answer. She said that Ottawa felt that she had “sugar-coated” her message to us at the meeting, that there is to be “no training of students for a career in commercial radio” and that if we insisted on training students, our “license renewal will be denied”.
When I asked the commissioner why there had been a change from the policy, as quoted above, without any official amendment to said policy, she gave me two reasons:
a) The CRTC has had a lot of issues with Instructional Campus stations recently, including the revocation of licenses of CJWV-FM, Winnipeg (FLAVA 107) and CKLN-FM, based at Ryerson in Toronto. (Both were clearly out-of-compliance with the regulations, and deservedly lost their right to broadcast. )
b) It was “a new Commission” with a new Commissioners, a new Chair, and a new direction.
So, our options seem to be the following:
1) Insist on training students, and have our license renewal denied. End result: go off-the-air.
2) Stop training students, focus on community volunteers, and perhaps lose our funding from the College, as we’d no longer be an educational component of the Creative Communications program. End result: go off-the-air.
3) Transfer the station to the internet, develop new KICK apps to increase ease-of-listening, and focus on training students in broadcasting and new media. End result: valuable training would continue in a positive direction and encompass the new methods of disseminating content in a digital world.
Next week, the BOD of CreComm Radio Inc. will meet to discuss our options, which we will eventually present to Red River College. We will keep you posted on developments.
As always, thank you very much for your continued support of Winnipeg’s Indie Station, 92.9 KICK-FM.
Rick Baverstock
Station Manager
posted : Tuesday, January 24th, 2012"

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You can almost hear the triumphant cries coming out of the rubble strewn bunker at CKLN; "See we told you so! We told you the CRTC had an evil corporate agenda to destroy community radio! We were just the first victims, and you should have stood up for us! Now it's too late! You could be next! First they came for CKLN and you didn't speak out...Then they came for KICKS FM and blah blah blah..."

Indeed judging by the initial media reports and the inevitable "Curse you CRTC!" type postings on Facebook many do seem willing to accept the official story. Some even upped the ante citing an outrageous "CRTC ruling" banning students from the airwaves.

However;

There are problems with the official story. First of all the CRTC has not announced any such ruling, nor are they likely to. Some postings to the facebook page and media stories have even pointed this out. After all the blatant lying and hyperbolic conspiracy theories during the CKLN circus I find it refreshing that some people took the time to actually look things up and do some research before breaking out the placards and bullhorns and charging off to the first protest rally they can find. However if there's another thing I've learned from CKLN's activists (not to mention Rob Ford or Newt Gingrich) is that you can't keep a good liar down. Even if they get caught in the most blatant lies they simply double down and keep going. Helps if you have no shame. Thus; when some good citizens have pointed out the fact there is no CRTC ruling banning students from the airwaves, KICKS Station Manager Rick Baverstock simply "clarified" that the ruling was delivered in a "off the record meeting". So there; prove me wrong. This led to a few more outraged postings about the CRTC's lack of openness. However as we've seen from CKLN and other stations that lost their licenses in the last few years such as CJWV (in Winnipeg) and CHSC (St Catherines), the CRTC does not hold "off the record meetings" with radio stations where they threaten their licenses. The CRTC is a government regulatory body, they do everything in writing which is kept on file for future license renewal hearings which are public. This is exactly what happened with CKLN, CJWV and CHSC. I attended the CKLN hearings in December 2010 (and I also testified) and have read the transcripts and rulings from the CJWV hearings in 2008 and CHSC in 2010. When CKLN tried to claim that they weren't given any warnings prior to the hearings the CRTC was then able to produce them. That's the way a regulator works. You may disagree with them but they are not idiots.


The CRTC did have an extensive review of the entire Campus/Community Radio sector in 2009. As a result the CRTC abolished the designation between "Campus Instructional" and "Campus based Community". A few words of clarification here; Most stations are C/C, however there are a few C/I stations around. C/I stations differ from C/C stations in that C/I stations are designed to train students taking RTA and journalism courses. KICKS FM (which is based in Red River College) is such a station as is CKHC based at Humber College in Etobicoke. By contrast C/C stations are required to have community involvement,a board of directors with "balanced" representation from the community,students and faculty and they must also adhere to far more strict guidelines concerning their on air content. Since the CRTC's ruling CKHC has announced their intention to make the transition from C/I to C/C station, I hope they do, Toronto could use another community station. KICKS FM has clearly decided not to and instead have elected to give up their license and blame the CRTC.

There are other problems with the KICKS FM statement. Note the apocalyptic tone of the three choices KICKS offer for their future .
"a) Defy CRTC and lose license
b) Ban students and lose funding, then lose license anyway
c) Give up license and become an internet radio station."

I find this disingenuous since it denies that there are any more options. But in fact there is an obvious one; KICKS FM could follow the rules the CRTC set down for the entire sector and convert to a Campus Community station like CIUT, CHRY and most other C/C stations. Problem solved. What would this entail?

a) KICKS FM would have to expand their Board of Directors to include community members.
The CRTC policy specifically states that boards must have "balanced" representation from the students, faculty and community. They do not actually define what this means. But this also means they would have to have community members in the first place. Apparently KICKS FM does not have any actual community members other than a few radio industry pros who were appointed to the board. Presumably this is because of existing links between Red River College and the radio industry. Such involvement is certainly allowed by the CRTC, and would probably be defended up to a point as encouraging professionalism, but it is clearly not what they had in mind by "community" members.

b) KICKS FM would have to expand the variety of music and spoken word programming offered on-air.
The CRTC requires all C/C stations to play content that is otherwise not played on commercial radio and from communities otherwise under represented. This does not mean that they can not play rock/pop or urban/hip hop of course, as anyone who listens to any community station will know. However there are also specific quotas to be met for other genres such as jazz, blues, folk, classical or world beat. The rock/pop and urban/hip hop must not be top 40 and must instead focus on non commercial and independent music. There are also quotas for spoken word programs as well.
From what I can tell by sampling the content on KICKS FM (keeping in mind I don't live in Winnipeg) they do not live up to this. KICKS FM's on-air programming is quite different than that of stations such as CIUT or CHRY and is mostly rock/pop. This is implied by their use of commercial sounding "brand name" KICKS FM instead of using their actual call letters of CKIC. While the use of a commercial brand is unusual, programming wise this is common with Campus Instructional stations since they are mostly concerned with providing RTA students with radio training and a spot on their resume. This leads to playing music that is more mainstream rather than more avant garde music that might alienate potential industry patrons. The fact that most programmers are students who are young and have little experience in the music scene rather than scene vets also encourages this trend. The old CRTC regs allowed for this. This does not mean that the programming at KICKS FM is bad, in fact it seams that they have put more effort into their music selection than other instructional stations, playing a fair amount of alternative, independent and local music. In fact they remind me mostly of CFNY back in the 1980's (you know, before they started to suck). As an instructional station KICKS FM has done a good job, better in fact than the bland offerings of Humber College station CKHC, however as a community station KICKS would not come close to qualifying.

Herein lies the problem faced by KICKS FM. To qualify for a license under the new CRTC rules KICKS (and Red River College) would have to do something they clearly do not want to do. Namely give up sole control and share the station. This would take some major adjustments but is certainly doable. Instead they have instead decided to tank the license and walk away while blaming the big bad CRTC.

In the interest of disclosure when this story broke I quickly contacted KICKS FM station manager Rick Baverstock. At the time I was under the impression that KICKS had simply misunderstood the nature of the new CRTC and were thrown into a panic by bad info. Therefore I was sympathetic and wanted to offer a helping hand. So I wrote a nice email politely suggesting they not panic and carefully explaining the steps they would have to follow to be in compliance with CRTC regs. Baverstock did write back promptly with a polite but not very responsive reply saying;

"While I can appreciate the angle that we could teach our students off-air, that totally defeats the purpose of this station from the College's point of view, and they are funding this operation nearly 100%. If we are going to have to use the internet for teaching, why bother paying for the operation of the community signal at all?"

(Note; I among other things I had pointed out that they could still use an internet feed and facilities for training purposes thereby ensuring that students were fully trained BEFORE going on air. That would satisfy the CRTC's need to make sure that on-air personal have been adequately trained while not excluding any student from getting that training and keeping the airwaves free to include the requisite community involvement. I did NOT suggest ghettoizing students by leaving them online only.)

This, along with more info I have since dug up concerning the station's structure and recent history, suggests that they have already made up their minds to walk away from their license. This will enable them to keep total control of the station and exclude the public entirely. They can also save money since they don't have to run a transmitter. Since the CRTC does not regulate internet content they also won't have to comply with any CRTC regs at all for things like Canadian content or musical variety or spoken word content. They will never have to answer any listener complaints either; apparently they have had a few as of late.

That this decision to convert to the internet has already been made is implied by this laughably delusional posting on their Facebook page;

"92.9 KICK-FM ‎80,000,000 Americans listen online. The future is now."

Ummm...Yeah, right, whatever you say:

This belief in the inevitable triumph of the all powerful internet is common (especially among students) but it is misplaced. That internet and satellite radio and podcasting will be our future overlords has been promised for a several years now but it hasn't really worked that way. Listenership of the vast majority of internet stations has been pathetic.

One reason for this is technical; as long as it is the preferred choice for car and clock radios terrestrial radio will always have a built in advantage. One day this may change somewhat as technology updates but not anytime soon. Another reason is psychological; a terrestrial signal with legitimate call letters simply has a gravitas that an internet station or podcaster does not. The internet is just too sketchy. That won't change. Ever. Another problem with the internet is the sheer volume of content makes it impossible to stand out and attract a following at all. This also won't change. Ever. How does one attract attention when surrounded by literally hundreds or even thousands of other internet stations and podcasters? Especially since KICKS FM is basically just a regular rock/pop station with a mildly alt/indie focus. In fact I believe that having to adhere to various CRTC regs encourages quality control and variety better than the internet does. If you know for example that you will be in trouble if someone fails to show up to do their show, or swears indiscriminately, or plays the same few top 40 hits over and over gain, then you won't do it. But if you know that there are no real consequences to fucking up, or listeners to hear it, than what's to stop you? And who will care?

As stated most students would no doubt buy the "80,000,000 can't be wrong" argument. Besides it will be much easier than doing the extra work and sharing control that converting to a community license would entail. Laziness usually is, but they are deluding themselves if they think they are breaking new ground.

Want a look at the brave new world of internet radio? Check out the "New CKLN.fm". You'll be the only ones who are since a close look at their listener stats shows that they never rise above a half dozen listeners at any given time. And that's at best. Granted KICKS FM is not likely to be a laughably inept as CKLN but it will still be a Potemkin Village version of a radio station.
CKLN also shows that once you give up a license you don't get it back.

A FAIRLY BALANCED (FOR A CHANGE) YOUTUBE REPORT ON KICKS FM;




Then; suddenly as I was writing this article KICKS FM suddenly removed the above postings from their website and Facebook pages and replaced it with this apparent if brief back peddle;

"KICK License Update
The Board of Directors of CreComm Radio Inc., owner/operator of CKIC-FM, met on Tuesday, January 31. The Board has determined that the station will
continue to operate as usual under our current license. The Board is waiting for some further clarifications from the CRTC regarding the new Campus Radio Policy and in the meantime are amending the station’s renewal application to better suit the new policy."
So now apparently they changed their mind about the joys of internet radio and decided to try and hold on, and now they need "clarification" about the CRTC regs? So everyone can put away their torches and pitchforks cuz everything is cool. Or not. Who knows what is going on at this point. I'll keep checking into this."

So that's where things stood as of January. With KICK fm planning on applying for their license renewal. I assumed that they would make the fairly straight forward changes to their ownership and governance structure along with some moves to broaden their programming. Having done so license renewals are almost always granted. But then last week this notice showed up on the KICK fm website;
"92.9 KICK FM went on-air almost 10 years ago with a mandate to provide a radio broadcast training forum for students that resembled, as near as possible, the operation of a commercial radio station. Red River College provided the transmitter and facilities as well as start-up funding, with the goal that the radio station become self sustaining over a period of time. Despite never being able to achieve this, the College continued to fund the station.
92.9 KICK FM will return its current broadcast license to the CRTC.
Radio training at Red River College will continue uninterrupted, and the plan is for KICK FM to resume streaming in the fall.
92.9 KICK FM will discontinue over-the-air broadcasting July 4 at 4 p.m."

A similar posting appeared on this Facebook page. The rushed nature of KICK fm's shutdown was underlined by the next Facebook posting;
"Seemingly unwilling to let 92.9 KICK-FM die with dignity, officials at our transmitter site pulled the plug halfway through the farewell montage. We will post the full audio shortly."
(Link to the audio post);
http://soundcloud.com/rick-baverstock/92-9-kick-fm-sign-off?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=blogger&utm_content=http://soundcloud.com/rick-baverstock/92-9-kick-fm-sign-off

A few articles in the Winnipeg media quickly popped up the most detailed of which is below;

"Canadian Campus Community Station Kick FM to Return License to CRTC Posted on July 4, 2012 by Jennifer Waits
KICK FM to Turn Back License to CRTC
Canadian campus-community radio station CKIC-FM, known as 92.9 Kick FM, will cease its terrestrial broadcasts at 4pm today and plans to return its license to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
The license is set to expire on August 31, 2012. Kick FM is operated by the non-profit Cre-Comm Radio Inc. and broadcasts out of studios at Red River College in Winnipeg. In January, the station issued statements explaining that the future of the station was uncertain.
A statement posted by Cre-Comm’s Board of Directors yesterday states,
“92.9 KICK FM went on-air almost 10 years ago with a mandate to provide a radio broadcast training forum for students that resembled, as near as possible, the operation of a commercial radio station. Red River College provided the transmitter and facilities as well as start-up funding, with the goal that the radio station become self sustaining over a period of time. Despite never being able to achieve this, the College continued to fund the station.
As a result of recent changes to CRTC regulations regarding campus and community radio stations, and financial challenges, the Board of Cre-Comm Radio Inc. has decided to discontinue over the air broadcasting effective Wednesday, July 4, 2012 at 4:00pm, and will be returning the current broadcast license to the CRTC.
Radio training at Red River College will continue uninterrupted, and the plan is for KICK FM to resume streaming in the fall.”

A Winnipeg Free Press article today includes commentary from a Red River College instructor who mentioned the challenges of not only streaming, but also of running a hybrid campus-community radio station,
“Students may get some good training through streaming and that’s fine, but it’s not the same as being on the air and having the community listening in…The station was a funny deal from the very beginning. No one was really clear if it was training students or open to the community or neither. And then it kind of got hijacked by a lot of non-students. So this is not a surprise.”
According to a May 28, 2012 Broadcasting Notice of Consultation, Cre-Comm had applied for license renewal, proposing to operate CKIC as a campus station. The notice states:
“The licensee proposes to operate the undertaking under the conditions of license applicable to campus radio stations set out in Standard conditions of license for campus and community radio stations, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2012-304, 22 May 2012 and will adhere to the following condition of license: The licensee shall devote no more than 25% of its total weekly programming to student-produced programming to fulfill course requirements.”
The Notice also points out some problems with CKIC’s application and states:
“It appears that the licensee may have failed to comply with the Radio Regulations, 1986 concerning the filing of annual returns for the 2005-2006 to 2009-2010 broadcast years. The Commission has received a complaint regarding the programming of CKIC-FM as well as complaints concerning the licensee’s governance and management structure.”
According to the article in the Winnipeg Free Press, Cre-Comm pulled out of the application process:
“David Wiebe, chairman of Cre-Comm Radio, said it initially applied for a campus and community radio license, but later withdrew the application. He said a lack of funding from the college and the wish to focus on training students, not community members, were reasons for the decision.”
It’s unclear what this decision means for the students in the Creative Communications program at Red River College, although Kick FM’s statement indicates that radio training will continue."

There is also a previous article from a student newspaper which reports the official KICK fm line with some skepticism and which is vastly superior to the lazy and one-sided reporting done by much of the Ryerson media during the two year battle over CKLN from 2008 to 2010, probably due to the heavy-handed influence of the Ryerson Student Union which was deeply involved in the take over and shut down of CKLN.
The article is in PDF form here;
http://theprojector.ca/pdf/Issue11web.pdf
(note the reference to CKLN and how it deserved to die)

So what happened between January when KICK fm was preparing to conform with the CRTC regs and reapply for their license and July 3 when they suddenly threw in the towel and walked away? What changed?
In fact KICK fm had indeed filed their application and the process had started. The CRTC notice is here;

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ottawa, 28 May 2012 Notice of application received
Winnipeg, Manitoba Deadline for submission of interventions/comments/answers: 3 July 2012
The Commission has received the following application: Applicant/Licensee and Locality
1. CreComm Radio Inc. Winnipeg, Manitoba Application 2011-0319-2
Application by CreComm Radio Inc. to renew the broadcasting licence of the campus instructional radio programming undertaking CKIC-FM Winnipeg, expiring 31 August 2012. In light of the elimination of the campus instructional category in Campus and community radio policy, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2010-499, 22 July 2010, the licensee proposes to operate the undertaking as campus station.
The licensee proposes to operate the undertaking under the conditions of licence applicable to campus radio stations set out in Standard conditions of licence for campus and community radio stations, Broadcasting Regulatory Policy CRTC 2012-304, 22 May 2012 and will adhere to the following condition of licence:
The licensee shall devote no more than 25% of its total weekly programming to student-produced programming to fulfil course requirements.
It appears that the licensee may have failed to comply with the Radio Regulations, 1986 concerning the filing of annual returns for the 2005-2006 to 2009-2010 broadcast years.
The Commission has received a complaint regarding the programming of CKIC-FM as well as complaints concerning the licensee’s governance and management structure. Information related to these matters may be found in hard copy in the public examination file of this licensee, including copies of complaints and related correspondence.
The Commission notes that additional documents may be added to the public file subsequent to the issuance of this notice. Interested parties are accordingly advised to consult the public file for this item on an ongoing basis.
Licensee’s address:
W106-160 Princess Street Winnipeg, Manitoba Fax: 204-949-0057 E-mail: rick@kick.fm Website to view application: http://kick.fm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Part of this process allows for members of the public to file interventions for or against the applicant. This is where things started to go off the rails for good. A few people filed interventions against KICK fm recommending that the license not be renewed. It seems that on top of their other self inflicted wounds KICK fm management had made some seriously determined enemies. A bit of back story here;

Some time in 2010 KICK fm canceled a talk radio show hosted by one Marty Gold. I don't know all the ins and outs of Gold's dismissal but from what I have managed to piece together Gold seems to have gotten himself into the kind of situation similar to that of Eddy B, host of a blues show at CIUT in the 1990's, who managed to offended some powerful and thin-skinned people (in Eddy's case the Toronto Blues Society) who then put pressure on the radio station to cancel the show, including bullshit threats of lawsuits. The station caved in and canceled the show. Eddy sued and forced a settlement. But not before using subpena power to get some seriously embarrassing dirt on the hi-jinks of station management. Gold did not sue, but he did get enough dirt (by using Access to Information) to show that KICK fm's management were being dishonest on a number of subjects as well as having a Board structure that the CRTC would have never allowed under the post 2010 guidelines. He exposed this on a podcast and blog he now runs. Once the CRTC process opened up to allow for members of the public to make hostile interventions to their license application, a few did. KICK fm's management seems to have gotten into a panic about having to respond to this.

In addition KICK fm had already managed to get itself into plenty of trouble without any help from Gold. As the CRTC notice states;

“It appears that the licensee may have failed to comply with the Radio Regulations, 1986 concerning the filing of annual returns for the 2005-2006 to 2009-2010 broadcast years. The Commission has received a complaint regarding the programming of CKIC-FM as well as complaints concerning the licensee’s governance and management structure.”

The programming complaint referred to probably has something to do with an apology for inappropriate content that was posted on the KICK fm website some time last Dec.

When the deadline for public interventions to the CRTC on July 3 some hostile interventions had been filed. It can not be a coincidence that KICK then announced their total and abject surrender. It is hard to reach any other conclusion other that rather than respond to these complaints and answer some tough questions KICK fm immediately ran up the white flag and ran for cover. Having some idea of the grillings handed out by the CRTC to CKLN (in 2010), CHSC (also 2010) and CJWV (in 2008), and the subsequent loss of all three licenses, KICK fm and Red River College (who own it) decided to avoid the humiliation and scurry away with their tails between their legs.

This is especially pathetic since in my opinion if KICK fm had gotten their house in order, which they had plenty of time to do, they would have gotten their renewal.

The complaints made concerning the cancellation of Marty Gold's show, even if completely true, which they may well be for all I know, would not have warranted a single question from the CRTC. The Commission does not concern itself with matters of show programming or hiring. Stations can cancel any show they want for any reason, it doesn't matter if the reason's given are dishonest or if the dismissed programmer was treated unfairly. That kind of micromanagement is not the CRTC's job, nor do they wish it to be, they have much better things to do. If Gold (who claims to have had a contract and who made money from ad revenue, which he obviously lost) wanted to take KICK fm to court that would be within his rights as a matter of contact law, but the CRTC would not have gotten involved at all. People have made complaints in the past at CKLN, CIUT and CHRY when their favorite show has been canceled, the CRTC always dismisses such complaints as simply not within their purview. At the hearings, assuming they had gone ahead, the Commissioners would have certainly listened to the public complaints politely enough, but the expected grilling of KICK fm execs that Gold was hoping for over this would not have happened.

The complaint about offensive content would have to been dealt with however. The CRTC does take such public content complaints seriously and questions would have been asked. However they could have been answered easily enough. As long as the station has a training and review program in place and can show that they answer all public complaints in a timely and appropriate matter the CRTC would be satisfied. This is assuming that there was not an excessive number of complaints, and the CRTC notice mentions only one. By contrast CKLN had "the highest number of complaints in the country" according to a Commission member at the Dec. 2010 hearings. Which CKLN's management claimed were fake. And how did they know this? Because they admitted they had sent in fake complaints themselves in order to force out the previous management. I'm sure the Commissioners were greatly impressed by that argument. Oh; and CKLN management answered one public complaint by sending a vaguely threatening and insulting response to the irate listener. Just to add the cherry to the sundae; at the CRTC hearings CKLN management were arrogant enough to actually argue with the commision about content, claiming that they were "reclaiming" certain offensive words "for the community". The CRTC just loves getting lectured by smug activist types, especially the stupid ones. It's hard to see how anyone at KICK fm could possibly by even half as inept as CKLN's ruling junta. The fact that KICK fm put an appology on their website about the offensive content tends to show they took it seriously and acted promptly. The station would also have to have to show that they have an accurate logger system, which CKLN did not have. The CRTC notice makes no such complaint however so I assume KICK fm had no such problems.

Next we come to the matter of the misfiling or failure to file (the CRTC notice does not specify which) of the Annual Returns to the CRTC. This is actually more serious and KICK fm would definately have gotten some pointed questions and a lecture from the CRTC on this. As it happens the misfiling or late filing of Annual Returns has become a common problem in the last several years, so much so that the CRTC actually sent out a notice last year clarifying the deadlines. The late filing of returns was an issue at the CKLN hearings as well, but CKLN made it worse when the CRTC gave them an extension and they still failed to file in time. Then they sent in the wrong forms. When the CRTC pointed this out CKLN promised to send in the right forms, then didn't. As always CKLN snidely blamed past management for everything, which annoyed the Commison even more. I somehow doubt KICK fm's management could possibly be as moronic as CKLN's but you never know.

So far we've dealt with the easy stuff, somewhat embarrassing no doubt, but easy to fix. That brings us to the larger issue; the governance and ownership of the station itself. Here the critics of KICK fm would have been on much stronger ground. Simply stated Campus Community stations in Canada must be open to and representative of the community. Meaning they must have community members who must be represented on the Board of Directors. The CRTC does not specify an exact quota for this, it merely says that it must be "balanced", which KICK fm's clearly was not. In fact it would appear that KICK fm had no actual community members at all other than a couple of Board appointees, all of whom were also from commercial radio stations, and that would probably not cut it with the CRTC. There's the rub; to keep the license Red River College (KICK fm's owner) would have had to give up total control of the station, and it is obvious they simply did not want to do so. They would also have had to open up their programming as well to other genres of music such as jazz, blues, folk and world beat. That would have taken some time but given these regs came down in 2010 they had plenty of opportunity to do so. They might have had to slightly increase the ammount of spoken word and Cancon as well but I can't be sure of this off-hand since I don't know enough about their schedule. I doubt Cancon would have been an issue for them though.

Assuming KICK fm had made the required changes to their Board and Bylaws and were able to respond to the various complaints I would have expected that they would have gotten their license renewal in the end. Given the various hijinks at KICK fm they probably would not have gotten a full term license and would have instead gotten a short term probationary one for three years. That would have been a bit of an embarrasment but once the three years were up (assuming there were no serious fuck-ups of course) they would have then applied for and gotten a full term renewal. That actually happened to CIUT in the past and we're still here. But that pre-supposes that KICK fm were actually willing to share, and they clearly were not. Nobody should want to see a decent station go dark and it is no doubt a loss to the music community in Winnipeg (fortunately there are two other campus stations in town) but having said that KICK fm are not the victims here. And the CRTC are not the villians. Every other campus station in Canada has been able to find balance between the campus who provide the facilities and much of the funds and the community who provide the audience they are supposed to serve. Right now CKHC, at Humber Collge, are trying to make this transition. If KICK fm were unwilling to even try I have little sympathy. Furthermore I find their shamelessly dishonest attempts to blame the CRTC for their refusal to play by the rules the rest of us have to follow to be disgraceful. As always; Don't believe the hype.