CKCU continued from page 38
the future. Matthew Crosier recently became
the longest-running Station Manager in CKCU history. For the past 14 years he has taken care of both the financial and people end of the radio station. “Radio has certainly changed a great deal since I’ve been here”, he says. “Advertising is so difficult when you’re competing against internet groups that charge practically nothing for ads on websites. People moving away from listening to radio in their cars is a big problem, as is trying to tell people what we do. It’s such a broad palette that we do, multiple languages, new music, old music of all styles. We appeal to all kinds of different markets”. Matthew laughs when I ask him
to describe to the uninitiated what Radio Carleton does. “I think we are a community hub is what we are,” he told me. “When we do something well we are part of the Persian community,
or part of the bluegrass community, and we’re a place where people come to talk and gather and create and help build those communities.” It is these communities that are key
to the survival of CKCU. Every year the station holds a fund-raising drive to coincide with the station’s birthday on November 14. That money, combined with advertising and a student levy, helps the non-profit station pay the rent, upgrade equipment and take care of the bills that go along with operating a radio station. There are only four salaried employees on staff. Those four are the hub of the wheel, but it is the 200 volunteers who are the spokes. A unique Radio Camp offered to
young people is also a big money- maker for the station. It’s a chance for kids to experience radio in a very hands-on way, developing, recording and producing their own radio show. That experience is only a few years away from how it was for the original staff of Radio Carleton, who learned their craft on the fly in the earliest days.
When I visit CKCU it is literally
like stepping back in time. It’s the same staircase leading up to the fifth floor of the Unicentre building on the Carleton Campus. It’s the same hallway towards the exit door to the stairwell nicknamed “Studio J” (Hey. It was the 70’s!) at the end of the hall. Turn left into the main office. A right turn takes you into the studio area, with those rows and rows of musky smelling record albums. You can’t help but rifle through them, and see those same records you frantically looked for as your song on the air was just about over. No computers to play your music. No consultants to decide what you play. This was true free-form radio, where the ideas came from the person in the studio, and the listeners didn’t know what to expect. And the beautiful thing is, that’s the way it still is at Radio-Carleton. The highlight of an impromptu
drop-in is always when a current volunteer comes up to you and asks “Can I help you sir?” You want to tell them your story, but then you realize they are making their own, and it started with a “What if?”
Visit Moncion’s Independent Grocer Store!
Your
ONE STOP SHOP!
• Wide variety Grocery, Produce, Bakery and Deli
• Primacy Medical • Vineyards Estate Wines • Pharmacy • Goodlife for women • Joe Fresh • Entertainment platters • Custom gift baskets
“Joe The Butcher” Over 35 years of experience! 52 BOUNDER MAGAZINE
671 River Rd., Ottawa Store Hours: Mon. to Sun. 8am. - 10pm.
613-822-4749
www.bounder.ca
Season Tis the
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64