Post by TRENT310 on May 24, 2006 20:08:56 GMT -5
Seemingly coming June and September:
Native voices coming to Edmonton radio
New station due in September will ensure 'aboriginal voices are accessible'
EDMONTON - Tanya Kappo knows why Edmonton needs an aboriginal radio station.
A few weeks ago her 12-year-old son, James Harper, came home upset. A classmate had told him he doesn't like natives.
James is native.
Kappo didn't know what to say. "I'm trying to explain everything to him in a way that won't make him angry," she said.
Kappo is a member of the board of Aboriginal Voices Radio, a network of aboriginal radio stations that plans to soon start broadcasting across Canada.
Last week, organizers of the radio network met with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to announce their startup dates.
Stations in Edmonton, Montreal and Kitchener-Waterloo are scheduled to be on the air this September, following launches June 30 in Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa.
"We have the money for it. We'll be turning on the switch," said Lewis Cardinal, vice-president of Aboriginal Voices Radio. "We'll be ensuring that aboriginal voices are accessible."
The network has no federal funding but will rely on corporate sponsors and social program funding from commercial stations. When radio stations such as Standard and CHUM radio are granted new licences, they pay a fee to the CRTC that goes to developing community programs.
Organizers started planning the radio network seven years ago, said Cardinal. But it's been a struggle to find the funding.
The group estimates it will cost about $5 million a year to run the network across the country.
"You can't get the money if you have no station. You can't get the station without the money," Cardinal said.
The flagship station in Toronto, where much of the national programming will be produced, has been broadcasting for 21/2 years. It also broadcasts over the Internet at www.aboriginalradio.com.
The station highlights aboriginal people and issues but aims to be inclusive, said Roy Hennessy, chief of operations at the Toronto station.
At least 65 per cent of the music is by Canadian aboriginal artists, drawn from a 7,500-song archive, Hennessy said.
In newscasts, the focus is on bringing an aboriginal perspective to the main events of the day, not focusing exclusively on aboriginal issues.
The network can help mainstream Canadians reach a better understanding of national stories related to First Nations, he said, pointing to the standoff in Caledonia, Ont.
"(The protesters) didn't end up there because they suddenly decided they wanted to be greedy," he said. "It's complex. I don't think the average Canadian understands how aboriginals ended up in the situation they're in today."
Aboriginal Voices Radio isn't the first aboriginal radio broadcaster to start up in Canada, but is unique as a national network.
Among others, CFWE started broadcasting in northern Alberta almost 20 years ago under a federal funding program that has since been cut. It now makes money through radio bingo, said Bert Crowfoot, who heads the station.
But CFWE and Aboriginal Voices Radio are quite different, Crowfoot said.
"We play a lot of that old country and our announcers have a rural type sound. AVR has a more metro, urban-type sound."
Just thought it may be of interest to forum users.
Native voices coming to Edmonton radio
New station due in September will ensure 'aboriginal voices are accessible'
EDMONTON - Tanya Kappo knows why Edmonton needs an aboriginal radio station.
A few weeks ago her 12-year-old son, James Harper, came home upset. A classmate had told him he doesn't like natives.
James is native.
Kappo didn't know what to say. "I'm trying to explain everything to him in a way that won't make him angry," she said.
Kappo is a member of the board of Aboriginal Voices Radio, a network of aboriginal radio stations that plans to soon start broadcasting across Canada.
Last week, organizers of the radio network met with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to announce their startup dates.
Stations in Edmonton, Montreal and Kitchener-Waterloo are scheduled to be on the air this September, following launches June 30 in Calgary, Vancouver and Ottawa.
"We have the money for it. We'll be turning on the switch," said Lewis Cardinal, vice-president of Aboriginal Voices Radio. "We'll be ensuring that aboriginal voices are accessible."
The network has no federal funding but will rely on corporate sponsors and social program funding from commercial stations. When radio stations such as Standard and CHUM radio are granted new licences, they pay a fee to the CRTC that goes to developing community programs.
Organizers started planning the radio network seven years ago, said Cardinal. But it's been a struggle to find the funding.
The group estimates it will cost about $5 million a year to run the network across the country.
"You can't get the money if you have no station. You can't get the station without the money," Cardinal said.
The flagship station in Toronto, where much of the national programming will be produced, has been broadcasting for 21/2 years. It also broadcasts over the Internet at www.aboriginalradio.com.
The station highlights aboriginal people and issues but aims to be inclusive, said Roy Hennessy, chief of operations at the Toronto station.
At least 65 per cent of the music is by Canadian aboriginal artists, drawn from a 7,500-song archive, Hennessy said.
In newscasts, the focus is on bringing an aboriginal perspective to the main events of the day, not focusing exclusively on aboriginal issues.
The network can help mainstream Canadians reach a better understanding of national stories related to First Nations, he said, pointing to the standoff in Caledonia, Ont.
"(The protesters) didn't end up there because they suddenly decided they wanted to be greedy," he said. "It's complex. I don't think the average Canadian understands how aboriginals ended up in the situation they're in today."
Aboriginal Voices Radio isn't the first aboriginal radio broadcaster to start up in Canada, but is unique as a national network.
Among others, CFWE started broadcasting in northern Alberta almost 20 years ago under a federal funding program that has since been cut. It now makes money through radio bingo, said Bert Crowfoot, who heads the station.
But CFWE and Aboriginal Voices Radio are quite different, Crowfoot said.
"We play a lot of that old country and our announcers have a rural type sound. AVR has a more metro, urban-type sound."
Just thought it may be of interest to forum users.