Welcome Back Ryerson Radio

Years ago CKLN was taken over by radical activists, leading to the station’s independent ownership. It functioned separately from Ryerson, but because it sat within our campus borders, still received funding from the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU). Why did students have to pay for a station that excluded them?

Clearly, Ryerson doesn’t mind funding campus radio. During the CRTC’s investigation of CKLN in 2011, a referendum saw 86 per cent of students vote in favour of financially supporting their bid for the frequency.

But the community radio station gave students nothing to show for their money. In 2000, CKLN passed bylaws to prevent the university’s administration and faculty from sitting on its board, in contravention of CRTC statutes, and despite having been branded as “The voice of Ryerson.”

Read the article at The Ryersonian

h/t Marvin W

What happened to radio at Ryerson?

More disturbing than the lack of students in the office and studios were some of the questions on the application. One of the first asked if I had been a part of the previous board that had been voted out by CKLN members. 

I had no idea that the station was rife with infighting and allegations of financial corruption. The strange application question referred to the ousting of program director Tony Barnes and then station manager Mike Phillips. 

Toronto police were regularly summoned to membership meetings, and the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) withheld $100,000 in student levy funding. CKLN counter-sued for $500,000. The staff was laid off, and the locks were changed. With no programmers manning the boards, a loop of pre-recorded shows played from early March to October of 2009 in gross violation of Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) guidelines.

read the whole article at The Eyeopener

h/t Marvin W.

The inside story of the demise of CKLN Radio

An anonymous blogger calling him or herself "Your CKLN Insider" created a blog called The Real CKLN Exposed, which presents a story of waste, corruption and malfeasance with a rogues' gallery of characters. The blog purports to give the details of what led to the Canadian Radio Television Commission revoking the license for Ryerson University's student radio station.

I don't know how accurate it is, but it makes for very interesting reading.


UPDATE: An anonymous commenter suggested this link to a story from the Ryerson U paper The Eyeopener, which provides some more info on the fall of CKLN.  Thank you and reader tips are always welcome!

Radical, activist radio station CKLN denied appeal of license revocation

CKLN, the Ryerson University radio station that had reportedly been taken over by a radicals with an anti-capitalist activist agenda, and which regularly gave a platform to violent activist group OCAP, lost its appeal against its license revocation.

According to their website, they will continue to broadcast via the Internet.

Marxist, activist radio back on air

Judge gives CKLN stay of execution -

CKLN, the problem-besieged Ryerson University "student" radio station that was taken over by Trotskyist activists to the dismay of many of Ryerson's student body, recently had its license revoked by the Canadian Radio Television Commission.

According to Ryerson's student newspaper, The Eyeopener:

CKLN 88.1FM will continue broadcasting after a judge ruled they could continue operations until a federal court will decide if the station can go forward with their appeal against the CRTC.  

On Jan. 28, the Canadian Radio-Televison and Communications Commission (CRTC) announced the decision to revoke the station’s licence after several instances of non-compliance with the commission’s standards for broadcasting, including failing to fill necessary paperwork and a lack of balanced representation on the station’s board of governors.  

The court is not expected to rule until April at the earliest. Until then, the station will remain on the air.

Marxist Activist Radio Goes Off the Air: CRTC revokes CKLN's broadcast license

From the Canadian Radio Television Commission website:

OTTAWA-GATINEAU, January 28, 2011 —The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) today revoked the licence of CKLN-FM, a community-based campus radio station located at Ryerson University. The licence holder, CKLN Radio Inc., was found to have been in breach of numerous regulations and conditions of licence. It was unable to convince the Commission that it could operate the station in a compliant manner going forward.    

“Holding a broadcasting licence is a privilege that comes with responsibilities and regulatory obligations,” said Konrad von Finckenstein, Q.C., Chairman of the CRTC. “CKLN Radio was given several warnings and opportunities to come into compliance. Each time, it demonstrated an inability or unwillingness to address our concerns. Taking away its licence is the only appropriate course of action in this case.”    

The Commission began investigating CKLN-FM in July 2009 after receiving numerous complaints about the station’s governance structure, day-to-day management and operations, programming and ability to remain on air. At the time, the station experienced significant infighting and the volunteers, staff and management were locked out of the studio premises by the building manager. During the seven-month lockout, CKLN-FM broadcast an intermittent loop of programming without any ongoing community involvement or oversight by the licensee.    

Once it resumed normal operations, CKLN Radio Inc. lacked any significant quality-control mechanism for its programming and there was little involvement from the Ryerson University student body despite its status as a campus radio station. It was also unable to meet some of the basic requirements of all licence holders, which include the submission of audible on-air tapes, program log and other records, and complete annual returns.   

Today’s decision follows a proceeding that included a public hearing, which was held on December 8 and 9, 2010.