Welcome all to this months edition of Frequency Modulation! Today’s newsletter includes an explanation of why we’re called CFCR and a note from our new General Manager, Joe, highlighting what we’ve been up to here at CFCR.

With the long-awaited June weather finally here (and hopefully to stay), we have a number of events relevant to the station to highlight this month; among them being:

Indigenous History Month. We at CFCR strive to include related Indigenous topics in our many spoken word programmes but would especially like to shoutout Charly Durocher, our long-time host of Sunday’s The Metis Program for all of his great work in his dual Michif/English show. Charly exposes listeners to Metis language, interviews, information, and some good, old-time country music. Thank you, Charly!

Pride Month. Like with Indigenous Canadian content, we also include 2SLGBTQIA+ content and topics across programmes, but would like to highlight Rainbow Country, where half of the show is music, and the other half includes interviews, showcases, and features on various figures & works in the Queer Community. This show is produced at CIUT campus radio at the University of Toronto, and proudly syndicated by CFCR.

Construction Season. This annual event, which is already well under way, may bring up a lot of mixed feelings among those of us here in the city, but it is important to remind ourselves how crucial these delays are in keeping our city chugging along and more accessible to Saskatonians. Hopefully College Bridge opens up at the end of the month but I am obligated to inform you, dear reader, that its closure may continue into early July as I may very well have jinxed it.

Have you ever wondered why we’re called CFCR? Or maybe you’ve wondered if CFCR stands for something? Well, here’s why we have those 4 letters:

CFCR is our call sign; all radio stations have their own unique call sign used to identify transmitter stations that ultimately don’t stand for anything. What this means is that we are the only CFCR station in the world!

Being one of the oldest active international organizations in the world, the International Telegraph Union (ITU) was founded in 1865, making it older than the nation of Canada by around two years.

This group held the first International Radiotelegraph Convention in Imperial Germany in 1906. Here, 27 nations established international standards for ship-to-ship and coast-to-ship wireless telegraphy, as that was the primary use for what we now more commonly refer to as radio-signals. This conference also led to the decision to assign distinct three letter call signs to broadcasting stations—although guidelines for this new system of classification would not be officially dictated until a few years later.

The second International Radiotelegraphy Convention was held in London in 1912. Updating and codifying stricter regulations, as well as the infamous sinking of one very important ocean liner, were important conversations had at this Convention. Confusing, overwhelming, and unclear radio messages—all in Morse code—contributed to the needless tragedy of the RMS Titanic. Updated with new regulations, such as stricter guidelines regarding call signs, led to the unanimous agreement of 37 countries to avert similar outcomes in the future. Different countries were assigned varying initial letter(s). Great Britain had CAA-CMZ to assign to its associated jurisdictions. As part of the British Commonwealth, Canada ended up with CF, CH, CJ, and CK; Newfoundland, not yet a member of Confederation, received CI.

As you can imagine, there have been some changes and updates since the landmark 1912 Conference. The ITU, was renamed to the International Telecommunications Union, and, more relevant to us, Canada’s internationally assigned letters were changed to: CF–CK, VA–VG, VO, VX-VY and XJ–XO. Within Canada the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) hold the authority to assign call letters to broadcasting stations, while the Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada (ISED) group assign call letters to amateur stations. All of the call signs are now four letters long, unless your three letters were assigned before the current regulations (or if you’re CBC).

All of the other stations have three or four letter call signs as well, but most choose to brand themselves outside of their call letters, instead promoting themselves with separate branding. If you’re familiar with other radio stations here in Saskatoon, I’m sure you can think of some that use 4 letters beginning with C as their name and now you know why; CKOM and CJWW are examples of this. However, don’t be fooled by newer stations like 98 Cool or Cruz FM, those aren’t relevant to their call signs, they’re just marketable words chosen by the station.

I reached out to Ron Spizziri, who was part of the crew who started CFCR 35 years ago, and asked him about the call letters. He mentioned some examples of stations that appear to have chosen the last 2 letter of their call signal, such as CFUV broadcasting from the University of Victoria and CKUA which began at the University of Alberta. So, the CR in CFCR was probably chosen to stand for “community radio”. There was some concern with these letters, however, as some people thought the station would get called “C-F*C**R”. I’ll let you fill in those gaps. Thankfully the nickname didn’t stick.

I looked through old newspaper clippings and newsletters and the earlier mention I can find of the CFCR call letters is March 1991 in a Saskatchewan’s Arts and Entertainment Monthly Magazine article.

Hey CFCR, it's me, Joe Manafo. My first month as the new GM was packed with getting to know the station behind the scenes, working with the staff team, and meeting so many great people. Here are some highlights and a few pics I snapped along the way.

It all started with Volunteer Appreciation Day. The station was full of people who show up week after week to host or help because they love CFCR. I heard so many great stories, and the enthusiasm was contagious.

Fast forward to our Annual General Meeting, where I got a real sense of CFCR's history and what makes what we do so special. One of my favourite things was seeing past FM-Phasis and show t-shirts. CFCR has been so cool for 35 years, and counting.

And finally, we said goodbye to Neil Bergen, our outgoing GM, who gave over 20 years of dedicated service to CFCR. Under Neil's leadership, the station grew and put down lasting roots, so it was only fitting to throw a banger of a party at Amigos to say thanks.

One month in, and I already feel at home. 

Here's to what's next,

Joe

CFCR acknowledges that we broadcast from Treaty 6 Territory, the homeland of the Cree and Métis Nations, and the traditional territories of the Dene, Saulteaux, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota. We pay our gratitude to the First Nations and Métis people who have called this ancestral land home for generations, and whose histories, languages, and cultures continue to influence our community. On a foundation of reconciliation, recognition, and respect, CFCR is committed to reaffirming relationships with one another, and to establishing new ones.

Thanks for reading Frequency Modulation. If you would like to share this edition, or peruse previous editions, visit cfcr-community-radio.beehiiv.com.