CFYN (AM)
Encyclopedia
CFYN was a Canadian
AM radio station, which broadcast at 1050 kHz in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
from 1977 to 1992. From 1934 to 1977, the station broadcast with the call sign CJIC.
, CJIC signed on October 25, 1934. It was owned by Grant Hyland and Jack Whitby and broadcast from studios in the city's Windsor Hotel. By 1935, programming had been expanded and, over time, several notable announcers were added to the staff.
In 1936, Grant Hyland bought out his partner to take total control of the station.
In 1939, the first radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
, WSOO
signed on. This introduced competition to the market for both listeners and advertising dollars. Services were expanded with more news and sports coverage being introduced, as both stations tried to serve both cities. CJIC became an affiliate of the CBC
Trans-Canada Network
while WSOO was an affiliate of ABC
. Service to the market became more cosmopolitan as a result.
On March 29, 1941, CJIC moved from 1500 kHz to 1490 kHz. It's unknown if 1500 kHz was the original AM frequency used when CJIC first launched in 1934. Prior to the station's permanent sign off in 1992 as CFYN, the frequency was at 1050 kHz. The date of the frequency change to 1050 kHz is unknown.
In 1955, Highland Broadcasting opened CJIC-TV
, bringing CBC Television
service to the Sault.
In 1956, Hyland died, leaving the stations to his family. Russ Ramsay
was appointed manager.
With CJIC presenting a popular music, news and sports format, in 1964, CJIC-FM
signed on, presenting a varied mix of easy listening programming to the Sault. Hyland Radio and TV also established a station in Wawa, Ontario
called CJWA
. Some of the programming on this station was simulcast
from CJIC.
Mac McCurdy would go on to be the president of Standard Broadcasting
.
Don Ramsay
introduced country music on radio to the twin Sault's from 1942 to 1986. He was also a founding member of the Country Music Disc Jockey Association.
Harvey Kirck
's first on air staff job was as a newscaster on CJIC in 1948. He would go on to co-anchor the CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson
.
John Rhodes
was a popular radio morning show host and television host and sportscaster. He was elected mayor of Sault Ste. Marie and was later elected as the Sault's MLA at Queen's Park from 1971 to 1978. During that time, he served as Ontario's Minister of Transportation.
In addition to being the station manager, Russ Ramsay was a well known sportscaster and play-by-play announcer. He was elected MLA after John Rhodes had died. He served from 1978 to 1985. He held the Labour portfolio in the Bill Davis Conservative government at Queen's Park.
, owned by a group of businessmen from the Sault and Sudbury. Huron also bought CKCY
, CKCY-FM, CJNR
in Blind River
, CKNR
in Elliot Lake and CKNS
in Espanola
from Algonquin Broadcasting.
Due to CRTC regulations regarding concentration of media ownership
, Huron was required to sell one AM and one FM license in Sault Ste. Marie. Huron sold CJIC and CJIC-FM to Gilder Broadcasting, owned by former CKCY personality Russ Hilderly and local businessman Bruce Pickersgill.
As part of CRTC approval of the sale, Gilder Broadcasting was given new call signs for its radio stations and on February 1, 1977, the stations became CFYN and CHAS-FM.
On February 1, 1977, CFYN signed on with an on-air lineup that included Norman M from 6:00 to 10:00 am. Joe Petrolo was the main news anchor and Randy Russon was the sports director. Russ Hilderley, president and CEO of Gilder, hosted Reaching Out, a daily phone-in program from 10:00 am to noon, and other hosts included Fred Edwards from noon to 2:00 pm and Brian W. Martin from 2:00 to 6:00 pm. From 6:00 pm on, the station broadcast a variety of CBC and syndicated programming. The overnight program was simulcast from CHAS-FM.
was the morning show host over a three year period from 1979 to 1982. "Woody" brought an outrageous style and humour that Sault radio had not really heard to that point. Wood subsequently moved to North Bay
, where he served as the federal Member of Parliament for Nipissing
from 1988 to 2004.
News director John Campbell, who joined the station in 1979, introduced listeners to the daily "Campbell Comment". His commentaries ranged from goings on at Algoma Steel to the Language Resolution and beyond and often generated talk in the community and occasionally rebuttals and headlines in the local papers.
was being introduced in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The arrival of YES-FM fragmented the Sault radio audience and made it increasingly difficult for AM music based formats to maintain their audiences. CFYN struggled over the next seven years changing formats several times from adult contemporary, to a combination of news, sports and oldies, to country music.
In 1992, Telemedia and the Pelmorex Radio Network, then owners of CKCY and CJQM-FM
applied to the CRTC and were allowed to shut down both CFYN and CKCY. The two FM stations went on to form one of Canada's first LMA
s and moved into shared office and studio space, with Pelmorex being the managing partner in the arrangement. Fifteen staff at the former Telemedia operation were laid off.
CFYN went dark on August 31, 1992.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
AM radio station, which broadcast at 1050 kHz in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
from 1977 to 1992. From 1934 to 1977, the station broadcast with the call sign CJIC.
CJIC
The first radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, OntarioSault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
, CJIC signed on October 25, 1934. It was owned by Grant Hyland and Jack Whitby and broadcast from studios in the city's Windsor Hotel. By 1935, programming had been expanded and, over time, several notable announcers were added to the staff.
In 1936, Grant Hyland bought out his partner to take total control of the station.
In 1939, the first radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
, WSOO
WSOO
WSOO is a radio station in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The station airs a gold-based Soft Adult Contemporary format during daytime hours, featuring music from the 1960s through the 2000s, and features sports talk programming from ESPN Radio at night....
signed on. This introduced competition to the market for both listeners and advertising dollars. Services were expanded with more news and sports coverage being introduced, as both stations tried to serve both cities. CJIC became an affiliate of the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
Trans-Canada Network
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
while WSOO was an affiliate of ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Service to the market became more cosmopolitan as a result.
On March 29, 1941, CJIC moved from 1500 kHz to 1490 kHz. It's unknown if 1500 kHz was the original AM frequency used when CJIC first launched in 1934. Prior to the station's permanent sign off in 1992 as CFYN, the frequency was at 1050 kHz. The date of the frequency change to 1050 kHz is unknown.
In 1955, Highland Broadcasting opened CJIC-TV
CJIC-TV
CJIC-TV was a television station in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. In operation from 1955 to 2002 as a private affiliate of CBC Television, it now operates only a repeater of the network's flagship station in Toronto, CBLT.-History:...
, bringing CBC Television
CBC Television
CBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
service to the Sault.
In 1956, Hyland died, leaving the stations to his family. Russ Ramsay
Russ Ramsay
Russell Harold Ramsay was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1978 to 1985, and was a cabinet minister in the government of William Davis. Ramsay was a member of the Progressive Conservative Party.Ramsay was born in Sault Ste...
was appointed manager.
With CJIC presenting a popular music, news and sports format, in 1964, CJIC-FM
CHAS-FM
CHAS-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The station, owned by Rogers Radio, uses the on-air brand EZ Rock...
signed on, presenting a varied mix of easy listening programming to the Sault. Hyland Radio and TV also established a station in Wawa, Ontario
Wawa, Ontario
Wawa is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Algoma District. Formerly known as the township of Michipicoten, the township was officially renamed for its largest and best-known community in 2009....
called CJWA
CJWA-FM
CJWA-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 107.1 FM in Wawa, Ontario. The station broadcasts an adult contemporary format under the on-air brand JJAM or JJAM FM....
. Some of the programming on this station was simulcast
Simulcast
Simulcast, shorthand for "simultaneous broadcast", refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are often...
from CJIC.
CJIC Personalities
Bruce Smith and Don Sims were both announcers at CJIC. They went on to have lengthy careers with CBC.Mac McCurdy would go on to be the president of Standard Broadcasting
Standard Broadcasting
Slaight Communications is a Canadian radio broadcasting company. The company was first formed as Slaight Broadcasting in 1971, when owner J. Allan Slaight acquired CFGM in Richmond Hill...
.
Don Ramsay
Don Ramsay
Don Ramsay was a Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario personality who had a 45 year career primarily on CJIC radio and CJIC-TV. Ramsay became well known as "your old saddle pal" and as "the dean of country music".-History:...
introduced country music on radio to the twin Sault's from 1942 to 1986. He was also a founding member of the Country Music Disc Jockey Association.
Harvey Kirck
Harvey Kirck
Harvey Kirck was a Canadian news anchor. Born in Northern Ontario, Kirck moved with his family to Toronto in 1943.-Radio Days:His career began in radio at Sault Ste...
's first on air staff job was as a newscaster on CJIC in 1948. He would go on to co-anchor the CTV National News with Lloyd Robertson
Lloyd Robertson
Lloyd Robertson, OC is the currently the co-host of CTV's weekly magazine series, W5. Robertson previously served as the chief anchor and senior editor of CTV's national evening newscast, CTV News with Lloyd Robertson, until September, 2011, when he retired from the CTV National News...
.
John Rhodes
John Reginald Rhodes
John Reginald Rhodes was a broadcaster and politician from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.He was born in Sault Ste. Marie, the son of John Francis Rhodes, and educated there. In 1955, he married Vivian Louise Shook. Rhodes was a popular radio and television personality on CJIC in the 1960s. Rhodes...
was a popular radio morning show host and television host and sportscaster. He was elected mayor of Sault Ste. Marie and was later elected as the Sault's MLA at Queen's Park from 1971 to 1978. During that time, he served as Ontario's Minister of Transportation.
In addition to being the station manager, Russ Ramsay was a well known sportscaster and play-by-play announcer. He was elected MLA after John Rhodes had died. He served from 1978 to 1985. He held the Labour portfolio in the Bill Davis Conservative government at Queen's Park.
Sale of Hyland Radio and TV
In 1976, the Hyland family sold its radio, television and cable interests to Huron BroadcastingHuron Broadcasting
Huron Broadcasting was a Canadian radio and television broadcasting company, active in Sault Ste. Marie from 1976 to 1990.The company first entered the broadcasting business in 1976, when it acquired the assets of the city's prior Highland Broadcasting and Algonquin Broadcasting companies,...
, owned by a group of businessmen from the Sault and Sudbury. Huron also bought CKCY
CKCY (AM)
CKCY was a Canadian radio station, which signed on May 25, 1955 and broadcast until August 30, 1992 in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.The station was originally launched by Algonquin Radio, a local business consortium led by Carmen Greco, with a 250 watt signal at 1400 on the AM dial...
, CKCY-FM, CJNR
CJNR (AM)
"CJNR" redirects here: Canadian Journal of Nursing Research.CJNR was a former radio station which operated at AM 730 kHz in Blind River, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
in Blind River
Blind River, Ontario
Population trend:* Population in 2006: 3780* Population in 2001: 3969* Population in 1996: 3152 * Population in 1991: 3355-Economy:Its main businesses are tourism, fishing, logging, and uranium refining....
, CKNR
CKNR-FM
CKNR-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts an adult contemporary format at FM 94.1 in Elliot Lake, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand Moose FM.-History:...
in Elliot Lake and CKNS
CKNS (AM)
CKNS was a former radio station which operated on AM 930 kHz in Espanola, Ontario, Canada.-History:On February 6, 1976, Algonquin Radio-TV Co. Ltd. was given approval to operate a new AM station at Espanola. It would broadcast on 930 kHz with a power of 10,000 watts. CKNS began broadcasting at...
in Espanola
Espanola, Ontario
Espanola is a town in Northern Ontario, Canada, and is the seat of Sudbury District. It is situated on the Spanish River, approximately 70 kilometres west of downtown Sudbury, and just south of the junction of Highway 6 and Highway 17.- History :The name "Espanola" has been attributed to a story...
from Algonquin Broadcasting.
Due to CRTC regulations regarding concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership refers to a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media...
, Huron was required to sell one AM and one FM license in Sault Ste. Marie. Huron sold CJIC and CJIC-FM to Gilder Broadcasting, owned by former CKCY personality Russ Hilderly and local businessman Bruce Pickersgill.
As part of CRTC approval of the sale, Gilder Broadcasting was given new call signs for its radio stations and on February 1, 1977, the stations became CFYN and CHAS-FM.
CFYN
CFYN broadcast in Sault Ste. Marie from 1977 to 1992. Following the change of ownership in 1977, the majority of the on air staffs and news departments of Hyland and Algonquin stayed with Huron Broadcasting, leaving Gilder Broadcasting to find a new staff for its two stations.On February 1, 1977, CFYN signed on with an on-air lineup that included Norman M from 6:00 to 10:00 am. Joe Petrolo was the main news anchor and Randy Russon was the sports director. Russ Hilderley, president and CEO of Gilder, hosted Reaching Out, a daily phone-in program from 10:00 am to noon, and other hosts included Fred Edwards from noon to 2:00 pm and Brian W. Martin from 2:00 to 6:00 pm. From 6:00 pm on, the station broadcast a variety of CBC and syndicated programming. The overnight program was simulcast from CHAS-FM.
CFYN Personalities
Bob WoodBob Wood (MP)
Bob Wood is a former Canadian politician. He represented the riding of Nipissing in the Canadian House of Commons from 1988 to 2004. He was a member of the Liberal Party....
was the morning show host over a three year period from 1979 to 1982. "Woody" brought an outrageous style and humour that Sault radio had not really heard to that point. Wood subsequently moved to North Bay
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
, where he served as the federal Member of Parliament for Nipissing
Nipissing (electoral district)
Nipissing was a federal electoral district that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1896 to 2004. It was located in the northeastern part of Ontario, Canada....
from 1988 to 2004.
News director John Campbell, who joined the station in 1979, introduced listeners to the daily "Campbell Comment". His commentaries ranged from goings on at Algoma Steel to the Language Resolution and beyond and often generated talk in the community and occasionally rebuttals and headlines in the local papers.
Sale to Telemedia
In 1985, CFYN and CHAS-FM were sold to Telemedia Communications. But just as Telemedia was establishing itself in the Sault Ste. Marie market, unregulated all hit radio in the form of WYSSWYSS
WYSS is a radio station broadcasting at 99.5 FM in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Branded as "99.5 Yes FM," the station has had a Top 40 format since 1985. Programming on Yes FM includes American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest, Rick Dees' Weekly Top 40, Romeo's Playhouse and Open House Party...
was being introduced in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. The arrival of YES-FM fragmented the Sault radio audience and made it increasingly difficult for AM music based formats to maintain their audiences. CFYN struggled over the next seven years changing formats several times from adult contemporary, to a combination of news, sports and oldies, to country music.
In 1992, Telemedia and the Pelmorex Radio Network, then owners of CKCY and CJQM-FM
CJQM-FM
CJQM-FM is a Canadian radio station at 104.3 FM in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. The station broadcasts a country music format under the slogan and branding, "Today's Country, Q104." Despite the "Today's Country" branding, the format is actually a mix of current and classic country hits, with the...
applied to the CRTC and were allowed to shut down both CFYN and CKCY. The two FM stations went on to form one of Canada's first LMA
LMA
LMA may refer to:* Laryngeal mask airway, a mask used in anaesthesia and emergency medicine.* Leaf Mass per Area* League Managers Association, an organization representing managers of English football clubs....
s and moved into shared office and studio space, with Pelmorex being the managing partner in the arrangement. Fifteen staff at the former Telemedia operation were laid off.
CFYN went dark on August 31, 1992.
External links
- Rock Radio Scrapbook - this site features two airchecks of CJIC-AM, one of Dick Peplow's nighttime Top 40 show in 1965 and the other from the station's "All Good Music" (MOR/adult contemporary) days in 1975.
- History of CJIC/CFYN at Canadian Communications FoundationCanadian Communications FoundationThe Canadian Communications Foundation is a history of Canadian broadcasting for radio and television chronicles and documents. It also provides a history of radio and television stations, including networks, programs, broadcasters and many others....