CKUA
Encyclopedia
CKUA is a Canadian
radio station. Originally located at the University of Alberta
in Edmonton (hence the UA of the call letters), it now broadcasts from studios in downtown Edmonton and south Calgary. CKUA was created in 1927 through a provincial grant which allowed the University of Alberta's Extension Department to purchase the licence of CFCK. CKUA was the first public broadcaster in Canada and also the first to offer educational radio programming, including music concerts, poetry readings, and university lectures. From 1930 to 1931 the station was an affiliate of the CNR Radio
network. CKUA was operated from 1945 until 1974 by Alberta Government Telephones
. A crown corporation, the Alberta Educational Communications Corporation
(later known as Access), assumed ownership of the station in 1974. In 1994, Access sold the CKUA network to the non-profit CKUA Radio Foundation for $10.
In 1997 the station was nearly shut down due to political squabbles, poor management, and attempts at privatization. The station was saved from demise when control was handed over to the public from directors appointed by the provincial government. As of 2005, more than two-thirds of the station's funding came from its listeners in the form of donations.
, Jann Arden
, and Bruce Cockburn
. In addition, the employ of CKUA has contributed to the careers of Arthur Hiller
, Robert Goulet
, and Tommy Banks
, among others. Throughout the 1930s an early radio drama
series, CKUA Players, was produced out of the station and broadcast throughout Western Canada
by a network of stations.
CKUA schedules different programs throughout the week and thus can offer many different genres. These include, but are not limited to: blues, bluegrass, R & B, Celtic, country, classical, jazz, reggae, house, hip hop, dance, funk, rock, and world music. CKUA's music library boasts one of the largest and most diverse music collections in Canada, with over 70,000 CD
s, 50,000 LPs, and 10,000 78 rpm records, as well as a few aluminium transcription discs
, 45s, and other various media formats. CKUA also continues its history of educational programming with its broadcast of telecourses offered by the music and history departments of Athabasca University
on weeknights. A highlight of weekday programming is the daily Call of the Land, a farm and agribusiness news program rumoured to be the basis of the SCTV
parody, "Farm Film Blow-Up".
through a network of 17 transmitters. CKUA also broadcasts in western Canada on select satellite providers. As of February 29, 1996, CKUA became the first radio station in Canada to stream
their broadcast online, and now has upgraded the service to carry in excess of five hundred streams. A new digital stream is in the testing phase. The station currently has over 160,000 weekly listeners.
Because of CKUA's extensive coverage, the station was one of only a handful of broadcasters (another being Access
) to carry the Alberta Emergency Public Warning System
. The provincial government-funded programme provided the station with 12% of its annual income until the contract was lost to an Ottawa firm in January 2010.
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...
radio station. Originally located at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
in Edmonton (hence the UA of the call letters), it now broadcasts from studios in downtown Edmonton and south Calgary. CKUA was created in 1927 through a provincial grant which allowed the University of Alberta's Extension Department to purchase the licence of CFCK. CKUA was the first public broadcaster in Canada and also the first to offer educational radio programming, including music concerts, poetry readings, and university lectures. From 1930 to 1931 the station was an affiliate of the CNR Radio
CNR Radio
CNR Radio or CN Radio was the first national radio network in North America. It was developed, owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway between 1923 and 1932 to provide en route entertainment and information for its train passengers...
network. CKUA was operated from 1945 until 1974 by Alberta Government Telephones
Alberta Government Telephones
Alberta Government Telephones was formed by the Liberal government of Alexander Cameron Rutherford in 1906 following the acquisitions by the government of several independent telephone companies...
. A crown corporation, the Alberta Educational Communications Corporation
Access (TV channel)
CTV Two Alberta is a Canadian English language entertainment, information, and educational television channel in the province of Alberta...
(later known as Access), assumed ownership of the station in 1974. In 1994, Access sold the CKUA network to the non-profit CKUA Radio Foundation for $10.
In 1997 the station was nearly shut down due to political squabbles, poor management, and attempts at privatization. The station was saved from demise when control was handed over to the public from directors appointed by the provincial government. As of 2005, more than two-thirds of the station's funding came from its listeners in the form of donations.
Culture
CKUA is considered a cultural icon by many musicians throughout Canada. The station's practice of supporting local, independent, and non-commercial artists has helped launch the careers of such renowned musicians as k.d. langK.D. Lang
Kathryn Dawn Lang, OC , known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress...
, Jann Arden
Jann Arden
Jann Arden is a Canadian singer-songwriter.-Life and career:Arden was born and raised near Calgary in Springbank, Alberta and attended Springbank Community High School. Her breakthrough came with her critically acclaimed 1993 debut album Time for Mercy and her first single "I Would Die For You"...
, and Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Cockburn
Bruce Douglas Cockburn OC is a Canadian folk/rock guitarist and singer-songwriter. His most recent album was released in March 2011. He has written songs in styles ranging from folk to jazz-influenced rock to rock and roll.-Biography:...
. In addition, the employ of CKUA has contributed to the careers of Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller
Arthur Hiller, OC is a Canadian film director. His filmography includes 33 major studio releases, including the 1970 film Love Story...
, Robert Goulet
Robert Goulet
Robert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
, and Tommy Banks
Tommy Banks
Thomas Benjamin "Tommy" Banks, OC, AOE is a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and Senator....
, among others. Throughout the 1930s an early radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
series, CKUA Players, was produced out of the station and broadcast throughout Western Canada
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces and commonly as the West, is a region of Canada that includes the four provinces west of the province of Ontario.- Provinces :...
by a network of stations.
CKUA schedules different programs throughout the week and thus can offer many different genres. These include, but are not limited to: blues, bluegrass, R & B, Celtic, country, classical, jazz, reggae, house, hip hop, dance, funk, rock, and world music. CKUA's music library boasts one of the largest and most diverse music collections in Canada, with over 70,000 CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
s, 50,000 LPs, and 10,000 78 rpm records, as well as a few aluminium transcription discs
Aluminum disc
An aluminium disc is a disk made out of aluminium and is used as a transcription disc in magnetic recording media, specifically early radio recordings...
, 45s, and other various media formats. CKUA also continues its history of educational programming with its broadcast of telecourses offered by the music and history departments of Athabasca University
Athabasca University
Athabasca University is a Canadian university in Athabasca, Alberta. It is an accredited research institution which also offers distance education courses and programs. Courses are offered primarily in English with some French offerings. Each year, 32,000 students attend the university. It offers...
on weeknights. A highlight of weekday programming is the daily Call of the Land, a farm and agribusiness news program rumoured to be the basis of the SCTV
Second City Television
Second City Television is a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from Toronto's The Second City troupe that ran between 1976 and 1984.- Premise :...
parody, "Farm Film Blow-Up".
Broadcast technics
The station broadcasts its signal across the Province of Alberta at 580 kHz on the AM band through one Edmonton-based transmitter. The signal is also carried province-wide on FMFM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
through a network of 17 transmitters. CKUA also broadcasts in western Canada on select satellite providers. As of February 29, 1996, CKUA became the first radio station in Canada to stream
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
their broadcast online, and now has upgraded the service to carry in excess of five hundred streams. A new digital stream is in the testing phase. The station currently has over 160,000 weekly listeners.
Because of CKUA's extensive coverage, the station was one of only a handful of broadcasters (another being Access
Access (TV channel)
CTV Two Alberta is a Canadian English language entertainment, information, and educational television channel in the province of Alberta...
) to carry the Alberta Emergency Public Warning System
Emergency Public Warning System
The Emergency Public Warning System was a system used in the province of Alberta, Canada until October 2011, whereby local or provincial authorities could warn the public about impending or current emergencies affecting their area...
. The provincial government-funded programme provided the station with 12% of its annual income until the contract was lost to an Ottawa firm in January 2010.
Current
- Chris Allen
- Mark Antonelli
- Michael Asch
- Dilbagh Singh Bhangoo, who uses the on-air name "Baba"
- Allison Brock
- Deborah Byrd
- Bob Chelmick
- Lark Clark
- Cheryl Croucher
- Tom Coxworth
- Ken Davis
- Tony Dillon-Davis
- Andy Donnelly
- Diane Donovan
- Brian Dunsmore
- Steve Fisher
- Roy ForbesRoy ForbesRoy Forbes is a Canadian folk music singer-songwriter, whose music bears heavy influences from classic American genres of acoustic blues and traditional country....
- Brian Golightly
- Ian Gray
- David Gregory
- Cam Hayden
- Don Hill
- Sarah Hoyles
- Tony King
- Craig Korth
- Monica Miller
- Terry David MulliganTerry David MulliganTerry David Mulligan is a Canadian actor and radio and television personality based in Vancouver, British Columbia.Born in New Westminster, British Columbia, Mulligan's first career was as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in Olds, Alberta and Red Deer, Alberta from 1960 through 1964...
- Peter North
- Holger PetersenHolger PetersenHolger Petersen, CM is a Canadian businessman, record producer and radio broadcaster. He owns and operates the independent roots music label Stony Plain Records, and hosts the programs Saturday Night Blues on CBC Radio One and Natch'l Blues on the CKUA Radio Network. Petersen was a founder of the...
- Lionel Rault
- Kathleen Renne
- Caitlynn Reesor
- Orest Soltykevych
- Grant Stovel
- Luka Symons
- Kevin Wilson
- John Worthington
Previous
- Tommy BanksTommy BanksThomas Benjamin "Tommy" Banks, OC, AOE is a Canadian pianist, conductor, arranger, composer, television personality and Senator....
- Don Bell
- Garth Collins
- Bill Coull
- Cathy Ennis
- Robert GouletRobert GouletRobert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
- Ed Kilpatrick
- Prosper Prodaniuk
- Jan RandallJan RandallCanadian composer Jan Randall is known primarily for his work in television and theatre. A pianist and singer, he has composed chamber music and songs in a wide variety of contemporary styles.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1952...
- John Runge
- Sev Sabourin
- George Vaitkunas
- Marc Vasey
- David Ward
Transmitters
| City of licence | Frequency | Callsign | CRTC Decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Athabasca Athabasca, Alberta Athabasca is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It lies north of Edmonton on Highway 2, on the banks of the Athabasca River. It is the centre of Athabasca County. Until 1913 it was known as Athabasca Landing.- History :... |
98.3 FM | CKUA-FM-10 | |
| Banff Banff, Alberta Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise.... /Canmore Canmore, Alberta Canmore is a town in Alberta, Canada, located approximately west of the City of Calgary near the southeast boundary of Banff National Park. It is located in the Bow Valley within Alberta's Rockies. The town shares a border with Kananaskis Country to the west and south and the Municipal District of... |
104.3 FM | CKUA-FM-14 | 86-1098 |
| Calgary Calgary Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies... |
93.7 FM | CKUA-FM-1 | |
| Drumheller | 91.3 FM | CKUA-FM-13 | |
| Edmonton Edmonton Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census... /Province wide |
580 AM | CKUA (flagship) | |
| Edmonton Edmonton Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census... |
94.9 FM | CKUA-FM (flagship) | |
| Edson Edson, Alberta Edson is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Yellowhead County, west of Edmonton along the Yellowhead Highway and east of the intersection with Highway 47.- History :left|thumb|200px|Welcome Sign... |
103.7 FM | CKUA-FM-8 | |
| Fort McMurray | 96.7 FM | CKUA-FM-11 | |
| Grande Prairie | 100.9 FM | CKUA-FM-4 | |
| Hinton Hinton, Alberta Hinton is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada.It is located in Yellowhead County, northeast of Jasper and about west of Alberta's capital city, Edmonton, at the intersection of Yellowhead and Bighorn Highway, in the Athabasca River valley.-History:... |
102.5 FM | CKUA-FM-7 | |
| Lethbridge Lethbridge Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's... |
99.3 FM | CKUA-FM-2 | |
| Lloydminister | 97.5 FM | CKUA-FM-15 | |
| Medicine Hat | 97.3 FM | CKUA-FM-3 | |
| Peace River Peace River, Alberta Peace River is a town in northwestern Alberta, Canada, situated along the banks of the Peace River, at its confluence with the Smoky River, the Heart River and Pat's Creek. It is located northwest of Edmonton, and northeast of Grande Prairie, along Highway 2. The Peace River townsite is nearly ... |
96.9 FM | CKUA-FM-5 | |
| Red Deer Red Deer, Alberta Red Deer is a city in Central Alberta, Canada. It is located near the midpoint of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor and is surrounded by Red Deer County. It is Alberta's third-most-populous city – after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills... |
107.7 FM | CKUA-FM-6 | 2007-25 |
| Spirit River Spirit River, Alberta Spirit River is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located north of Grande Prairie at the junction of Highway 49 and Highway 731.The community is largely agricultural, being located in the fertile Peace Country. Together with neighboring Rycroft, it is a service centre for the oil and gas... |
99.5 FM | CKUA-FM-12 | |
| Whitecourt Whitecourt, Alberta Whitecourt is a town in Alberta, Canada within Woodlands County. It is located northwest of Edmonton and southeast of Grande Prairie at the junction of Highway 43 and Highway 32 and has an elevation of .... |
107.1 FM | CKUA-FM-9 |
External links and references
- CKUA: Radio Worth Fighting For, by Marylu Walters; University of Alberta Press
- CKUA
- Broadcast Frequency List http://www.ckua.com/listen/frequencies.html
- CKUA History from the 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....
- "CFCK" later became "CKUA" - History from the Canadian Communications Foundation
- CKUA: Fifty years of growth for the university's own station by Jean Kirkman