Leora Kornfeld
Encyclopedia
Leora Kornfeld is a Canadian
businessperson and former radio personality. She was best known for hosting Realtime
on CBC Stereo in the 1990s, which was billed as the first radio program in the world to integrate emerging Internet
technologies such as e-mail
and IRC into its program format.
Kornfeld got her start in radio at CITR-FM
, the campus station at the University of British Columbia
, where fellow disc jockeys included Terry McBride, founder of the Nettwerk
label, former Globe and Mail
music critic Chris Dafoe and Vancouver Jazz Festival founder Robert Kerr. After graduating from UBC she went on to work at CFOX-FM
, first as a technical operator during the 2-6 a.m. shift and then as the writer for the syndicated program The Rock Journal. Following her stint at CFOX she ventured into television writing at the CBC
. Her first job there was on the short-lived late night teen series pilot 1. She then went on to work on the final season of Switchback and the inaugural season of Streetcents.
Kornfeld made the leap from CBC Television to CBC Radio
, starting as a writer/producer and eventually as host of the music magazine program The Beat heard on CBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 in the early 90's, and continued her hosting duties at CBC on the programs Realtime (1994–1997) and Radiosonic (1997–1999). Realtime was merged in 1997 with David Wisdom
's Nightlines
into a new program called RadioSonic
, and Kornfeld and Wisdom continued as cohosts of RadioSonic until 1999, at which time Kornfeld took a leave from CBC to pursue graduate studies in Media & Communications at Goldsmiths College, University of London.
In 2002 Kornfeld founded Ubiquity Interactive, a company which develops interactive communications technologies such as multimedia museum guides and cellular phone applications.
She now limits her participation in broadcasting to occasionally providing guerilla journalist Nardwuar the Human Serviette
with obscure facts about musicians, artists, and assorted celebrities, and has contributed DVD commentary for his 2006 and 2007 DVDs. She did, however, appear on CBC Radio 3
on March 17, 2007, during a special program to mark the end of the network's terrestrial simulcast on Radio Two.
Since 2008 Kornfeld has been a Research Associate at Harvard. Her work focuses on the new models of communication and new business structures enabled by digital, connected networks. Her published work includes cases on digital marketing in the music industry, politics in the age of social media, and how organizations such as Coca-Cola and Ford have pioneered new marketing strategies based on user-generated content.
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...
businessperson and former radio personality. She was best known for hosting Realtime
Realtime (radio show)
Realtime was a Canadian radio show, which aired Saturday evenings on CBC Stereo from 1994 to 1997.Hosted by Leora Kornfeld, the series was a pop culture magazine and interview show which was billed as the first live radio program in the world to integrate Internet technologies such as e-mail and...
on CBC Stereo in the 1990s, which was billed as the first radio program in the world to integrate emerging Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
technologies such as e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and IRC into its program format.
Kornfeld got her start in radio at CITR-FM
CITR-FM
CITR-FM, normally branded CiTR , is a Canadian FM radio station based out of the University of British Columbia's Student Union Building in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia.CiTR is operated by UBC students and community volunteers under the...
, the campus station at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
, where fellow disc jockeys included Terry McBride, founder of the Nettwerk
Nettwerk
The Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Management, Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk One Publishing, Nutone Records, and Artwerk. With over 150 employees, the Vancouver-based company has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Nashville, and Hamburg...
label, former Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
music critic Chris Dafoe and Vancouver Jazz Festival founder Robert Kerr. After graduating from UBC she went on to work at CFOX-FM
CFOX-FM
CFOX-FM is a Canadian radio station in the Greater Vancouver region of British Columbia. It broadcasts at 99.3 MHz on the FM band with an effective radiated power of 75,000 watts from a transmitter on Mount Seymour in the District of North Vancouver. Studios are located in Downtown Vancouver,...
, first as a technical operator during the 2-6 a.m. shift and then as the writer for the syndicated program The Rock Journal. Following her stint at CFOX she ventured into television writing at the CBC
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...
. Her first job there was on the short-lived late night teen series pilot 1. She then went on to work on the final season of Switchback and the inaugural season of Streetcents.
Kornfeld made the leap from CBC Television to CBC Radio
CBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
, starting as a writer/producer and eventually as host of the music magazine program The Beat heard on CBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 in the early 90's, and continued her hosting duties at CBC on the programs Realtime (1994–1997) and Radiosonic (1997–1999). Realtime was merged in 1997 with David Wisdom
David Wisdom
David Wisdom is a former Canadian radio personality, who hosted the music programs Nightlines, RadioSonic, Radio-On, and Pearls of Wisdom on CBC Radio 2. He has been called "the Canadian equivalent of John Peel"...
's Nightlines
Nightlines
Nightlines was a Canadian radio series, which aired on CBC Stereo from 1982 to 1997. The show, which aired on Friday and Saturday nights, profiled independent and alternative music.The show's original host was Ron Robinson...
into a new program called RadioSonic
RadioSonic
RadioSonic was a Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio 2 from 1997 to 2003.RadioSonic, which aired on Saturday evenings, was originally created by combining two predecessor programs, David Wisdom's Nightlines and Leora Kornfeld's Realtime. Both Wisdom and Kornfeld remained as hosts of...
, and Kornfeld and Wisdom continued as cohosts of RadioSonic until 1999, at which time Kornfeld took a leave from CBC to pursue graduate studies in Media & Communications at Goldsmiths College, University of London.
In 2002 Kornfeld founded Ubiquity Interactive, a company which develops interactive communications technologies such as multimedia museum guides and cellular phone applications.
She now limits her participation in broadcasting to occasionally providing guerilla journalist Nardwuar the Human Serviette
Nardwuar the Human Serviette
Nardwuar the Human Serviette is a Canadian celebrity interviewer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He is the lead singer and keyboardist for The Evaporators and plays in Thee Goblins....
with obscure facts about musicians, artists, and assorted celebrities, and has contributed DVD commentary for his 2006 and 2007 DVDs. She did, however, appear on CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
on March 17, 2007, during a special program to mark the end of the network's terrestrial simulcast on Radio Two.
Since 2008 Kornfeld has been a Research Associate at Harvard. Her work focuses on the new models of communication and new business structures enabled by digital, connected networks. Her published work includes cases on digital marketing in the music industry, politics in the age of social media, and how organizations such as Coca-Cola and Ford have pioneered new marketing strategies based on user-generated content.