Ross Porter (Canadian broadcaster)
Encyclopedia
Ross Porter is a Canadian
broadcast executive and music writer. Best known as the longtime host and co-creator of the jazz
program After Hours
on CBC Stereo and pop culture reporter for CBC Television
's The National and CBC Newsworld
's On the Arts, he became head of the jazz television channel CoolTV
in 2001. He was voted Jazz Broadcaster of the year twice, and received the Canwest Award for Outstanding Contribution to Jazz from his friend and mentor Izzy Asper
.
In 2004, he became president and CEO of JAZZ.FM91
, a non-profit public radio station
in Toronto
devoted to jazz programming. In 2005, he created the station's major annual fund raising event, Jazz Lives. The concerts have sold out for the last four years. In the winter of 2006, he rebranded and refocussed the station's annual concert series The Sound of Toronto into the highly popular Sound of Jazz series.
Recently, Porter was responsible for moving the station from the Ryerson campus to its current location in Liberty Village
, and for delivering the most successful BBM book in the history of JAZZ.FM91, with 300,000 plus listeners in December 2007.
Porter also published a consumer guide to jazz recordings, The Essential Jazz Recordings: 101 CDs, in 2006. In 2007, the book went into its second printing.
In the spring of 2009, the Jazz Journalists Association
nominated Porter for the Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Broadcasting.
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...
broadcast executive and music writer. Best known as the longtime host and co-creator of the jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
program After Hours
After Hours (radio show)
After Hours was a jazz-oriented program that aired from Monday to Friday from 10:05 p.m.-12 midnight on CBC Radio 2. The show was hosted by Andy Sheppard and originated from CBC Radio 2's Winnipeg studio at CBW-FM....
on CBC Stereo and pop culture reporter for 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...
's The National and CBC Newsworld
CBC Newsworld
CBC News Network is a Canadian English language Category C specialty news channel owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation . It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. It is the world's third-oldest television service of this nature, after CNN in the United States and...
's On the Arts, he became head of the jazz television channel CoolTV
CoolTV
CoolTV was a Canadian English language category 2 digital cable specialty channel dedicated to the musical genres of jazz, blues and world music; including music videos, movies, concerts, and television series. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, CoolTV was owned by Canwest Media, a division of Canwest...
in 2001. He was voted Jazz Broadcaster of the year twice, and received the Canwest Award for Outstanding Contribution to Jazz from his friend and mentor Izzy Asper
Izzy Asper
Israel Harold "Izzy" Asper, , Canadian tax lawyer and media magnate, was the founder of the now defunct CanWest Global Communications Corp and father to its former CEO and President Leonard Asper, former director and corporate secretary Gail Asper, as well as Executive Vice President David Asper...
.
In 2004, he became president and CEO of JAZZ.FM91
CJRT-FM
CJRT-FM is a Canadian public radio station, which broadcasts at 91.1 on the FM dial in Toronto, Ontario. CJRT currently operates as JAZZ.FM91.The station transmits at a strength of 40,000 watts; as its transmitter facilities are at the CN Tower...
, a non-profit public radio station
Public broadcasting
Public broadcasting includes radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing and commercial financing.Public broadcasting may be...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
devoted to jazz programming. In 2005, he created the station's major annual fund raising event, Jazz Lives. The concerts have sold out for the last four years. In the winter of 2006, he rebranded and refocussed the station's annual concert series The Sound of Toronto into the highly popular Sound of Jazz series.
Recently, Porter was responsible for moving the station from the Ryerson campus to its current location in Liberty Village
Liberty Village
Liberty Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is bounded at the north by King Street West, the west by Dufferin Street, the south by the Gardiner Expressway, the east by Strachan Avenue, and the northeast by the CP railway tracks...
, and for delivering the most successful BBM book in the history of JAZZ.FM91, with 300,000 plus listeners in December 2007.
Porter also published a consumer guide to jazz recordings, The Essential Jazz Recordings: 101 CDs, in 2006. In 2007, the book went into its second printing.
In the spring of 2009, the Jazz Journalists Association
Jazz Journalists Association
The Jazz Journalists Association is an international organization of all types of media professionals who document, promulgate, or appreciate jazz. As of 2011, it has approximately 500 members, primarily in North America but also on other continents...
nominated Porter for the Willis Conover-Marian McPartland Award for Broadcasting.
External links
- JAZZ.FM91 Website
- Audio interview on The Essential Jazz Recordings recorded in April 2007, Toronto, Canada