Andrea Langlois et al - Islands of Resistance - Pirate Radio in Canada

54 • islands of resistance
almost exclusively to the potent liberating message, and sticky dance
rhythms, of roots reggae and dub poetry. Several years later, I moved
to Toronto where I could immerse myself in all of these passions.
CIUT 89.5 FM
Unlike for both commercial radio and the CBC, community radio
access didn’t require a degree in broadcasting or equivalent professional
training. It was open to anyone eager to explore and experiment
with their creative do-it-yourself (DIY) projects, and it offered people
ample opportunities to learn and share the skills pertaining to radio
production with each other.
This open-door policy regarding access and artistic expression was
appealing to media and cultural activists, like myself, who appreciated
the eclectic live programming that was neither catering to the pretensions
of professionalism nor silencing critical analyses of the status
quo and the corporate state. Unlike commercial stations that dictated
market-driven, computer-generated playlists to deejays, community
radio programmers were instead free to choose their own songs as long
as they complied with the station’s promise of performance agreement
with the CRTC. Soon after CIUT’s application for an FM licence was
approved in 1987 (successfully culminating a 20-year-long dream), I
became one of about 250 volunteers who, along with several paid staff,
operated the station 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to broadcast
15,000 watts of programming (65 percent music and 35 percent spoken
word) throughout southern Ontario and upstate New York.
Before becoming a programmer, however, we had to attend an orientation
workshop, where a summary of CRTC regulations and CIUT
policies were reviewed, and a technical workshop, which provided an
overview of, and hands-on experience with, operating the station’s
broadcast technology. Prior to being considered as a music program
host, an applicant also had to demonstrate their competence by producing
a live one-hour program in the presence of a music committee
member (one of a small group of elected volunteer music programmers).
CIUT established three primary categories of music programs:
a one (or two) hour exploration show provided an in-depth context
and analysis of a particular genre of music, or music of an identifiable
group; the two (or three) hour open format program featured a diverse