The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CRBC), also referred to as the Canadian Radio Commission (CRC), was Canada's first
public broadcaster
Public broadcasting involves 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 the immediate precursor to the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
.
Origins
The CRBC was established in 1932 by the government of
R.B. Bennett based on the recommendations of the 1929
Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting
The Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, otherwise known as the Aird Commission, was chaired by John Aird and examined Canada's broadcasting industry. The report released its findings in 1929 when it concluded that Canada was in need of a publ ...
and as a result of the lobbying efforts of the
Canadian Radio League The Canadian Radio League was a public pressure group led by Graham Spry and Alan Plaunt to mobilize support for the establishment of public broadcasting in Canada.
The League was founded in 1930 in order to lobby for the implementation of the 192 ...
. The network was created on May 26, 1932 and existed until November 2, 1936 when it was reorganized as a
Crown corporation becoming the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
.
[The Birth and Death of The Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (1932-1936)]
," Canadian Communications Foundation, accessed January 20, 2008 Daily national broadcasting began in May 1933 with an hour's programming a day which was increased over time.
At its creation,
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Bennett spoke of the need for public control of radio saying:
: "This country must be assured of complete Canadian control of broadcasting from Canadian sources. Without such control, broadcasting can never be the agency by which national consciousness may be fostered and sustained and national unity still further strengthened."
[John D. Jackson and Paul Millen]
"ENGLISH-LANGUAGE RADIO DRAMA: A COMPARISON OF CENTRAL & REGIONAL PRODUCTION UNITS"
, ''Canadian Journal of Communication'', Vol 15, No 1
The three-man commission had a mandate to regulate, control all broadcasting in Canada as well as to create and transmit its own programming and to lease, purchase or construct stations for its dissemination. Its ability to carry out its mandate was severely restricted by the financial constraints of the
Great Depression and it was forced to rely on private stations to carry its programs to much of the country.
Bennett named
Hector Charlesworth
Hector Willoughby Charlesworth (28 September 1872 – 30 December 1945) was a Canadian writer, editor, and critic.
Biography
Hector Charlesworth was born in Hamilton on 28 September 1872. He married Katherine Ryan on 15 February 1897, and they h ...
, editor of ''
Saturday Night'' magazine, as chairman of the CRBC. The other members of the Commission were Thomas Maher, an unsuccessful Quebec Conservative candidate in
1930 federal election and director of a private radio station in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
and
Lieutenant Colonel William Arthur Steel (1890-1968)
[ former Chief Radio Officer with the Canadian Corps during ]World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Regulator
In addition to being a creator of programming and a broadcaster, the CRBC was responsible under the ''Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act'' for regulating and controlling all broadcasting in Canada, including privately owned radio stations that did not carry CRBC programming. The CRBC's regulatory responsibilities included determining the number, location and transmitting power of radio stations as well as the amount of time spent carrying local and national programming.["The CRTC's Origins"]
, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Operations
The CRBC acquired radio stations in Ottawa, Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
and Moncton from the CNR Radio network for $50,000 as well as CNR Radio studios in various other cities and leased or established additional stations in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
, Chicoutimi
Chicoutimi () is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada.
It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and com ...
, Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...
, Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
and Windsor
Windsor may refer to:
Places Australia
* Windsor, New South Wales
** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area
* Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland
**Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
. The stations had been created in the 1920s by Canadian National Railways to provide broadcasting for railway passengers but were also heard by the general public and functioned, along with up two dozen stations across the country on which CNR Radio leased time, as an early national radio network. The CRBC also hired private stations across the country to carry at least three hours a day of CRBC programming. These affiliates were known as "basic stations".[ CRBC-owned or leased stations had the prefix "CRC" in their call-letters.
E. Austin Weir, formerly of the CNR radio network, became the CRBC's program director. He was terminated, however, for not providing enough programming. Weir was replaced by ]Ernie Bushnell
Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to:
People
* Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive
* Ernie Adams (disambiguation)
* Ernie Afaganis (born c ...
who became director of CRBC programming in Ontario and Western Canada and Arthur Dupont
Arthur Dupont (born 1985) is a French actor. He was born in Saint-Mandé, Val-de-Marne, France.
Career
In 2006, he starred in ''Chacun sa nuit'' (One to another) directed by Jean Marc Barr, alongside Lizzie Brocheré and Karl E. Landler
K ...
who was responsible for Quebec and the Maritimes.[
]
Programming
Network programming included orchestral music, live Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts
The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are a regular series of weekly broadcasts on network radio of full-length opera performances. They are transmitted live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. The Metropolitan Opera In ...
from NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
and New York Philharmonic Orchestra
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
broadcasts from CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, dramatized informational programs such as ''The Youngbloods of Beaver Band'' which serialized life on a western Canadian farm.[ One of the best known national drama series was ''Radio Theatre Guild'' produced in Montreal by Rupert Caplan.][Radio Drama, English Language]
''Canadian Encyclopedia'', accessed January 23, 2008 Under program director Ernie Bushnell
Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to:
People
* Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive
* Ernie Adams (disambiguation)
* Ernie Afaganis (born c ...
, CRBC increased the number of weekly English language series being broadcast over the network to 17 by the time of the network's demise.[
Another CRBC program, one which originated on the CNR's network in 1931, was '']Hockey Night in Canada
CBC Television has aired National Hockey League (NHL) broadcasts under the ''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') brand that is primarily associated with its Saturday night NHL broadcasts throughout its hi ...
'' under the names ''Saturday Night Hockey'', ''General Motors Hockey Broadcast'' and then, starting in 1934, ''The Imperial Oil Hockey Broadcast''. Other programming including fare such as ''Bible Dramas'' from CRCM Montreal, '' Canadian Press News'' - a 15-minute nightly newscast from CRCT Toronto presented by Charles Jennings (the father of Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings (July 29, 1938August 7, 2005) was a Canadian-born American television journalist who served as the sole anchor of ''ABC World News Tonight'' from 1983 until his death from lung cancer in 2005. He dropped o ...
), ''Western Radio Players'' a weekly dramatic half-hour from CKY. Winnipeg[
'' Northern Messenger'', a weekly program originating from Toronto late Saturday nights but aimed at Canadians living in the far north including personal messages to RCMP officers, missionaries, trappers and others from family and friends,][ began in December 1933. The show was made up of listener letters, important messages from family and friends in other parts of the country, news and recorded music, and would run from November to May on CRBC's stations as well as several Canadian shortwave stations. During its first season, the program relayed 1,745 messages; a figure that increased sixfold within four years. The program would be continued by the CBC into the 1970s.
CRBC's national radio coverage of the 1935 federal election was the first time Canadian election results were broadcast nationwide.][
All programs were live as there were no recording facilities. The network had six stations of its own and relied largely on private affiliates to provide studios, equipment and staff.][CRBC Programming]
, accessed January 21, 2008
In April 1936, CRBC provided round the clock coverage of the Moose River Mine Disaster
Moose River Gold Mines is a Canadian rural community located in Nova Scotia's Halifax Regional Municipality. It is located at the junction of Moose River Road and Mooseland Road. No numbered highways run through Moose River Gold Mines. Gold was ...
in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
with announcer J. Frank Willis broadcasting live reports from the mine head every half hour for five days as rescue crews attempted to recover the lost miners. The reports were broadcast throughout Canada as well as to 650 stations in the United States and the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.