radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
. It is run by Canadian Centre for Civic Media and Arts Development Inc. broadcasting at 105.5 MHz in
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 ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
and has also served as a community radio station for the residents of the
Jane and Finch
Jane and Finch is a neighbourhood located in the northwest end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the district of North York. Centred at the intersection of Jane Street and Finch Avenue West, the area is roughly bounded by Highway 400 to the wes ...
corridor in North Toronto. CHRY's studios are located at
York University
York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,0 ...
's Student Centre, while its transmitter is located on top of the Vanier College residence building.
History
CHRY was founded as a closed-circuit cable radio service, called Radio York, in 1965, and was located on the top floor of Vanier College and served campus residences and the cafeteria located at Central Square. On June 1, 1986, upon successful application to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) for a broadcasting licence, began to broadcast as CHRY at 50W, with a transmitting antenna located on the top of Vanier College's residence building. As well, on this day, it became incorporated as CHRY Community Radio, Inc.
In 1997, it moved from its old Vanier College studios to the fourth floor of York University's Student Centre, where it is today. This move was financed by a $40,000 loan from the undergraduate student association, which was forgiven four years later.
A limitation to CHRY was that its licence was Class B, which effectively meant that it was "unprotected" legally from claims of signal interference, effectively requiring it to cease operations if another broadcasting interest was affected in some way by CHRY's operation. However, in 2006, the CRTC accepted CHRY's application to reclassify its licence from "Class B" to "Class A", thus effecting "protected status" for the radio station.
CHRY serves the north western part of Toronto. Prior to its relaunch in 2015, more than one-third of its schedule is devoted to the music and culture of the Caribbean. It employs two full-time staff, several other part-time staff, and is supported by the work of over one hundred volunteers from both York's student body and the surrounding community.
On May 1, 2015, CHRY cancelled all of its existing programs, dismissed all of its volunteers and rebranded itself as "VIBE 105", adopting an "urban alternative" format which it describes as "a diverse and metropolitan blend of Cultural, Electronic and Remix programming" which includes
Electronic
Electronic may refer to:
*Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor
* ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal
*Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device
*Electronic co ...
Reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersectin ...
, Hip hop and R&B. The station will also air talk programming. Volunteers are to be in supportive roles while on air talent will be professionalized in a departure from the station's long time commitment to
community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...
.
The dismissed programmers organized community meetings and campaigning under the name #SAVECHRY in an unsuccessful effort to overturn the station's decision.
In 2016, the station applied for a license to add a nested FM repeater on 105.3 (with an average power of 92 watts, maximum of 155), with a transmitter located at 100 Wingarden Court in Scarborough (co-located with CJRK-FM). This was denied on June 16, 2017.
Financial support
CHRY is supported in part by student levy (contributions via the York University Graduate Students Association and York Federation of Students (YFS)), through occasional grants for which the station is eligible due to its charitable status, by York University through occasional workstudy grants, and by its listenership through pledges. The rest of its funding is from advertising revenue.
Alumni
*
Matt Galloway
Matt Galloway (born 1970/1971) is a Canadian radio personality, who debuted in January 2020 as the host of '' The Current'' on CBC Radio One. Previously, he was the host of '' Metro Morning'' on the network's Toronto station CBLA-FM from 2010 to ...
CBC Radio host, former CHRY music director
*
Danko Jones
Danko Jones is a Canadian hard rock trio from Toronto. The band consists of Danko Jones (vocals/guitar), John 'JC' Calabrese (bass), and Rich Knox (drums).Dallas Good - lead singer of the Sadie's, former CHRY DJ.