CIUT-FM is a

campus A campus traditionally refers to the land and buildings of a college or university. This will often include libraries, lecture halls, student centers and, for residential universities, residence halls and dining halls. By extension, a corp ...

and

community radio Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial broadcasting, commercial and public broadcasting. Community broadcasting, Community stations serve geographic communities and communities o ...

station owned and operated by the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

. The station broadcasts live and continuously from

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on the 89.5 FM frequency. Programming can also be heard nationally via channel 826 on

Shaw Direct Shaw Direct G.P. is a direct broadcast satellite television distributor in Canada and a subsidiary of the telecommunications company Rogers Communications. As of 2010, Shaw Direct had over 900,000 subscribers. It broadcasts on Ku band from two ...

, and over the

internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

via the CIUT website. The station is financially supported by donations and an undergraduate student levy.About 89.5
ciut.fm CIUT-FM also broadcasts a Punjabi and Urdu language station
Sur Sagar Radio
on a Subsidiary Communications Multiplex Operation frequency. CIUT's studios are located on Tower Road on the University of Toronto campus, while its transmitter is located atop

First Canadian Place First Canadian Place is a skyscraper in the Financial District of Toronto, Ontario, at the northwest corner of King and Bay streets, and serves as the global operational executive office of the Bank of Montreal. At , it is the tallest buildin ...

in Toronto's

Financial District A financial district is usually a central area in a city where financial services firms such as banks, insurance companies, and other related finance corporations have their headquarters offices. In major cities, financial districts often host ...

History

The station began as a closed-circuit broadcaster called ''Radio Varsity'' in 1966, later becoming ''Input Radio'', UTR and then CJUT. All these versions of the station were only heard within the confines of the University of Toronto, thanks to an extensive network of loudspeakers, amplifiers, and cables strung through the extensive underground network of steam tunnels beneath the University's St. George campus."University of Toronto Steam Tunnels"
Infiltration Journal, July 2000 The station was granted a broadcast license and became CIUT-FM in 1986, and on January 15, 1987, the station's FM broadcasts began to reach a considerably wider range across southern

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. In 1999, CIUT was $150,000 in debt resulting in the student union taking over management, firing two employees, dismissing five volunteers,"National: U of T student president slapped with lawsuit"
, ''The Peak'', January 10, 2000 shortening time slots for other programs and selling late-night time slots to an internet broadcaster."CKLN tunes out volunteers"
, ''The Varsity'', September 22, 2008 The next year, the station was sued by one of the dismissed programmers, Eddy Brake, who challenged his dismissal as well as the restructuring. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2005. CIUT Building

Today, CIUT broadcasts at 15 kilowatts from a transmitter on the top of

Downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the nor ...

. With greater signal power than generally found at other community radio stations, CIUT's broadcast reaches as far as

Barrie Barrie is a city in Central Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay. Although it is physically in the county, Barrie is politically independent. The city is part ...

to the north, Buffalo to the south, Kitchener to the west and

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

to the east.Radio Station History - CIUT-FM
, Canadian Communications Foundation In 2009, CIUT moved from 91 St. George Street, the Victorian house it had occupied for 40 years, to new studios in Hart House. The old location was demolished in order to make way for the expansion of the Rotman School of Management. In the fall of 2010, CIUT's board of directors cancelled station manager Brian Burchell's contract due to financial irregularities. As a result, program director Ken Stowar was appointed to the additional role of station manager. In 2012, CIUT filed a lawsuit against Burchell seeking damages of $162,193.68 for what ''The Varsity'' newspaper described as "alleged long-term embezzlement" prior to his firing in October 2010. In 2014, the CIUT transmitter of 27 years died, shutting the station off the air for a couple of days until a backup transmitter could be shipped to Toronto from Nova Scotia. In the ensuing fundraising drive, money was raised and a new transmitter was installed and operating by August.

Programming

Programs in the spoken word (talk radio) format include: local politics, current events and news; as well as programs focused on

Indigenous Peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

Women in Politics In many countries, women have been Political representation, underrepresented in the government and different institutions. , women were still underrepresented, but were increasingly being List of elected and appointed female heads of state, elec ...

, African Canadian Families,

Community Activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

, and Health Care. Musical programming includes many different genres such as

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, classical, Latino, world music, indie, rock, and electronic music. CIUT is the home of The Prophecy, the longest running

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

radio show in North America. Aside from being home to two of the longest running

Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

shows in Canada; The Drill Squad & The Masterplan Show, 6 Degrees has been recognized as one of the most influential Hip Hop radio shows in Toronto today.

Alumni

Former Radio Varsity/CIUT talent includes: *

Paul Shaffer Paul Allen Wood Shaffer (born November 28, 1949) is a Canadian musician, actor, and comedian who served as David Letterman's musical director, bandleader, and sidekick on ''Late Night with David Letterman'' (1982–1993) and ''Late Show with D ...

; 7T1, well-known musical director, producer, performer, and David Letterman sidekick. *

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz guitarist, singer and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...

;

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...

*Mopa Dean; singer for

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band Armed and Hammered *Stacy Case; founder of the Pillow Fight League and amateur film maker *Lise Waxer;

musicologist Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, f ...

, professor and author of works about

Latin Jazz Latin jazz is a genre of jazz with Latin American rhythms. The two main categories are Afro-Cuban jazz, rhythmically based on Cuban popular dance music, with a rhythm section employing ostinato patterns or a clave (rhythm), clave, and Afro-Brazil ...

*Dave O Rama; Original member of the CIUT FM Music Programming Committee and former member of the Board Of Directors. Former host and producer of the CIUT FM programs The Dream Consortium, Headstrokes and Alligator Wine. Current host and producer of The Lovecast, broadcasting on Saturdays at 4pm on CIUT FM. * Cheri DiNovo; hosted ''The Radical Reverend'' before being elected to the Ontario legislature for the

New Democratic Party of Ontario The Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP; , NPD) is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. The party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. It is Ontario’s provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. The ...

in 2006. Show resumed after she left office in 2017.Radical reverend star in NDP race"
, ''NOW Magazine'', July 13, 2006 * Mike Sullivan; former CBC master control radio operator, elected to Parliament of Canada as

New Democratic Party of Canada The New Democratic Party (NDP; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * * The Editors of ''Encyclopædia Britann ...

in 2011. * Dominic LeBlanc; member of Board Of Directors, later

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (LPC; , ) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. and generally sits at the Centrism, ...

Member of Parliament since 2000. * Michelle Marin; DJ, Producer and Host of Ultra Latino radio; Since January 2015 * Jonathan Culp; filmmaker, musician, media artist, and writer

References

External links

CIUT-FM Web site

Rock And Roll radio Podcast

CIUT-FM
at The History of Canadian Broadcasting by the

Canadian Communications Foundation The Canadian Communications Foundation (CCF) was a Canadian nonprofit organization which documented the history of broadcasting in Canada, particularly radio and television networks, programs and broadcasters. The organization was established in ...

Decision CRTC 86-237
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ciut-Fm Iut Iut University of Toronto Radio stations established in 1966 1966 establishments in Ontario