CommunityPhoto courtesy of CJNU. Station Manager Adam Glynn with President and on-air host Tom Dercola.
Partnership between CJNU and The Foundation brings new sounds and stories to Winnipeg’s airwaves
You could say Canada’s first community foundation and Winnipeg’s non-profit radio cooperative are tuned to the same frequency – the foundation of a partnership that truly exemplifies the spirit of ‘working together.’
Since CJNU took to the airwaves in 2006, The Winnipeg Foundation has been a strong supporter of ‘the little station that could,’ serving as one of its annual host sponsors to promote The Foundation’s Will Week initiative and sponsoring its morning and afternoon newscasts.
It’s a partnership that station manager Adam Glynn sees as vital for CJNU.
“Several people within The Winnipeg Foundation, especially Rick Frost, saw real value in what the folks at CJNU – this volunteer-driven organization – were doing,” Mr. Glynn says. “That’s something that we don’t take lightly.”
Geared toward a 50+ audience underserved in the Winnipeg market, CJNU is primarily known for its nostalgia music from decades gone by.
“CJNU was founded on the idea of the music and the message, with the aim of playing tunes that you don’t hear anywhere else,” Mr. Glynn says. “And then the message is trying to talk about things that are not getting talked about adequately in the rest of the media.”
The station received its full-time community radio license from the CRTC in 2013, increasing its power and moving to 93.7 on the FM dial. Owing to its roots, when the station broadcast under 28 day-long special events licenses, CJNU broadcasts from a different host sponsor – typically a local non-profit organization – each month.
“The message is always on behalf of charities, not-for-profits or community groups in our city,” Mr. Glynn says.
Though CJNU continues to broadcast from different host sponsors under its full license, the growth of the station necessitated a permanent home for its day-to-day operations and transition days between host sponsors.
In 2014, The Winnipeg Foundation provided space on its floor for CJNU to set up its offices and a home studio on the 13th floor of the Richardson Building at Portage and Main. This enhanced partnership has helped CJNU continue to amplify the voices of Winnipeg’s charitable sector as well as provide more opportunities for The Foundation to share stories with new audiences, particularly with the launch of its weekly radio program, River City 360.
“It’s been incredibly important for the growth of CJNU to have that home base where we can record things and produce programs like River City 360,” Mr. Glynn says. “Somewhere that our volunteers can come and have a meeting if we need to – it’s little things like that that make a huge difference.”