CIUT 89.5 FM has been the broadcasted voice of the University of Toronto for over 50 years. Started by students in 1966, today CIUT is the only community radio station in the downtown Toronto region, providing a truly diverse range of programming that reflects the community it speaks to. With over 75 different programs produced by students and community members not affiliated with the university, CIUT broadcasts in five different languages to over 128,000 listeners every week, reaching from Kitchener to Cobourg and from Barrie to Buffalo. The programming is an eclectic mix of all genres of music and spoken word that sets it apart from private radio. Station Manager and Program Director Ken Stowar stresses that his mission is to keep the station moving by allowing the programming to change and to include students and faculty in their campus’s radio station. When Stowar started in his role as Program Director and Station Manager at CIUT, only 3% of the volunteers were students at the University of Toronto, whereas today undergrad and graduate students consist of 40-50% of the volunteer base. Today, CIUT operates with two full-time and four part-time staff, backed by over 200 volunteers.
With the ever-increasing presence of the Internet in our daily lives, Stowar is frequently asked if radio is a dying form, to which he adamantly replies no, adding that “Our ratings are the highest they’ve ever been.” Radio has always been an adaptable medium; it successfully evolved in the wake of television, and is doing so again today. CIUT’s studios are situated at the core of the University of Toronto, in Hart House. Hart House has been home to the station since 2009, and Stowar confirms that recent rumors of possibly having to relocate have been laid to rest after talks between the station and the Hart House administration.
CIUT has a very loyal and supportive network of listeners; through membership drives and other fundraising efforts the station raises over $120,000 each year. In August of 2014, after an enormously successful campaign, the station amassed $150,000 to put towards a new hybrid digital transmitter, ensuring higher-quality sound for their listeners to appreciate. By this upcoming summer, CIUT will be entirely debt-free.
Stowar is eager to draw more students into the public radio community, and is in the beginning stages of a student-produced podcast initiative. “Podcasts are the fastest growing part of our website,” says Stowar. “It would be foolish not to invest in podcasts.” Stowar is calling for students to experiment with podcasts and produce the content they and their peers are missing from the FM dial today. “The private sector of radio has failed young people for the past two decades. It used to be more diverse and today they just don’t give them what they want”. Stowar urges students to take advantage of this opportunity to use their voice and break the status quo. Students run twenty-six of CIUT’s programs, and the podcast initiative would provide a platform for more UofT content. Selected podcasts would be broadcast between the hours of 12 and 6 am, when certain CRTC requirements are lifted, allowing more freedom for innovative content. “Students are gold. More so than ever, it’s important that they are here and a part of the programming at this moment and for the future,” says Stowar. If students are interested in being part of this initiative, they are encouraged to fill out a volunteer application form on the CIUT website and become a part of their local radio community (ciut.fm).
