|
Decision
|
|
Ottawa, 30 September 1988
|
|
Decision CRTC 88-725
|
|
Radio communautaire de Châteauguay CHAI-MF
|
|
Châteauguay, Quebec -873431100
|
|
Following a Public Hearing in Trois-Rivières, Quebec on 5 July 1988, the Commission renews the broadcasting licence of CHAI-MF Châteauguay from 1 October 1988 to 31 August 1993, subject to the conditions specified in this decision and in the licence to be issued.
|
CHAI-MF, which commenced broadcasting on 13 October 1980, holds a special FM licence for community radio, Type B, and operates in a Group IV musical format. In Decision CRTC 86-607 dated 26 June 1986, the Commission renewed the station's licence for a period of two years only because of various problems with respect to its programming commitments, in particular with regard to the amount of broadcast time, the fact that its spoken word content for the most part lacked community orientation, its musical format, the amount of traditional and special interest music (category 6) and of advertising broadcast. In that decision, the Commission required the licensee to comply henceforth with its obligations and advised it that continued failure to meet its commitments could jeopardize the next renewal of its licence.
|
|
At the July 1988 public hearing, the licensee described the measures it has put in place since the last licence renewal to ensure compliance with the commitments set out in its Promise of Performance and pointed out the positive results. The licensee stated that it had acquired a computer which had greatly improved general programming control and that it had set up a station programming committee. The licensee added that it had developed detailed plans for the spoken word and musical content of each program; provided training for production staff responsible for foreground segments; modified its record-purchasing policy to meet Canadian content and French-language vocal music requirements, and increased the levels of category 6 music broadcast. The licensee also noted that a newly acquired advertising log would improve the tracking of the amount of advertising broadcast.
|
|
The licensee stated that, according to two separate surveys that it had commissioned in 1985 and 1987, this community radio station compares favourably, in terms of audience loyalty and satisfaction, with the major Montreal FM stations which readily are available in the Châteauguay region. The licensee also emphasized the success of the station's most recent recruitment campaign in May 1988 which resulted in a doubling of its membership to 1,200.
|
Two self-assessments conducted by the licensee for the programming broadcast by CHAI-MF during the weeks of 22 to 28 March and 20 to 26 September 1987, and analyses conducted by the Commission for the same period, have revealed a gradual and steady improvement in CHAI-MF's level of compliance with the commitments set out in its Promise of Performance. In this regard, the Commission reminds the licensee that in Public Notice CRTC 1986-152 dated 26 June 1986, which was issued at the time of the station's last licence renewal, the Commission stated that "community radio programming should be based on community access and should reflect the interests and special needs of the listeners it is licensed to serve, as members of the community at large". As discussed at the public hearing, the Commission encourages the licensee to place greater emphasis on its community-oriented programming and to give emphasis to local and regional matters in its spoken word segments. The Commission also expects the licensee to maintain its current commitment to broadcast 8 hours per week of category 6 music.
|
The Commission denies the licensee's proposal to draw 59.7% of its category 5 music (Music -General) from subcategory 51. In Public Notice CRTC 1985-194 dated 26 August 1985 and entitled "The Review of Community Radio", the Commission stressed that community radio stations must offer a diversified and balanced selection of music. The Commission noted that, in general, these stations tend to be operated in a Group IV format, that they should use most, if not all, of the subcategories in category 5 (Music -General), and that they should offer a broad range of traditional and special interest music (category 6).
|
|
In reviewing the community radio licence renewal applications that were considered at the July 1988 public hearing, the Commission noted a tendency by many licensees to offer programming that very closely resembled that provided by Group I FM stations, making it difficult for such stations to achieve the level of musical diversity sought by the Commission. Accordingly, the Commission will, in general, no longer allow community radio stations that have been authorized to operate within a Group IV musical format to devote more than 50% of the music broadcast (that is the total of their category 5 and category 6 music) to any one music subcategory. The Commission also expects the maximum repeat factor for musical selections to be kept as low as possible.
|
|
In view of the above, the Commission requires the licensee to submit, within 60 days of the date of this decision, a revised Promise of Performance that reflects this clarification of Commission policy with respect to the musical diversity of community radio stations.
|
|
On another matter, the Commission notes that the licensee submitted incomplete logger tapes on three occasions, twice during the period in which the Commission conducted its analyses, and again on 13 April 1988.
|
|
In this regard, the Commission reminds the licensee that subsections 8(5) and 8(6) of the Radio Regulations, 1986 (the regulations) require all licensees to retain and furnish to the Commission upon request "a clear and intelligible tape recording or other exact copy of matter broadcast" for four weeks from the date of the broadcast. At the hearing, the licensee stated that, in order to resolve this problem, it had made several repairs to its logger recording equipment, acquired a back-up recording machine and replenished its supply of tapes. The Commission reminds the licensee of the importance of complying with the logger tape provisions of the regulations and requires that it submit a report within 60 days of the date of this decision, confirming that the equipment is in place, operating and capable of meeting the requirements of the regulations.
|
|
With regard to Canadian talent support, the Commission notes that the licensee intends to promote Canadian artists and cultural events, to present live broadcast of musical performances when the opportunity to do so arises and to broadcast other cultural events live on occasion. The licensee has, however, made no specific budgetary allocations for this purpose. The Commission reiterates the importance it attaches to the development of Canadian talent and requires the licensee to report within 60 days of the date of this decision, providing details of its precise commitments in this regard.
|
|
It is a condition of licence that the applicant not broadcast more than an average of 4 minutes of advertising per hour per day on average, with a maximum of 6 minutes per hour, in accordance with the community radio policy for Type B stations.
|
|
It is a condition of licence that the licensee adhere to the CAB's self-regulatory guidelines on sex-role stereotyping, as amended from time to time and approved by the Commission.
|
|
The Commission notes the written intervention submitted by the Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec in support of the renewal of CHAI-MF's licence.
|
|
Fernand Bélisle
Secretary General
|
|
|