National Campus and Community Radio Association - History

History

In February 1981, the first National Campus Radio Conference (NCRC) was held in Ottawa, hosted by CKCU. At that conference, the National Campus/Community Radio Organization (NCRO) was formed to exchange ideas, share experiences, publish a regular newsletter, and work on networks to promote campus radio across Canada. In August 1983, NCRC delegates voted to formalize the structure of the NCRO further and to establish a volunteer office to carry out a variety of services for member stations. The office initially operated from CKCU-FM, at Carleton University in Ottawa. That year the Alternative Radio News Service, a regular mailout of alternative news and information to campus and community stations, was started at CKMS-FM at the University of Waterloo.

In the early years, the NCRO published a monthly newsletter and alternative album chart. It also made presentations to the CRTC on a number of issues relating to community radio in Canada, including efforts to reduce content restrictions the CRTC had placed on the limited form of commercial advertising allowed on campus and community stations at the time. The organization was also actively involved in assisting the growing number of campus-based radio groups applying for FM radio licenses in the early 1980s.

In July 1986 the NCRO was incorporated as the National Campus and Community Radio Association Inc./L'Association nationale de radios étudiantes et communautaires Inc. (NCRA/ANREC). In the early 1990s, there was a national office and executive director for a short period of time, but due to lack of stable funding, among other problems, the office closed after less than one year. In February 2002, a new office was formed in Montreal with a national coordinator, which moved to Ottawa in May 2005, where it currently operates.