By Roger White

CJNB celebrates 70 years of community radio

Jan 27, 2017 | 1:31 PM

Today marks a very special anniversary in the history of CJNB.

Seventy years ago on Jan. 27 1947, CJNB radio signed on the air for the very first time. It was billed as the first “post-war” radio station in Saskatchewan. The station originated on 1240 on the AM dial, bringing a unique and local broadcasting style to the residents of the Battlefords and surrounding area.

CJNB program director and afternoon announcer Doug Harrison has been on the air-waves at CJNB for 44 of those years and has fond memories of his early days.

“It was exciting being an 18-year-old in January of 1973 to get your first airshift. It was a great opportunity for me personally,” remembered Harrison. “When I look back we would never have thought of the technology that we have today. We had turntables and records back then. I suppose the advanced technology of the day was reel-to-reel machines.”

When CJNB first signed on the air, the broadcasting day was 16 hours. The station operated on 250 watts of power and increased to 1,000 watts when the station moved to a frequency of 1460 in 1950. In 1959 CJNB increased its power output to 10,000 watts.

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With all the changes that CJNB radio has seen over the years with technology and staffing, Harrison said one thing has never changed is the commitment to be a community radio station.

“Since I’ve been here and throughout the 70 years we have been on the air, our mandate has been to provide this area with local news, sports, weather and community information to keep them informed with what is going on. It was there in 1947 and it will never change.”

CJNB General Manager Karl Johnston echoed Harrison’s sentiment.

“CJNB is — and always has been — a big part of the community.  We’ve always worked to build a better community,” said Johnston. “Last year we broadcast a radiothon to support the new CT scanner at the hospital.  We’ve done things like that for 70 years and will do them for 70 more.”

Johnston also pointed to the expansion of the CJNB newsroom to include battlefordsNow.com.

“We are very committed to news and information in the area and by launching battlefordsNOW — an online daily newspaper — we will strive to be the dominant local content creator in the Battlefords, not only serving the community over the air, but also online.”

roger.white@jpbg.com