Meet Jenn FM – Adult Album Alternative for Women

All letters should be addressed to:

Mr. Robert A. Morin
Secretary General
CRTC
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N2

They can be delivered by fax to 819-994-0218, filed through E-Pass at the CRTC website (www.crtc.gc.ca), sent to Julia Holien @ jholien@harvardbroadcasting.com for her to efile or mailed to the above address. 

Letters must be received by May 2, 2008 if they are to be considered and become part of the public record. 

In order for the letters to be accepted, a copy must also be provided to the applicant.  The copy can be faxed to 306-751-8611, attention Michael Olstrom, or emailed to molstrom@harvardbroadcasting.com, or hard copy mailed to:

Michael Olstrom,
1900 Rose Street
Regina, Saskatchewan
S4P 0A9

Please make sure all letters clearly state that you are supporting Harvard Broadcasting Inc.’s application by identifying them in the body of the letter and/or supplying the file number CRTC Application # 2008-0117-7in a reference line.

The Commission prefers that the paragraphs be numbered so referencing the document in either correspondence or in a public hearing is easier. 

Interventions are an important part of the application process and impact the Commission’s decision on which service best meets the consumers’ needs.  You should feel free to invite other eligible parties to write if you feel this service would be something that would serve their needs or interests.  The more supporting interventions we generate, the stronger the argument for licensing Jenn FM.

The messages we think are important to be made in terms of this application are listed below. You may choose to include one or more of these. It is not necessary that an intervention address all of these issues.

      •There is a group of disenfranchised listeners in Edmonton, which includes women, families, people with higher education, and people who demand a higher standard of programming than that provided.

      •These "lost listeners" find that radio does not speak to or for them anymore. They are concerned with the language, the subject matter of the spoken word, the representation of minorities, children, women, and individual cultures, and collectively think that the music programming is too narrow, too repetitive or too “hit based”. In their opinion, there is insufficient variety of expression and music content.

      •There are listeners who are concerned about the diversity of voices in radio today, particularly, in terms of information and news programming. They are interested in having more independent voices to ensure full and fair representation of the issues, people and events in Edmonton.

      •There is a group of advertisers who feel that the brands currently available in the radio formats in the market are not always good matches for their own products and services and/or that there is declining efficiencies in current radio buys.

      •There are groups involved in community and social development within Edmonton who do not feel they have access to broadcast outlets or feel that there is a shortage of appropriate formats to get their messages out. Because these groups require public exposure to achieve their mandates, they are disadvantaged by the current limited formats and ownership.

      •Local artists do not feel they get representation on radio in Edmonton unless a campus station or the CBC gives them exposure.

      •Jenn FM is a great solution. It will address the imbalance and under-representation in the programming spectrum. Based on programming principles that have been developed "in the market" and "by the disenfranchised", Jenn FM will successfully attract listeners by presenting more intelligent spoken word. Through greater sensitivity to language, the introduction of more relevant content and an inclusive approach to various subgroups in the population, Jenn FM will be a station that people can listen to without concern for offensive language, attitudes or subject matter.

      •Jenn FM will provide diversity in music, introducing a Triple A format that specifically addresses the music interests of women. Not a typical rock station, neither hit driven nor playing songs in high repetition, Jenn FM will provide a large variety of music currently unheard in the market. Recent research shows that our proposed list has little or no duplication with that being played by local stations currently.

      •Jenn FM will give special attention to new and emerging artists, recognizing that Jenn FM listeners require variety and take special pride in advancing Canadian talent. Jenn FM will play higher than regulated amounts of Canadian content (40% is proposed) and of this, half (50%) will be dedicated to introducing new artists and material.

      •Jenn FM will be radio designed by women with topics and content that reflect a feminine perspective but appeal to many groups including women and families.

      •Letters should properly identify the perspective of the author i.e. “I am a business person, I am a potential advertiser”, “I am an artist trying to get radio airplay”, “I am a listener”, “I am a concerned resident”, “I am a listener unhappy with current choices” etc…It helps the CRTC to understand and value the intervention if proper context is provided as to who is writing.

      •The letter should clearly state why the support is being given i.e. “I love the format”, “I would like to listen”, “I think diversity of voices in news and music are important”, “I would advertise on this service”, I would return to listening to radio”, I would turn the radio on when I am in the car with my family again”, I could use a source of information that is designed for me”, “I would like to hear my interests reflected in radio for a change”.. etc…

      •The more individual a letter is, (i.e. specific to the author’s perspective and relating experiences unique to the person/organization/group) the greater the value that is assigned to it.

      •The letter should close with a clear statement of support. “I hope the CRTC will license this service”, “I ask that the CRTC license this service” etc…

      •Contact information must be provided for the author so the Commission may follow up.

      •Harvard is allowed to have approximately four appearing interveners who will be invited by the Commission to give an oral presentation of their view point at the hearing. They will be given at least one week’s notice of the appearance and we believe that this consultation will take place sometime towards the end of the week of June 3rd. It usually requires that those wishing to appear be available for at least half a day as appearances cannot be scheduled and require that the intervener be present at the Commission when they are called to present. The hearing will be taking place in Edmonton.

      •If you would like to expand on your filed comments and/or appear to discuss your view point, you must clearly state this in your submission, i.e. “I wish to appear before the Commission at the hearing to discuss my comments.” Stating that you wish to appear does not mean you will be required to appear. You may request to appear and decline at the time of invitation if it is no longer convenient. You may not however, request to appear post the May 2nd deadline, if you have not notified the Commission of your interest in doing so as part of your submission.

If you have any questions about this process, please do not hesitate to contact Michael Olstrom at 306-546-6222 or at molstrom@harvardbroadcasting.com