Broadcast History - March 26

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In 1965, CKNW New Westminster Chief Engineer Jack Gordon completed a 50,000 watt transmitter site on 10 acres of farmland at 176th Street and 88th Avenue in Surrey (Cloverdale). It had only been five years since the station had increased power to 10,000 watts day and 5,000 watts at night. The 10,000 watt transmitter site in Queensboro was retained for both emergencies and preventative transmitter maintenance. Rather than signoff for however long required for maintenance on occasional Sunday nights after midnight, the two transmitters allowed CKNW to broadcast pretty much uninterrupted.



In 1991, Ottawa's CBO-AM and CBOF-AM signed off forever, having simulcast their new FM replacements since January 7th. French language CBOF had been on the air on 1250 KHz since 1964. But CBO had originally been signed on by the CNR in 1924 as CKCH, changing call letters to CNRO later that same year. Call letters changed in 1933 to CRCO and CBO in 1937.

In 1992, Barbara Frum died of leukemia at the age of 54. It would be little more than a year before an Atrium of the new CBC Broadcasting Centre in Toronto would be named after her. And rightfully so, as she was the best known co-host of two CBC landmark programs: As It Happens on national radio and The Journal on national television. With the possible exception of Max Ferguson's Rawhide in the 1950s, As It Happens was the first CBC Radio program since the advent of television that saw the network get major market ratings. Likewise, The Journal delivered ratings to a Black Hole time period "after The National" each weekday evening.