CITI-FM
CITI-FM (92.1 MHz) is a commercial Canadian FM radio station broadcasting in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Owned by Rogers Media, the station broadcasts a mainstream rock radio format branded as 92.1 CITI. Its studios are located on Osborne Street south of Downtown Winnipeg, while its transmitter is located at Duff Roblin Provincial Park just south of Winnipeg.
City | Winnipeg, Manitoba |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Winnipeg Capital Region |
Frequency | 92.1 MHz (FM) |
Branding | 92.1 CITI |
Slogan | The Capital of Rock |
Programming | |
Format | Mainstream rock |
Ownership | |
Owner | Rogers Media (Rogers Media, Inc.) |
CKY-FM, CHMI-DT | |
History | |
First air date | 1962 |
Former call signs | CKY-FM (1962-1978) |
Call sign meaning | derived from the word "city" |
Technical information | |
Class | C |
ERP | 100,000 watts average 140,000 watts peak |
HAAT | 206.1 meters (676 ft) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | 921citi.ca |
History
The station first signed on in 1962 as CKY-FM simulcasting AM 580 CKY.[1] The station adopted its current call sign, CITI-FM, on April 1, 1978, broadcasting at 360,000 watts, making it the most powerful FM radio station in North America.[2] The first song played on CITI was Deep Purple's "Highway Star".
In the early 1990s, the station was acquired by Rogers Radio, who converted CITI's sister station CKY-AM to the FM band in 2004, and retained the CKY call sign on that station. That station now plays a hot AC format.
CITI was originally North America's most powerful commercial FM station. (That distinction currently belongs to WBCT in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Canada's most powerful FM station is CJKR-FM, also in Winnipeg.) In 2003 CITI-FM was granted a decrease in effective radiated power from 210,000 to 100,000 watts. Its transmitter was then relocated 20 kilometers north of its former site.[3]
Some notable announcers through the years at CITI are: Ross Porter (Murray), Brother Jake Edwards, Terry Klassen, Terry Dimonte, Andy Frost, Howard Mandshein, Craig Thulner, Tim "Trucker" Bradley, Gordo Fry, Lamont Hollywood, Shadoe Davis, Tom McGouran, Larry Updike, Joe Aiello, Brian Cook and Cosmo.
On May 17, 2012, the station rebranded itself as "World Class Rock" and began playing more 80's, 90's and 2000's-based rock.
On September 13, 2012, CITI announced that longtime morning show hosts Tom McGouran and Joe Aiello had been let go, and would be replaced with Dave Wheeler, Phil Aubrey and Rena Jae, formerly of rival station CJKR-FM. The latter three, having comprised the morning show of Wheeler In The Morning with Philly and Rena since September 2009, were unable to come to terms on a new contract with CJKR-FM's parent company, Corus Entertainment, and were subsequently approached by Rogers Media, parent company to CITI.
On January 12, 2015, the station's morning show [4]Wheeler in the Morning began to be simulcast on sister Citytv station CHMI-DT. The simulcast replaced the cancelled Winnipeg version of Breakfast Television. The former "Breakfast Television" presenters Jenna Khan and Drew Kozub host news and entertainment segments that are shown in place of music programming.[5]
On July 6, 2016, the station rebranded as 92.1 CITI, using a new standardized branding used by most Rogers-owned rock stations.
In July 2018, Wheeler was fired by Rogers for having been involved in "multiple disciplinary incidents" on-air. His firing came in the wake of transphobic remarks Wheeler made during his morning show; during a segment, Wheeler discussed Scarlett Johansson having declined a starring role as gangster Dante "Tex" Gill in a biographical film, after criticism from the LGBT community over Gill—who was a trans man—being played by a cisgender woman. Wheeler compared being transgender to being an "actor" that "pretends" to be a "different thing", and also expressed similar sentiment over Facebook Messenger with a listener who discussed the issue further, stating that "If someone is born human. And they pretend to be a dog. It is not right to agree with them for the sake of their feelings". Multiple businesses pulled their advertising from the station in response to the comments.[6][7][8]
After Dave Wheelers departure, Host Rena Jae continued on the morning show along with Kelly Bulter as a new addition. The offensive lineman was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the sixth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Purdue and also played in the Canadian Football League.
References
- Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-244
- Sullivan, Paul (November 18, 1978). "Canadian TV must hitch to satellite technology". Winnipeg Free Press. p. 56.
- CRTC Decision 2003-180
- January 7, Val Maloney; 2015. "City replaces BT with radio-to-TV show in Winnipeg". Retrieved 2020-10-07.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- "Wheeler in the Morning with Philly and Rena now on TV". Winnipeg Sun. Postmedia Network. Retrieved 6 July 2016.(subscription required)
- "Dave Wheeler fired from 92 CITI FM after transgender comments". Global News. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
- Pindera, Erik (2018-07-18). "Rogers fires CITI FM's Wheeler after online call for boycott, ads pulled off air". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
- "Winnipeg radio host Dave Wheeler fired following controversial comments about transgender people". CBC News. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
External links
- 92.1 CITI
- CITI-FM history – Canadian Communications Foundation
- CITI-FM in the REC Canadian station database