CJRT-FM

The station was founded in 1949 as an educational FM station by the Ryerson Institute of Technology (later Ryerson University).[1] The JRT in the station's call sign stands for "Journalism, Radio, Technology".[1] The station was operated by students supervised by professional instructors.[1] The station's purpose was to train students and broadcast from 3 pm to 9 pm on weekdays during the school year.[1]

In 1964, a professional staff was hired, while programming was increased from 7 am to midnight seven days a week.[1] A few years later, training of students ceased.[1] The schedule included classical, jazz, and folk, educational and public affairs programming, children's shows, and comedy from the BBC.[1]

Canadian Premier Bill Davis instructed the Ontario legislature that it would create a corporation to run the station and buy the license.[1] The station received money from the Ontario government and from companies and listeners through fundraising.[1]

In co-operation with Ryerson and York University's Atkinson College, CJRT offered several on-air Open College courses from 1971 to 2003. In 2003, the service was transferred to Ryerson's G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education, which offers distance education through the internet, print, and recorded media rather than on radio. In its last years, Open College broadcasts aired Sunday mornings from 6 am to 8 am.[2]

Following Ryerson's loss of ownership of CJRT in 1974, CKLN-FM was licensed as Ryerson's campus radio station from 1983 to 2011[3] followed by CJRU since 2016.[4]

Ross Porter stepped down in June 2018, following an investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct and creating a toxic work environment, and was replaced by Charles S. Cutts. Porter stated that his resignation as CEO was in order to spend more time with his ailing wife, and he continued broadcasting with the station, however, as well as being given the title of president emeritus.[5][6][7][8][9][10] The conflict resulted in the departure of a number of on-air staff and a decline in donations to the station. An opposition group, called Save JAZZ.FM91, was founded in July 2018 in an attempt to overturn the station's board of directors. After a legal battle over whether or not the opposition group should be allowed access to the station's membership list, a general meeting of the membership held on February 15, 2019, succeeded in removing the board by a vote of 446 to 435, electing a new board composed of the dissident group.[11] The new board changed the station's management and reinstated a number of broadcasters who had been ousted by the previous management, while Porter ended his program.[12]

• Silver award, The Sound of Jazz, New York Festivals, 2018[13]
• Silver award, Music to Listen to Jazz By with Ross Porter, New York Festivals, 2018[13]

• Ryerson Radio

• JAZZ.FM91
• CJRT-FM history – Canadian Communications Foundation
• CJRT-FM in the REC Canadian station database