We are live on location at the New Westminster Anvil Centre celebrating our 75th anniversary! A little bit of background for you: CKNW began in New Westminster on August 15, 1944 at its original frequency of 1230 AM, under the ownership of Bill Rea's International Broadcasting Company. It was Vancouver's first country music station, the first in the region to provide hourly newscasts (between 6:00 a.m. and midnight) and the first in the province to broadcast 24 hours a day, beginning in 1947.
On November 17, 1958, the station switched to its present frequency of 980 AM. On February 22, 1960, its transmission power was increased to 10,000 watts, and it was further increased to 50,000 watts in 1965. On January 15, 1969, CKNW moved into larger studio space in a former Safeway store in New Westminster. Parent company Western Broadcasting put FM sister station CFMI on the air on March 22, 1970.
In the 1990’s CKNW left New Westminster and moved into our current location in the TD Tower in downtown Vancouver. It was a big move for the station (no pun intended) and it was covered by BCTV…
Peter Julian is the MP for New Westminster-Burnaby, and he joins us at the Anvil Centre to discuss CKNW’s history in the city of New Westminster.
GUEST: Peter Julian
NDP MP representing New Westminster-Burnaby
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