The Scope at Ryerson gets started with community radio in Toronto
The Scope at Ryerson is a new online student media initiative that is using both Airtime and Newscoop software to offer radio programming to the student community in Toronto, Canada. They are kicking things off with an online radio stream, but are planning to get an AM license in the future.
The station is built on a solid foundation of volunteers. They also have three part-time staff who are busy teaching workshops, soundscapes and radio drama to youth groups in the community. As Jacky Tunistra, the station manager states, "we are really excited to launch our new web portal, that will also be mobile."
Getting support from the community
While students and the university community are the backbone of the station, the outside community is also integrated into the programming and welcomed to participate as both DJs and listeners. As Ryerson is a technical university with a very sophisticated radio department some of the programs that are produced in line with their curriculum will find a spot on the schedule. These include podcasts created by some of the students and a research program called SmartLab.
The Ryerson University campus
World Radio Day events introduce Airtime
The Scope at Ryerson found out about Airtime last year at the World Radio Day event Sourcefabric held in its Toronto office. The Scope told us their story about getting the radio started again at Ryerson, and of course the team was fully on board to help with the process.
Since then the wheels have been in motion to prepare and launch the station; you can check out the website and listen to the sounds of the Scope at Ryerson now. Tunistra told us that so far "it has been amazing working with Sourcefabric, we are really happy with the support we get anytime we need!"
Stay tuned as they build up their stream of original student content and produce more live shows. In the future you can expect to see plenty of radio and broadcast workshops in partnership with a variety of other not-for-profit organizations in Toronto. The launch party gave students and the community an opportunity to check out the new studio space.