Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1931-1988 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
2.88 m of textual records.
212 sound recordings
286 film reels
60 video cassettes
1,389 photographs
Context area
Name of creator
Administrative history
W.W. "Bill" Grant built a radio transmitter in High River, Alberta in 1921. In 1922 the station was moved to Calgary where it was assigned the call letters CFCN - the Voice of the Prairies. It was the first Canadian station to carry regularly scheduled news broadcasts. H. Gordon Love acquired majority control of the station in 1928, and in 1931 boosted the station's power to 10,000 watts, making it Canada's most powerful broadcasting station.
In 1935 the country's first commercial newscast, sponsored by Texaco, was broadcast by CFCN. In 1954 CFCN radio joined with two other stations to bring the first television to Calgary as CHCT-TV (Calgary Television), headed by Love. CFCN withdrew from this CBC-affiliated venture in 1958 and applied for Calgary's second television licence. In 1960 CFCN-TV, Canada's first independent television station, went on air. Maclean-Hunter acquired the CFCN radio and television operations in 1966.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Gift of CFCN, 1963-1999.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The fonds consists of financial statements and tax returns (1931-1971); radio-related correspondence, schedules, scripts, advertising files, and audio recordings of broadcasts, advertisements and jingles (1930s-1984); television-related correspondence, licence applications, annual reports and director's files (1962-1978); extensive news footage films (1976-1984); photographs and slides of facilities, events and personalities; and film footage of the XV Olympic Winter Gamers (1988). Includes early sound recordings of Premier William Aberhart; also program re: Carl Rungius (1952).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No restrictions on access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
The material is in English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Digital content of one audio-disc is available: https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/Package/2R3BF1S33J6AT
Related units of description
Other CFCN records are in the H. G. Love fonds at Glenbow.
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of records.
Note
The call number NA-5334 has not been used. Instead, the negatives were amalgamated with PA-3197. The 32 audio cassettes could not be found in October 2013 when the online finding aid was posted, so have not been included.
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Description control area
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Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Wednesday, April 30, 2014