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The phrase "community of communities" may be a bit worn, but it aptly describes CKUA Radio Network.

CKUA is very much the sum of its parts; a collaboration between paid professionals, who run the station and design and present the programming; myriad talented volunteers who support CKUA operations with their own skills and talents, free of charge; private businesses and corporations, who support CKUA with their dollars by underwriting programs and/or purchasing advertising; and last but most certainly not least, a large audience of listeners devoted to preserving Alberta's own unique version of public broadcasting by voluntarily donating millions of dollars annually to keep CKUA on the air - even though it could just as easily be received by these same people for free.

It is collaboration unique in Canada and the world and a broadcast model that is uniquely successful.

But the CKUA community is much more than just components of a very successful business venture. The CKUA community is a mix of generations, cultures, interests and ideas joined together by a passion for music, life long learning, and a desire for superior and intelligent broadcasting alternatives.

And while these attributes very much describe the CKUA of today, it is important to know that CKUA is also very much the sum of its past communities as well.

Founded in 1927 with a mandate to use the medium of radio to "take education to the people", CKUA has gone from being Canada's first public and first educational broadcaster, to being a crown corporation (ACCESS), to being an independent, not-for-profit broadcaster.

But despite its many transformations, CKUA today remains true to its founders' principle of "public service broadcasting", a principle founded upon the belief that money, while obviously critical for CKUA's survival, is a means to an end, and not the end in itself.

That is why today, CKUA remains dedicated to providing intelligent, unique, alternative programming for its audience, rather than merely pandering to the latest cultural fad or money-making broadcast trend. It is a philosophy and a practice rooted in the belief that by putting the interests and needs of the audience first, rather than the mere quest for money, CKUA will always be unique, always be an alternative and always be successful.

And if the idea of 'community' is based upon the principle of "putting others ahead of oneself", then CKUA's broadcasting history and current practices are very much "community" oriented. It seems an appropriate exercising of the important responsibility and privilege inherent in ownership of a broadcast license.
  

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