About CFMH 107.3 FM

CFMH 107.3 FM

Overview

CFMH-FM, branded as Local 107.3 FM, is the campus-based community radio station at the University of New Brunswick Saint John, in Saint John, New Brunswick. It broadcasts at 107.3 MHz as a Class A1 service with an effective radiated power of 250 watts. The station is licensed to Campus Radio Saint John Inc., and its studios and offices are located in the Thomas J. Condon Student Centre on the UNB Saint John campus, in the city's North End. Since adopting the LOCAL-FM brand on August 14, 2010, the station has positioned itself as the alternative voice of the greater Saint John area, with an emphasis on local DJs and local programming. CFMH is a member of the National Campus and Community Radio Association (NCRA), and it hosted the National Campus and Community Radio Conference in Saint John in both 2002 and 2015.

History

The station's origins reach back to a campus radio club founded in 1972. Under the name CRSJ, the service was distributed to Fundy Cable subscribers in the greater Saint John area at 104.1 MHz on cable through the 1980s and into the early 1990s. In the mid-1990s, distribution narrowed to a very low power feed to loudspeakers in the campus's main cafeteria and the Ward Chipman Library, while the organisation worked towards official broadcasting status.

That status came with Decision CRTC 2000-170 (May 19, 2000), which authorised a new community-based campus radio station in Saint John. CFMH began broadcasting at 92.5 MHz as a low-power service with 50 watts. Interference from the new Fredericton station CFRK-FM soon degraded the signal. The problem had been anticipated during CFRK-FM's own licensing process, when the Commission noted a commitment by that station's owner, Newcap Inc., to resolve any interference CFMH-FM might experience after the new station was implemented — and in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2007-93 (March 21, 2007) the Commission approved a move to 107.3 MHz, an increase in effective radiated power from 50 to 250 watts, a higher antenna and a relocated transmitter — changes that converted CFMH from a low-power unprotected service to a regular Class A FM station with significantly larger authorised contours. The station adopted 107.3 MHz on October 29, 2007. On August 14, 2010, CFMH changed its branding and logo to LOCAL-FM, a change presented as reflecting its position as the alternative voice of the greater Saint John area, with more local DJs and local programming than any other Saint John station.

The licence was renewed in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2006-248 for the period from September 1, 2006 to August 31, 2013, and again in Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2013-665, which renewed CFMH-FM's licence until August 31, 2020; the Commission's 2019 renewal notice (Broadcasting Notice of Consultation CRTC 2019-194) had listed Campus Radio Saint John Inc. among the campus and community licensees whose licences were due to expire on that date. Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2026-216 lists Campus Radio Saint John Inc. and CFMH-FM among the campus licences that will move to an indefinite licence term beginning September 1, 2027.

Programming and Content

Local FM's programming is volunteer-driven campus and community radio: local hosts presenting music and spoken-word shows for the greater Saint John area, in keeping with the community-based campus mandate in its licensing decisions. Its program history shows the breadth of that model. "The Gothic Horror Show," devoted to goth, death metal, black metal and industrial music and hosted by Scott Livingstone, has run since 2000. "Rock O'Clock," hosted by Derek Wurts, has presented new music, indie, Canadian content and local music since 1996. "Pointless Filler," a weekly show about the music of video games hosted by station manager Brandon Logan, has run since 2016. Earlier long-running programs included "Ear Candy" (2007–2019), a mix of new pop and rock hosted by Mark O'Connor; "North Meets South" (2010–2015), a music and talk program hosted by Joaquin Zubizaretta; "The Technicolor Dream Show" (2017–2023), a Friday-night psychedelic rock and pop program hosted by Cohen O'Connor, known on air as "The Wizard"; "The Mixed Tape" (2005–2017), an all-new independent Canadian music program that was syndicated to more than ten community radio partners; and "!earshot 20" (2012–2017), the NCRA's nationally syndicated weekly countdown, carried on more than 25 community stations. The station also formerly hosted the annual Best of Saint John Music Awards, which celebrated and recognized the achievements of independent and emerging musicians in Saint John — a further expression of the local-music role at the centre of its mandate. In 2025 the station advertised for a full-time journalist under the Local Journalism Initiative, the Community Radio Fund of Canada program funded by the Government of Canada, to create local and original civic journalism for the station.

Audience and Reach

CFMH serves the greater Saint John area from the UNB Saint John campus: students and staff of the university, and community listeners across the city and its suburbs. It is the campus radio service in a market otherwise served by commercial stations and CBC/Radio-Canada network outlets. At 250 watts on 107.3 MHz, its authorised contours cover the Saint John market as a Class A service. Its audience model is participatory: volunteers from the campus and the community host the programs, listeners support the station through its funding drives, and its local programming mandate is aimed at an audience underserved by the market's commercial stations. The station's online stream extends listening beyond the FM contour.

Digital Presence

The station's website is localfm.ca, which carries its program information, news posts and listen-live streaming; streaming directories also list the Local 107.3 FM feed. Posts published on the site by station manager Brandon Logan document the station's current activity: the return of its funding drive from March 24 to March 30, 2025, with a goal of $1,000 to replace the computer in the live booth, progress posts during the drive — including an alternate listening link for anyone having difficulty with the website's stream — and a final-count post thanking donors and reporting that the funds would replace the old computer and support other small improvements. The same postings carried the station's Local Journalism Initiative hiring notice, confirming an active, staffed operation in 2025.

Ownership and Organisation

The licensee is Campus Radio Saint John Inc., the non-profit corporation that has held the CFMH licence since the station's authorisation in 2000. The CRTC's renewal decisions expect the licensee to retain full control over the management and programming of the station, with representatives of the student body, faculty, alumni or administration of the university, taken together, forming the majority of its board of directors. Day-to-day operation is led by a station manager; reference listings for the station name Brandon Logan as station manager from 2023, following earlier managers including Julia Rogers (2017–2022) and Brian Cleveland (2008–2017). The station is based in the Thomas J. Condon Student Centre at UNB Saint John — its address in CRTC filings is 100 Tucker Park Road, TJ Condon Student Centre, Room 235, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2L 4L5.

Contact and Availability

CFMH (Local 107.3 FM) broadcasts at 107.3 MHz in Saint John, New Brunswick, and streams online through localfm.ca. During its March 2025 funding drive, the station published its pledge channels: by phone at 506-649-5925, in person at the station, or by email to manager@cfmh.ca. Its studios are in the Thomas J. Condon Student Centre, 100 Tucker Park Road, on the University of New Brunswick Saint John campus.