Carleton University Journalism Program To Receive Scholarship From Gay Radio Station

Carleton University's School of Journalism will be getting a scholarship from Canada's first conventional radio station for gays and lesbians.
The $5,000 annual scholarship to Carleton and an identical amount to Humber College in Toronto were part of a community commitment required by the CRTC when it granted a new licence to Rainbow Media Group Inc.
Rainbow Media intends to begin broadcasting in downtown Toronto within the next 12 months with programming that includes news, publicity for events and open-line programs targeted at the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender market.
Although there are several Internet-based speciality stations, the 50-watt FM station in downtown Toronto will be the first conventional English-language station in the world serving the gay and lesbian community, said Camela Laurignano, a spokeswoman for Rainbow Radio. It also will stream its broadcast over the Internet.
Evanov Radio Group, which owns five radio stations -- including CJWL-FM (98.5 The Jewel) in Ottawa -- is a partner in Rainbow, along with George Marchi, according to the CRTC application.
The station, which received its CRTC licence approval on Wednesday, has yet to contact Carleton University to discuss the annual scholarship, Ms. Laurignano said.
The terms of the annual scholarship, including whether it would be offered only to gay or lesbian students, will be decided after discussions with school officials, she said.
Chris Dornan, the director of the School of Journalism at Carleton, said he had been unaware of the scholarship proposal until contacted by the Citizen yesterday.
Other university officials could not be reached yesterday to say whether sexual orientation could be used as a criterion for a scholarship. The school does follow the "Human Rights Code" in terms of reference for all scholarships, according to Lin Moody, a spokeswoman.
As part of their licensing agreements, broadcasters are normally required by the CRTC to commit financial support to industry and community initiatives. Rainbow's licence approval also included a minimum $30,000 annually to support musical artists at Pride Week celebrations, as well as funding for musicians and artists at workshops and art exhibits.
from The Ottawa Citizen