XFM Marks 80 Years of Broadcasting

Mar 25, 2023 | Local News

Today is X-FM’s 80th birthday.  It was on March 25th,1943 that the station, with the call letters

Allan J. MacEachen (right) in this 1950 photograph participating on “Reach Out, Teach Out” on CJFX, a program that fostered education to Farmers and Fishermen

CJFX signed on as an A-M radio station with a power output of one thousand watts.

The late Nora Nunn, wife of the station’s founding general manager Clyde Nunn, in an interview recorded in March, 2010; says it wasn’t easy getting all the parts and equipment needed.

As the planned opening of CJFX was drawing near, Nunn says it received the delivery of special wire that was crucial in getting the station on the air.  Less than a week later, the military contacted the station, stating they weren’t allowed to have the wire and it must be returned.

Nunn says among the many performers who passed through the station’s doors was well-known Inverness County musician John Allen Cameron, who credited the station for helping him in launching his musical career.

Another was the late Danny Gallivan, who later became a well-known CBC hockey play-by-play announcer.

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Canadian Radio Awards: 989 XFM Small Market Station of The Year

Broadcast Dialogue has announced the winners of the inaugural Canadian Radio Awards, which we’ve dubbed “The Howards” after our publisher emeritus Howard Christensen.

When Howard, a radio veteran and one of the original Broadcast News anchors, founded Broadcast Dialogue in 1992, he saw a need for both timely delivery of Canadian broadcast industry news, but also recognized the importance of creating a sense of community.

989 XFM is very proud to be the winner of the 2020 Station of Year – Small Market award.