CHOZ-FM


CHOZ-FM is a Canadian radio station based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Its main St. John's transmitter broadcasts at 94.7 MHz, with additional transmitters located throughout the island. The station, known as OZFM, is one of the various media properties of the Stirling family; this includes local television station CJON-DT.

History

CHOZ-FM launched on June 15, 1977 at 93.9 FM, soon after Geoff Stirling sold his interest in what is now CJYQ. It was originally a full-time rock station known as Radio OZ, The Rock Of The Rock. It eventually transitioned to a combination CHR/Classic rock format under the OZFM brand; nonetheless it kept "The Rock Of The Rock" slogan.
On August 1, 1984, CHOZ was approved to move to 94.7 FM.
During most of the 1990s it was the most popular FM radio station, both in the province and in the core St. John's market. The station's success was driven largely by the strength of its eclectic morning show, The Dawn Patrol, with Randy Snow, Deborah Birmingham and Larry Jay.
Yet by the early 2000s its newly strengthened competitor Newcap Radio had begun to cause a significant effect, particularly in St. John's. Already the owner of the city's dominant AM radio station VOCM, Newcap effectively split CHOZ's market by converting VOCM-FM to classic rock, and soon after CKIX-FM to CHR. Another strong contender, Coast Broadcasting's adult contemporary station CKSJ-FM, launched in 2004.
But since CKSJ and CKIX only operated in the St. John's area, CHOZ was now in the problematic situation of competing primarily with female-skewing FM stations in its largest market, and with a single male-skewing FM competitor in the rest of the province.
CHOZ can still boast having the largest audience of any FM radio station in the province, largely because it is the only station with a province-wide network of transmitters, all carrying identical programming, which can therefore be accumulated for ratings purposes as a single station. In contrast, other provincial radio services such as CBC Radio One, VOCM and K-Rock are made up of separate local stations with some unique programming, while several stations operate only in the immediate St. John's area.
In the summer of 2003, Snow left the Dawn Patrol to join CKIX-FM to host his own morning show. His replacement was Brian O'Connell, who left the VOCM to join CHOZ.
By 2004, CHOZ began to shift towards hot adult contemporary, with slogans like "More Music, More Variety" and "Newfoundland's #1 FM Station". "The Rock of the Rock" was the stations secondary slogan from 2004-2009 and 2012-2014.
In April 2007, O'Connell took over as station manager for the OZFM Network and host of the daily Electric Lunch program. Then, O'Connell left CHOZ and now works with Stingray Radio hosting afternoons. Paul Kinsman was O'Connell's on air replacement, joining longtime Dawn Patrol veterans Birmingham and Jay.
On August 14, 2009, CHOZ changed its format to mainstream rock/Classic rock, forcing rival CKIX-FM taking the hot adult contemporary format, but continue to report on the Mediabase/Nielsen BDS Canadian top 40 panel.
On January 2, 2012, CHOZ flipped back to hot adult contemporary, with a new slogan "Today's Best Music". This ended the use of their longtime slogan "The Rock of the Rock". The station also resurrected their longtime heart-rainbow logo that was used from the late 1980s to 2007. The following month, the station surfaced on the Mediabase Canadian hot AC panel.
In August 2012, Kinsman and Jay left the Dawn Patrol, which was renamed The Morning Rush and featured a new host, Robert Shawn, alongside the only remaining original host Birmingham. In January 2013, the pair were joined by their former behind the scenes producer, Laura Woodworth. Birmingham left the station in January 2014 and her replacement on the Morning Rush was Stephanie O'Brien, previously with VOCM-FM.
In November 2014, Woodworth left CHOZ and now resides in Prince Edward Island. Shawn and O'Brien continued to host the Morning Rush until Shawn switched places with Stephen Lethbridge in July 2015. The Morning Rush was then renamed The OZFM Rush. Lethbridge and O'Brien hosted without a third host until Hugh Campbell joined them in December 2015.
On July 31, 2016, O'Brien uploaded a video to Facebook of her telling her parents that she is pregnant. O'Brien gave birth to her daughter, Charlie, on December 30, 2016. Shannell Lewis co-hosted the OZFM Rush with Lethbridge and Campbell throughout 2017 and early 2018. As of February 2018, O'Brien is back from her maternity leave.
On August 26, 2019, Snow returned to CHOZ after 16 years with CKIX-FM, As a result, the OZFM Rush became The Morning Jam with Snow joining O'Brien as the new host, replacing Lethbridge and Campbell. In addition, CHOZ tweaked its format to playing a mix of hits from the 1990s to today. The station is now known as Newfoundland’s Music Mix, The New OZFM.
On Sunday mornings, the station plays the Jigs and Reels Show hosted by Danielle Butt, featuring local Newfoundland music.

Controversy

In January 2011, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council admonished CHOZ-FM for playing the unedited version of Dire Straits' Money for Nothing, following a complaint from a listener that stated that the song contained the word "faggot", a slur for a homosexual person. Even though the song has won numerous awards and has been played countless times on Canadian radio, the CBSC felt that the unedited version has become unacceptable for airplay, as the term "faggot", which was once an acceptable term, has since become an unacceptable slur. In response to the ruling, at least two stations, CIRK-FM in Edmonton and CFRQ-FM in Halifax, played the unedited version of Money for Nothing repeatedly for one hour out of protest. On January 21, 2011, the CRTC asked the CBSC for a review on the ban, in response to the public outcry against the CBSC's actions; the regulator requested the CBSC to appoint a nationwide panel to review the case, as the decision on the ban was reviewed by a regional panel for the Maritimes and Newfoundland.
On August 31, the CBSC found the slur to be inappropriate; however, due to considerations in regard to its use in context, the CBSC has left it up to the stations to decide whether or not to censor the song. Most of the CBSC panelists thought the slur was inappropriate, but it was used only in a satirical, non-hateful manner.

Transmitters

CJMY and CKMY were previously known as CKCV-FM and CHOS-FM respectively, up to at least 2002. The changes were apparently made to reserve appropriate call signs for "My FM", Newfoundland Broadcasting's proposal for a second FM service, which went before the CRTC later that same year.
In 1997, CHOZ-FM added a rebroadcaster at Stockholm, Saskatchewan with the callsign CFZY-FM; the low-powered repeater is locally owned by Jody Herperger. The station was decommissioned in 2007.
In 1998, CHOZ-FM added a rebroadcaster at Kuujjuaq, Quebec with the callsign VF2321, owned by Société Kuujjuamiut.
On November 30, 2012, the stations rebroadcaster at Red Rocks, CKSS-FM 96.9, had closed; the station has cited the age of the tower and the costs of the upkeep. CHOZ, however, announced plans to reactivate it from another location, pending approval from the CRTC. As of 2018 CRTC approval has never been granted. CHOZ also originally planned to also temporarily close CIOS on the same day, but had second thoughts in doing so, and opted to keep it open from the same location instead. The application to move the Stephenville transmitter to a new location has been approved on November 8, 2013.
On September 15, 2015, the CRTC approved a new transmitter for a new CHOZ-FM rebroadcaster in Gander, CFAZ-FM 97.7, with an effective radiated power of 2,800 watts. The new transmitter would resolve coverage problems within the Gander area from its Grand Falls-Windsor outlet CKMY, which offered fringe reception in Gander. CFAZ began broadcasting on August 9, 2016.
CHOZ-FM is simulcast across Canada on Bell TV satellite channel 951, locally on Rogers Cable channel 925, and in the St. John's area on subchannel 21.2 of CJON-DT.