Karen Steele, a Niagara College alumna and current Program Director of 99.9 Virgin Radio (CKFM-FM) Toronto, has been chosen to receive this year’s Rosalie Award, recognizing Canadian women who have blazed new trails in radio.
The award is presented annually by the Radio Trailblazers, a volunteer organization that celebrates and supports women in radio through education, inspiration and mentorship.
It’s not the first time Steele has been nominated, says Radio Trailblazers chair Nancy Brown Dacko. In 2019 — the last time the award was handed out — she received two nominations.
Brown Dacko describes the selection process as “rigorous,” and the winner must meet criteria based on four key pillars: career success, leadership, entrepreneurial spirit and mentorship.
“The reason we chose those [pillars] is because we really want to profile women who are recognized for their contributions, but we also want to look at a wise spectrum of accomplishments just to show that up-and-comers can be very successful and can achieve their success at any level in the business,” Brown Dacko says. “Sometimes award shows might award a CEO or a VP or a director, but what we want to show is that you can be an excellent on-air talent, you can be program director, you can be an excellent salesperson. [It’s] any role that exists within the radio broadcasting platform. We want to take a look at every, single area.”
The winner each year is chosen by previous Rosalie Award winners, of which there were 15 in 2022.
Steele, who graduated from NC’s Broadcasting – Radio, Television, Film program in 1991, started her radio career as the Program Director of CRNC, the college’s radio station, and as a “cruiser girl” at 97.7 HTZ-FM St. Catharines.
Back then, there weren’t many women studying broadcasting, Steele says. What drew her to it, though, was the flexibility of the program.
“I enrolled in Niagara College because I wanted the flexibility to try out film, TV and radio within a hands-on environment,” she says. “All of the programs were an absolute blast. There was always room for creativity with a degree of autonomy even within a team setting.”
She credits her “rock star” instructors for making learning fun and her Niagara College experience memorable, but two instructors, in particular, have had the biggest impact on her career.
“Chris Lukas, who was working on-air at 97.7 HTZ-FM at the time, was our Radio Lab teacher for CRNC,” Steele says. “She encouraged me to reach out to [program director] Eric Samuels for an internship. That invitation landed my foot firmly in the door at HTZ-FM as ‘cruiser girl’ and, ultimately, Program Director 7 years later.”
She said Bruce Gilbert, NC’s Program Director for the Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film program, was also a big influence.
“He was my rock and had a huge impact on my career with his phenomenal talent, patience, support and friendship. I’m thrilled that he’s working with the future of our business.”
In addition to 99.9 Virgin Radio, Steele programmed KiSS 92.5 and MIX 99.9, where she became the first-ever female program director of a major market Toronto radio station in 2005. It was the second time she’d earned such a distinction: She was also the first female program director of a Standard Broadcasting radio station when she worked at 97.7 HTZ-FM.
“It was a very different time and the ’90s were wild, but I still kept forging forward to get to my ultimate goal of PD of a Toronto radio station,” Steele says. “It still seems surreal to be the first female PD of a radio station in Standard Broadcasting in the ’90s and (then) Standard’s first female PD of a major market Toronto radio station. The only other woman in a programming position at that time in Toronto was Julie Adam at Rogers.”
Steele also helped develop the GEN NOW program at Seneca College, providing college students with the opportunity to get hands-on experience on air as KiSS 92.5.
The Rosalie Award, named in honour of legendary music director Rosalie Trombley, is awarded each year to a woman in radio who’s considered a trailblazer.
Trombley worked AM Top 40 radio station CKLW, also known as “The Big 8” (Detroit/Windsor), and was deemed the most powerful lady in pop music. She was the first to receive the Rosalie Award in 2005.
It’s women like Trombley, “who never give up, who move the needle, who push boundaries” that inspire Steele.
But Steele says if she’s blazed trails, it was incidental.
“I learned everything so I could develop and grow in my roles,” she says. “I was never above any opportunity and worked up to 80-plus-hour work weeks. I always wanted to be the best person for the job. I also wanted to be treated that way. At times, I had to work harder and smarter to be taken seriously or get a seat or a voice at the table.”
Added Steele: “Today, I’m surrounded by strong, fearless and funny rock stars like Sarah Cummings who continues to pave the way for the future of radio across Canada in her role as VP of content for Radio/iHeartRadio and Orbyt Media, and Nat Hunter who is one of the funniest and most talented on-air personalities in the country.”
And although she’s been recognized with numerous awards over the past three decades, including Program Director of the Year from Canadian Music Week (CMW) in 2017, Steele says she’ll know she’s left her mark if her work has inspired others.
“In a perfect radio world, I will have left an impression and impact on the people I’ve worked with in a memorable and fun way. From creating and rolling out irreverent promotional campaigns and pushing creative boundaries, to putting on exclusive can’t-miss-event experiences and working with and developing talent on-air and behind the scenes, I hope I’ve inspired the people I’ve worked with as much as they’ve inspired me.”
Brown Dacko says Steele will be celebrated at an invitation-only reception for newcomers to the radio business on June 6 and then presented with the Rosalie Award on June 7 during CMW’s Radio Active 2022-The Future of Audio conference.
