Moses Znaimer

Moses Znaimer was born in Kulab, Tajikistan (former Soviet Republic) in 1942. During the height of the Second World War, his family fled to Shanghai, and eventually went on to end up settling in Montréal. He was educated at McGill University in Montréal, receiving a BA in philosophy and politics. He received an MA in government from Harvard University. After graduation he accepted a job at the CBC, directing, producing, and hosting several shows from 1965 to 1969. Znaimer quit the CBC in 1969, and launched into private broadcasting. At that time all the VHF licenses in Toronto had been taken, so he founded the city's first UHF channel, CITY, Channel 79 (later 57), in 1972. The unique programming of CITY has been Znaimer's primary contribution to the world of broadcasting, and its influence has now been felt worldwide. The success of CITY prompted Toronto media conglomerate CHUM to purchase the station in 1981. With a much larger budget, Znaimer went on to found several other television stations starting with MuchMusic in 1984, Canada's first 24-hour music station. The idea was copied with a French-language station, MusiquePlus, based in Montréal, in 1986. Since the 1980s Znaimer has been instrumental in shaping the face of Canadian television, launching or helping to direct well over two dozen television stations in Canada and many other parts of the world. His unique style of broadcasting, the "Participatory, Interactive, Storefront, Studioless, Television Operating System", sets all CHUM-CITY stations apart from more traditional media sources. It has always been Znaimer's goal to create television that reflects those who watch it, and every station goes to great lengths to be able to include as many of the different cultural, ethnic, and diverse programs and personalities found in Toronto and all over Canada as possible.