A news show reporting on underrepresented communities in Windsor is now making its way over the airwaves of CJAM.

Aysha Mian, a business and psychology student, hosts “the Anchor,” where she covers stories every Friday at 12:30 p.m. on the CJAM 99.1 FM frequency.

The new program is part of the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Community Radio Fund of Canada, which supports journalism across the country that covers the needs of underserved communities.

“I’m new to journalism, but I thought this sounded like a really cool opportunity to get into it. Now I’m in contact with many journalists across Ontario who help edit stories and give advice,” Mian explained.

When this opportunity came about, Mian had already been working with CJAM through the Ignite work-study program.

“I fell in love with radio,” she said. “They taught me everything I know.”

Mian said the experience has been illuminating. In this role, she’s had the chance not only to develop her skills as a journalist but also to learn more about the various communities in Windsor.

“At first I was nervous,” she said. “I ended up just getting right into it and I had so much support and that made it easier to try to talk to new people and organizations.”

So far, she’s covered topics including diversity, period poverty, and people living with homelessness and those trying to help. Mian cites a pivotal story for her was speaking with Ashley Shepley of the group Feed the Streets.

In her radio piece, Shepley recounted a situation in 2021 when a group of people who were evacuated from an apartment on Detroit Street set up tents on the front lawn of the condemned building when a storm hit, and her efforts to try and help.

“It was so heartbreaking to hear about people screaming and crying because everything was getting destroyed,” Mian said. “It made me realize how much privilege I have. I hope that I can help by connecting with as many communities as I can and spread the word about these types of situations.”

“The Anchor” is the station’s reintroduction to news programming after running “30 News Show” in 2019. CJAM had a news department in the 1970s where Canadian journalist Anna Maria Tremonti started her career contributing stories to both the radio station and the Lance student newspaper. Later, CJAM had a news program called “The Chronicle” for a few years in the early 2010s.

Mian’s first episode aired Friday, Dec. 29.

She hopes “the Anchor” shines a light on the type of stories that may not always see mainstream coverage, something she notes is “the CJAM way.”